Published date: 12/17/2025
Aliecia Taormina, CCEP, MCA has over 20 years of experience in construction (including a role as a Senior Compliance Manager of a Fortune 300 contractor), accumulating extensive prevailing wage and Davis-Bacon knowledge over her career.
.
Please Note: For December’s installment of ‘Ask the Expert’, we’re taking a moment to revisit and highlight some of the questions and answers that seemed to resonate the most with our audience over the last year. The highlighted topics below were first published in previous months of 2025.
.
Question
- Originally published August 2025
What are the consequences when a sub-tier contractor submits certified payroll late, resulting in the apprentice certificate not covering the time they were onsite—since certificates are only valid for 90 days? The subcontractor’s argument is that nothing has changed, and the current apprentice certificate still shows the individual is an apprentice in good standing.
Answer: Apprentice certificates are typically valid for 90 days, and if a sub-tier contractor submits certified payroll late, the certificate may not cover the actual work period—creating a compliance gap.
If an apprentice is not certified during the time they were onsite, they must be paid as a journeyman for that period—even if currently in good standing. The argument that “nothing has changed” does not override the requirement for timely documentation.
Our system has the capability of flagging unapproved apprentices and can prevent certified payroll submission until the issue is resolved, helping identify those without proper documentation. If reviewed by a client or the USDOL, it’s likely that payment at the journeyperson rate will be required.
Question
- Originally published September 2025
When entering hours do we enter the number of hours actually worked or do we enter the hours according to union rules? For example, one union has a 4-6-8 rule where if the employee works more that 4 hours but less than 6 hours, we pay 6 hours. When completing the CPR entries, would we enter the hours actually worked or the hours we paid?
Answer: Oooh, this is a really good question. I have had to research this myself in the past when this has come up. When completing Certified Payroll Reports (CPRs), the hours entered should reflect the actual hours worked by the employee on the project site. The system is designed to capture factual labor data, and entering actual hours ensures compliance with federal reporting standards, particularly those outlined in the WH-347 form. While union agreements—such as the 4-6-8 rule—may require payment for more hours than were physically worked, this distinction should be handled within your payroll system. The CPR should still report the actual hours worked, not the hours paid, unless your agency or project administrator has specifically instructed otherwise.
If your project has unique reporting requirements or if you’re unsure how your union rules intersect with CPR entries, it is recommended to confirm with your project’s labor compliance officer or administrator.
Question
- Originally published November 2025
When a manufacturer’s representative comes out to perform equipment startup, are they exempt from prevailing wages? Several of these companies are saying they don’t have a prevailing wage coordinator and have never paid prevailing wage before.
Answer: I appreciate this question—it’s a great one. And, true to prevailing wage principles, the answer is: it depends. Based on my past research, here’s what I’ve found:
- For Davis-Bacon Act projects, if equipment startup occurs before the project is officially turned over to the client, that work is generally considered covered under prevailing wage requirements. However, if the project has already been turned over and the startup happens afterward, there’s a possibility that the work may not be classified as covered. And to add another fun layer of “complicated”, what exactly do you mean by “startup”? Is it someone who is going to do the work of a laborer or mechanic, so to say, manual work? Or is it a highly specialized employee who is hands off and simply watches others perform the work? In this instance, then it wouldn’t be covered work at all. (See? “It depends” is a real thing 😉)
On the other hand, for state projects, such as those in California, this type of work is typically treated as covered work and should be performed with prevailing wage compliance in mind.
.
.
Have a burning question about labor compliance that you’ve been eager to ask? Submit it anonymously to our live submission form and you might just see it answered in a future entry of our monthly Ask the Expert series! You can also check out our past entries here.
Want an opportunity to get questions like these and other topics answered in person? Check out our events page for our educational Spark Seminars. These are perfect opportunities for you to hear from industry experts and expand your prevailing wage knowledge.
.
.
These materials are being issued with the understanding that LCPtracker is not engaged in rendering legal or other professional services and is providing these for informational purposes only. If legal, accounting, or tax expert assistance is required, the services of a competent legal, accounting or tax professional should be sought.
