Published date: 05/14/2026
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.
Question
Can you help me understand if travel time to a job site is to be paid at the prevailing wage rate or can it be paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay?
Answer: Great question! Typically, travel time under the Davis-Bacon Act depends on whether it is considered compensable “hours worked” and how the work is performed. Ordinary commuting from home to the jobsite is not compensable and does not require payment at any rate. However, travel that occurs after the workday has begun, such as travel from a required meeting location to the jobsite or between work locations, is considered compensable time.
When travel time is compensable, it must be paid, but the applicable rate depends on where the work is performed: DBA prevailing wage requirements apply only to work performed at the “site of the work,” while time spent performing contract work at a shop or other remote facility—including travel between locations—remains compensable under CWHSSA but may be paid at a different (non-prevailing) rate consistent with the work being performed.
Additionally, states with their own prevailing wage requirements may have their own stipulations on how to compensate for travel time, if at all. In California, for example, travel time compensation on public works projects varies based on the specific craft wage determination.
Question
Can someone under the age of 18 work on a prevailing wage project?
Answer: I can honestly say that I’ve never been asked this! After doing some research, I have found that minors under the age of 18 can work on a DBA project, but only if they meet federal child labor requirements.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) prohibits workers under age 18 from performing hazardous occupations, and many common construction activities are classified as hazardous. Workers who are 16 or 17 may be employed on or around a construction project only in non-hazardous roles with strict task limitations, while workers under 16 are not permitted to perform work on the construction site at all and are generally limited to office or sales duties.
If a minor is legally permitted to perform the work and it is covered by DBA, they must be paid in accordance with applicable prevailing wage requirements for the work performed.
Question
We completed a project that we did not initially realize was subject to prevailing wage. After completion, the general contractor issued a change order to cover the additional prevailing wage costs. Can we pay employees the wage difference as a lump‑sum adjustment and submit it on a single certified payroll?
Answer: The affidavit of compliance (or affidavit of wages paid) in prevailing wage law is a sworn certification by the contractor or subcontractor confirming that all workers on the project were paid in accordance with applicable prevailing wage requirements, that payroll records are accurate and complete, and that no improper deductions or rebates were taken.
This document serves as a formal legal attestation of compliance, relied upon by the awarding agency to verify that statutory wage obligations were met and to support final project closeout and audit review.
While this documentation is not required for federal DBA/DBRA projects, there are states that require it to be completed around the time of the project closeout process before final payment can be made. Understanding the requirements for state prevailing wage projects is important.
For example, in California, the affidavit of compliance is submitted after the completion of the contractor’s work and is used to support final payments, release of retainage, and acceptance of the work. If you are able to provide the specific state this is being requested for, we can certainly do some additional due diligence on the topic.
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