Federal wage field notes · source reviewed Jul 23, 2026
Practical guides for the job file.
Read the governing document, set up payroll, and identify questions early. These guides use primary Department of Labor and SAM.gov sources and stay deliberately cautious where the facts control.
How to read a Davis-Bacon wage determination
A field guide to the cover sheet, construction type, counties, modification number, classifications, base rates, fringes, and footnotes.
How to prepare a first WH-347
A practical walkthrough of the weekly payroll record, worker rows, rate and fringe columns, deductions, and Statement of Compliance.
Base wage versus fringe benefits
How the basic hourly rate and fringe-benefit amount work together, including cash in lieu, benefit-plan credit, and overtime treatment.
Which wage-determination modification controls?
Why the newest SAM.gov modification is not automatically the contract rate, and what to compare before bidding or payroll.
Choosing the correct construction type
A field guide to building, residential, highway, and heavy wage determinations, including mixed projects.
Classification conformance and missing classifications
What to do when the work is not represented on the wage determination and why a similar-sounding row is not a substitute.
Apprentices, helpers, and trainee documentation
The records to review before paying below a journeyworker rate or using a helper classification.
Overtime, deductions, and fringe-plan credits
A review checklist for the three payroll areas where correct-looking totals can still hide unsupported treatment.
Truck-driver coverage questions
Why hauling, delivery, onsite time, support sites, other construction work, and overtime need separate review.
A pre-submission certified-payroll checklist
A compact job-file sequence for checking the governing document, classifications, pay math, WH-347 fields, and support records.