Federal vs state certified payroll in California
Federal law and California law run two separate certified payroll systems that happen to land on the same jobsite. The federal Davis-Bacon Act covers federal or federally assisted construction contracts over $2,000. California's own prevailing wage law covers any public works contract over $1,000, paid from state or local public funds, federal dollars or not. A project can owe one, the other, or both, and paying under one law does not excuse the other.
Federal and California prevailing wage, side by side
Each row below is its own rule, sourced where it first appears. Read down a column for one system's requirements; read across a row to see where the two disagree.
| Federal: Davis-Bacon Act | California: prevailing wage law | |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Federal or federally assisted construction contract over $2,000, where assistance includes grants, loans, loan guarantees, or insurance | Any construction contract over $1,000 paid in whole or in part from public funds, per Labor Code 1720, with no federal money required |
| Wage rate source | The federal wage determination for that county and craft, attached to the contract | DIR's general prevailing wage determination by craft and county |
| When both apply | California's prevailing wage rate governs whenever it is higher than the federal rate, on any mixed funded project or any federally assisted project a California awarding body controls, under 8 CCR 16001(b) | |
| Employer payment credits | Davis-Bacon lets a contractor credit employer payments, health, pension, training, against the full wage rate, which can lower the cash wage below the determination's base rate, per the DIR Public Works Manual | California bars using those same credits to reduce the Basic Hourly Rate; credits only offset the Employer Payments layer above it, per Labor Code 1773.1(c) and 8 CCR 16200(a)(3)(I) |
| Apprenticeship | Apprentice must be individually registered in a program registered with DOL or a recognized state apprenticeship agency, and may be paid less than the full determination rate only if the program's own terms are met, per DOL Fact Sheet 66 | DAS 140 notice within 10 days of award, DAS 142 dispatch request 72 hours ahead, 1 hour of apprentice work per 5 hours of journeyman work, exempt under $30,000, under Labor Code 1777.5 |
| Filing | Form WH-347 or an equivalent weekly record, filed weekly per 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii) | eCPR filed directly to DIR, at least monthly or more often if the contract says so, per Labor Code 1771.4 |
| Enforcement | U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, plus the contracting federal agency | California Labor Commissioner (DLSE), who can issue a civil wage and penalty assessment after investigation, per Labor Code 1741, plus the awarding body through withheld payments |
Which wage rate applies when federal and state rates differ
The conflict only exists on projects both laws already cover: mixed funded work, or a federally assisted project a California awarding body runs. For those, the DIR Public Works Manual states the rule plainly: state prevailing wage rates apply whenever they are higher, under 8 CCR 16001(b). Pull both determinations for the craft and county, compare them line by line, and pay whichever number is larger for each classification. Certifying against the lower one, even the federally listed one, is a wage violation on a California controlled project.
Federal funding does not exempt you from California requirements
A federal grant in the funding stack changes what you owe, it never reduces it. Under Labor Code 1720, "public works" means construction paid for in whole or in part out of public funds, and a federal grant or loan running through a state or local awarding body is still public funds. That project owes the eCPR to DIR under Labor Code 1771.4 on top of the weekly WH-347. The only public works in California that skip the state filing are the handful run entirely inside one of the four legacy Labor Compliance Programs, Caltrans among them, where the awarding body's own monitoring stands in for it. Our WH-347 vs eCPR guide walks through the two coverage tests in detail, and the Caltrans requirements page covers that legacy exception.
Fringe benefits: the same dollars, two different rules
Both systems let a contractor satisfy part of the wage obligation through employer payments instead of straight cash, health insurance, pension, training fund contributions. Where they split is how far that credit can go. Davis-Bacon treats the whole determination rate as one number a contractor can meet through any mix of cash and benefits. California will not let those same credits touch the Basic Hourly Rate: the cash wage floor set in the state determination has to be paid in cash, and credits only apply against the Employer Payments layer sitting on top of it, under Labor Code 1773.1(c) and 8 CCR 16200(a)(3)(I). A payroll built to satisfy the federal rule by trimming the base cash rate and topping it up with benefits will fail the California rule the moment the same project also counts as public works under state law.
Apprenticeship: two systems, one worker
The federal side asks whether the apprentice is properly registered. An apprentice on Davis-Bacon work must be individually enrolled in a program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or a recognized state apprenticeship agency, and may be paid less than the full determination rate only if the program's own terms are met, per DOL Fact Sheet 66, with no federal notice or dispatch form. California layers its own paperwork on top: a DAS 140 notice within 10 days of award, a DAS 142 dispatch request at least 72 hours ahead, and at least 1 hour of apprentice work for every 5 hours of journeyman work, under Labor Code 1777.5, unless the contract is under $30,000. A project covered by both laws has to satisfy both tests for the same apprentice. See DAS 140 and DAS 142, explained, and the apprentice ratio calculator.
What this means for your paperwork
- California public works, no federal money: eCPR to DIR only, under your own DIR contractor registration. No WH-347.
- Federally assisted California public works, the common case: both. Weekly WH-347 up your contracting chain, eCPR to DIR on its own cadence, every wage line checked against the higher of the two determinations.
- Purely federal work with no state or local public funds: WH-347 only, since California's own public works definition never gets triggered.
The full picture of which forms a given project needs, including the Social Security number conflict between the two filings, is in our form by form comparison.