HACLA certified payroll and labor compliance requirements

What HACLA publishes and how it is organized

HACLA's labor compliance page lists forms, guides, and links sorted by type of work and by funding. It shows no date, so check each form. See our housing authority certified payroll guide.

Mixed-funded note. HACLA's mixed-funded text begins "Refer to the above information and the following:". HACLA tells you to refer to the lists above it, which include the DIR items, DAS 140, DAS 142, the CAC training report, and "Submitting Payroll Records to the DIR (as applicable)." Several of those are marked "as applicable" or "where applicable," so ask HACLA which your contract triggers.

Your contract decides which row is yours. When an (A)HAP owner or grant partner is the awarding body, HACLA says that party carries the awarding body duties.

Federally funded work: the WH-347 and the Statement of Compliance

HACLA lists the WH-347 as its payroll template for federally funded construction. The pages summarized here do not quote a contract clause, so check yours. Its (A)HAP section says HUD labor standards forms cover Title 29 Part 5, which holds the Davis-Bacon contract clause, 29 CFR 5.5(a).

Under that clause, covered laborers and mechanics are paid "not less often than once a week" (5.5(a)(1)(i)), and certified payrolls go in weekly for each week with covered work (5.5(a)(3)(ii)(A)). HACLA lists HUD's Agency/Contractor Guide as "strongly recommended" review. The copy it links (06.20.23 in its file name) says employers "must prepare, certify, and submit weekly payroll reports."

Where the contract carries the Davis-Bacon clause, 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(C) requires each certified payroll to come with a Statement of Compliance signed by the contractor or subcontractor, or the agent who pays or supervises payment of the workers. Paragraph (a)(3)(ii)(D) of the same section says a properly executed certification on the reverse side of the WH-347 satisfies that requirement. You sign it. See our guide to who signs the HUD Statement of Compliance.

HACLA's mixed-funded section says page 2 of the WH-347, the Statement of Compliance, "is required for each pay period, regardless of the payroll record used." That sets a requirement for the signed page 2 and gives no submission day, so confirm with HACLA where and when to send payrolls.

The mixed section says "No Statement of Fringe Benefit form required if using a WH347 Form for payroll reporting." Separately it says "where fringes are paid to an (un)funded plan, ensure fringes are listed on the WH347 Form." The federally funded list shows the Fed or Mixed Funds fringe statement as "where applicable" with no WH-347 exception, so ask HACLA before skipping it on federal-only work. See our fringe benefit statement guide.

LCPtracker on HACLA jobs

HACLA's LCPtracker instructions (project setup, eDocument types, a fringe benefits statement) are for an account "subscribed to by" the contractor or a hired consultant, and in the (A)HAP rows the (A)HAP owner too. Instructions for adding a federal exemption classification appear under federally funded public housing construction and both (A)HAP rows, not non-federal public housing or commercial facilities. The (A)HAP federal row adds a case: for "an LAHD LCPtracker project account" on a project HACLA awarded with federal resources, HACLA enters federal apprentice crafts manually. The pages summarized here do not say LCPtracker is required, so read your contract.

HACLA's Instructions for LCPtracker Project Setup (revised 6/2025) apply when the Project Owner subscribes to LCPtracker and, under that account, sets up a project awarded by HACLA or receiving HACLA resources. They call the developer or prime the "Project Owner" and the subscriber the "Account Owner," and they are mostly addressed to those parties. When an apprentice is hired, they also give subcontractors two tasks: obtaining state residential apprentice wages from DIR (where the project has a residential wage determination) and completing the Federal Apprentice Wage Calculation Form, which is uploaded to LCPtracker. The Project Owner (and, as applicable, the Account Owner, such as the owner's consultant) is to give each HACLA Labor Compliance Specialist read-only access to project records such as certified payrolls. The Account Owner is to send HACLA an LCPtracker-issued flash drive of all project payrolls and related documents within 30 days of project completion (and/or when the project is deemed compliant with Davis-Bacon requirements).

Non-federally funded work: the California side

For non-federally funded work, HACLA lists DIR's Form A-1-131 as the payroll template (see our A-1-131 guide). DIR's public works forms page, dated August 2016, says that form "will not be used to satisfy the eCPR initial reporting requirement," and that the form or its elements "will be required to be provided if the Labor Commissioner conducts an investigation." So submit certified payroll through DIR's eCPR system where the project is subject to it (DIR's certified payroll page says most public works projects are), and keep the A-1-131 data for investigations.

HACLA's non-federal sections also list DAS 140, DAS 142, and the CAC training report (see DAS 140 and DAS 142). HACLA's contracting page says (sub)contractors must register with DIR before bidding on public works construction over $25,000 or maintenance over $15,000. Labor Code 1725.5 sets the same cutoffs: it does not apply to construction projects of $25,000 or less or maintenance projects of $15,000 or less.

Mixed-funded work: the higher-of rule and 24 CFR 965.101

What HACLA publishes

HACLA gives two positions, depending on how the job is funded.

• Mixed-funded work and projects subject to both laws: the higher of the two rates. HACLA's labor compliance page says, in its mixed-funded section and its "Mixed Resources" section for work awarded by another owner, that workers must be paid not less than "the higher of the applicable federal or state prevailing wage rates," and that the more stringent law applies where the two conflict. The contracting page states the rule for "Projects subject to both state and federal prevailing wages," without using a funding test. The Awarding Body Responsibilities PDF (revised 6/2025, addressed to awarding bodies that receive HACLA funds) states it for a narrower case: projects covered solely by Project Base Vouchers (PBVs) do not trigger the awarding body's public works duties, but "where other HACLA resources are used to finance the project," the higher of the two prevailing wages applies.
• Solely federal public housing work: 24 CFR 965.101. The contracting page applies the 965.101 preemption to public housing projects that are "solely federally funded." The PDF applies it where a project is financed "exclusively with federal funds" at a Public Housing Site, and says that of the public works requirements, only DIR contractor registration and project registration then apply.

What the regulation says

Under paragraph (a) of 24 CFR 965.101, a state prevailing wage rate is inapplicable to a contract or PHA-performed work item for the development, maintenance, and modernization of a project whenever two conditions are both met. Under (a)(1), the contract or work item is otherwise subject to state prevailing wage law and "is assisted with funds for low-income public housing under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended." Under (a)(2), the state rate exceeds whichever federal rate applies: a Secretary of Labor Davis-Bacon rate, a registered apprentice or trainee rate based on it, or a Secretary of HUD rate. The first condition turns on that assistance to the contract or work item. It says nothing about funding being solely or exclusively federal. Against a Secretary of Labor rate, fringes are included in the comparison; against a HUD rate, state fringes are excluded. Whenever (a)(1) applies, paragraph (b)(1) requires the housing authority's solicitation and contract to carry a statement that the state rate is inapplicable and will not be enforced whenever it exceeds the applicable federal rate.

Where the two differ

HACLA ties 965.101 to exclusively federal funding and the higher-of rule to mixed-funded work and projects subject to both laws. The regulation applies when the contract or work item is assisted with low-income public housing funds and the state rate exceeds the applicable federal rate. A job with public housing funds plus other money may therefore fit HACLA's higher-of wording and the regulation's test at once. These sources may overlap on such a job. HACLA does not say whether its higher-of rule yields to 965.101 on a job that has both public housing funds and other money, and this guide cannot settle which governs your contract.

Ask HACLA in writing which rule applies, using the Labor Compliance Administrator address on its contracting page (see "Who to contact" below), before you price the job or set pay rates. Also read your solicitation and contract for the 965.101(b)(1) statement. See our Davis-Bacon plus California prevailing wage guide.

Maintenance work

For federally funded public housing maintenance, HACLA's note beside Labor Relations Letter No. LR 2004-01 says payroll and related records are "required only upon request" and weekly submission is "no longer required." The letter itself is dated October 26, 2006 (Rev 1). It ends certified payroll submission for work paid at HUD-determined wage rates, but says employers must still make and maintain records showing compliance for 3 years from completion of the work. It also says HUD concluded that 29 CFR Parts 3 and 5 are not germane where HUD prevailing wage requirements apply, so the 29 CFR 5.5(a) retention clause in step 5 below is not the rule for this row. Check your contract.

Who to contact at HACLA

The labor compliance page lists no labor compliance contact. The Public Works Contracting page and the contracting FAQ send labor compliance questions to the Labor Compliance Administrator at LaborCompliance@hacla.org. The LCPtracker setup instructions name the same role and give a mailing address for it (Contract and Procurement Unit, 2600 Wilshire Boulevard) but no email or phone. HACLA's Contact Us page lists a general Contracts and Procurement email and phone.

Before your first HACLA payroll

1. Find your row and wage determination from your contract and solicitation. On mixed work, ask HACLA in writing if public housing funds are involved.
2. Check DIR registration, using DIR's registration page and the Labor Code 1725.5 cutoffs above. HACLA's Awarding Body Responsibilities PDF is written for awarding bodies. For work financed exclusively with federal funds at a Public Housing Site, it tells them that, of the public works requirements, only DIR contractor registration and project registration apply. For the federal-only case, read our guide to DIR registration on federally funded projects.
3. Set up the payroll record HACLA lists for your row, and its LCPtracker instructions if used.
4. Sign it yourself. Where your contract carries the Davis-Bacon clause, 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(C) requires each certified payroll to come with a Statement of Compliance signed by the contractor or subcontractor, or the agent who pays or supervises payment of the workers. Paragraph (a)(3)(ii)(D) says a properly executed certification on the reverse side of the WH-347 satisfies that requirement.
5. Keep the records. Where your contract carries the Davis-Bacon clause, 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(i)(A) requires regular payrolls and other basic records to be kept during the work and for at least 3 years after all the work on the prime contract is completed. For federally funded maintenance at HUD-determined wages, see "Maintenance work" above instead. For the other rows, ask HACLA which retention rule your contract carries.

Where WellStanding fits

WellStanding prepares the WH-347 and, where it applies, the eCPR from the payroll export you already run, and a person reviews every filing. You review and sign, and nothing is filed until you have signed; we never sign for you.

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