Maryland certified payroll: where it goes, when it is due, and what late costs

Where does Maryland certified payroll go?

It depends on who owns the job and whose money pays for it. See also prevailing wage versus certified payroll and the state-by-state table.

Except for mechanical systems service contracts (below), the state law does not apply to a public work contract under $250,000. The Unit's overview covers State units with any State funding and local owners using State money for 25% or more, though the Unit's landing page uses 25% or more for both. Section 17-201(j) defines those owners and lets a local government opt in by ordinance or resolution with written notice to the Commissioner. It also names the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) as a public body. A capital project that receives State capital budget funds as a local House of Delegates or Senate initiative is not a "public work" (section 17-201(k)(2)(ii), FAQ 6). Section 17-202(d) reaches certain construction in tax increment financing districts created on or after July 1, 2018 only if a political subdivision, Baltimore City or the Revenue Authority of Prince George's County authorizes it.

Section 17-220(b)(1) lists two recipients, the public body and the Commissioner. COMAR .02(B) makes the Commissioner responsible for providing the records to the contracting public body, as appropriate, so the regulation describes one submission, to the Commissioner. Check your contract for any added delivery requirement and confirm with the Prevailing Wage Unit at 410-767-2342.

Mechanical systems service contracts have their own tests. Section 17-202(e) applies the law to one that is part of a public work contract with a value above the threshold in 41 U.S.C. 6702(a)(2), which is $2,500. COMAR 21.11.11.06(A) applies its rule to a service contract that has all three of these:

1. It is valued at more than $2,500.
2. A public body as defined in section 17-201(j) procured it.
3. It covers a mechanical system installed as part of a building or public work constructed under the Prevailing Wage Law, for a contract bid on or after October 1, 2022.

Section 17-202(e) does not repeat the regulation's second and third conditions. The Unit's FAQ 3 states only a value, $2,500 or greater. This page cannot say which test applies to a given contract, so ask the Unit in writing, especially at exactly $2,500 or for a contract bid before October 1, 2022.

Section 17-201(h) defines a mechanical systems service contract as a contract for certain systems. The copy of the statute this page read lists refrigeration, plumbing, electrical and elevator systems as items (2) to (5) and does not show item (1), so check the statute for the full list. Payroll is due only for the weeks worked on the service contract (COMAR .06(B)).

How do you submit payroll to the State?

The Unit's certified payroll page points its "Submit a Certified Payroll Report" entry to an electronic portal.

1. Register. Contractors and subcontractors register before entering payroll (Unit page). The Unit's step-by-step deck shows no date, but its file properties give a June 2012 creation date and it uses a 2012 sample calendar. Steps 2 and 4 rest on it, so screens may differ.
2. Enter the determination number. It has at least five digits (deck).
3. Pick the work week, with accurate beginning and ending dates (Unit instructions, Rev. 5/2023).
4. Choose Payroll or No Work, then enter every worker with gross and net pay (deck).
5. Certify and keep the receipt. Section 17-220(c) has each contractor or subcontractor sign the statement for its own records, but the Unit's instructions have the prime certify its subs' on-site payrolls. Ask the Unit which signature the portal records; the deck's text mentions no signature step, and six of its slides are screenshots without text. You can email the receipt to the prime (deck). You cannot delete an entry: choose "Amend" instead of "Certified" (FAQ 61).

When is Maryland certified payroll due, and on what form?

Within 14 days after the end of each payroll period (COMAR 21.11.11.02(A)), on the WH-347 or an equivalent (.02(C)(1)). The payroll must carry either the section 17-220 certificate or the WH-347 compliance certificate, "fully completed and executed," and be "numbered serially starting with payroll number one" (.02(C)(2) and (3)). See our WH-347 guide. The instructions say 14 calendar days, received in that time. With biweekly pay, the regulation counts from the period's end but the deck says to enter weekly, and the sources do not say which controls, so count from the end of each work week you enter.

Who submits a subcontractor's payroll?

Section 17-220(b)(1) has each contractor submit its own records and, for work at the site, its subcontractors'. Who signs is where the sources conflict. Section 17-220(c) has the statement signed by the contractor or, for the subcontractor's records, by the subcontractor. The Unit's instructions (Rev. 5/2023) say the contractor is responsible for certifying and submitting its subs' on-site payrolls.

If you are a sub, do not assume the prime's certification replaces your own statement. Ask the Unit in writing which signature the portal records.

What does late payroll cost, and what does it not?

The statute's stop-work trigger is a possible failure to pay the prevailing wage, and it does not list a late payroll (section 17-221(e)(1)). Section 17-220(d)(2) names only "the contractor" as liable for the $10 a day, and that is the party that submits the subcontractors' records under 17-220(b)(1). A sub should agree with the prime in writing on who submits and by when.

What is the apprenticeship contribution on the payroll?

The Unit says covered contractors and subcontractors contribute $0.25 per hour for each employee in each covered craft, even with no apprentices (FAQ 55, Unit notice). It does not have to go to the State. The notice gives three options: participate in a registered apprenticeship training program, contribute to an organization that has one, or pay the State Apprenticeship Training Fund. The statute lets the Secretary set Fund payments at no more than 25 cents an hour (section 17-605(a)(1)). Report the payments on the payroll record (section 17-605(c), FAQ 56).

The sources disagree on coverage. The statute's covered project is one valued at $500,000 or more. The Unit's FAQ 55 says contractors and subcontractors doing work of $100,000 or more on a project covered by the prevailing wage law must contribute, with no $500,000 project line. The Unit's notice puts the $100,000 line on certain subcontractors only.

Section 17-604(a) uses that same covered-project term. It requires a subcontractor that performs work above the small procurement amount "for a covered project" to give the unit written verification of its contribution plan. That amount is $100,000 or less for a unit, and $200,000 or less for General Services and Transportation construction and Natural Resources capital projects. Because 17-604(a) ties the verification to a covered project, one reading is that those amounts are subcontractor lines inside a $500,000 covered project. FAQ 55 draws no such limit, and nothing this page read says which controls. Treat FAQ 55 as the Unit's stated position, and near any of these lines ask the Unit in writing.

A Stadium Authority job adds a second conflict. The January 2022 Stadium Authority attachment says the Authority does not require contribution to the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council for its construction contracts. The Unit's FAQ 55 and notice say contractors on State public work projects must contribute, naming a registered program or the State Fund as payee, not the Council, so the attachment may not speak to the same obligation. This page cannot resolve that. If your contract is with the Authority, ask the Unit and the Authority in writing whether the contribution applies to you.

Unpaid contributions are doubled (section 17-606(a)). Section 17-606(b) is a separate penalty for willful false statements, up to $1,000 per employee and falsified record.

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