SHRA certified payroll requirements: eComply, wage rates, and DIR

SHRA says contractors will be required to use eComply

The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) says it partnered with eComply Solutions for labor compliance submittals. Its Doing Business page says all SHRA contractors and subcontractors will be required to use eComply, links to eComply's sign-in page, and states no submission schedule.

Where "weekly" comes from

In the SHRA documents read, one solicitation sets weekly submission. IFB 1973-DD (December 4, 2019), titled "Under $10,000 Qualified Vendor List", requires the contractor and all lower tiered subcontractors to submit all weekly certified payroll reports and labor compliance documentation through eComply. It sets up task orders, mainly at Public Housing locations but usable by any Agency department, and allows no subcontracting except, at the Agency's discretion, incidental work outside the contractor's license type. It is not the rule for every SHRA contract.

If you are a subcontractor

Register your company on eComply, as SHRA's page asks of every subcontractor, and ask how often to submit. The Doing Business page gives no schedule and the IFB says weekly. For Davis-Bacon work, 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(A) calls for weekly certified payrolls and makes the prime responsible for its subcontractors' submissions.

Which wage rate applies: Davis-Bacon, HUD-determined, or California?

Each attachment applies only if all or part of the funds come from its stated federal source. The CDBG attachment binds the "Subrecipient" (the Contractor under that contract) and the other the "Contractor"; neither Davis-Bacon paragraph mentions subcontractors, so check your own subcontract.

The IFB's own clauses pull both ways. Section 00150 says its contracts are subject to Federal and State labor standards and applies state prevailing wage at the Exhibit 3 addresses, while the HUD clause it reproduces (HUD-5370-EZ, paragraph (m)) makes a state rate inapplicable whenever it exceeds the Davis-Bacon rate, with no Exhibit 3 carve-out. Part D says "Local Funds: Non-ACC locations" and Exhibit 3 is a "Non-ACC Property List"; joining the two is this page's reading. The wage line on your task order, then SHRA's written answer, settles it.

So "the higher rate governs" is not an SHRA-wide rule, and neither is its opposite. DIR's public works FAQ says federally funded projects carried out by California awarding bodies must pay California's rates if they exceed Davis-Bacon rates. 24 CFR 965.101 says the reverse, but only for low-income public housing work. Ask SHRA in writing which rate it enforces. If both apply, see Davis-Bacon plus California prevailing wage.

Do you also file certified payroll with DIR?

IFB 1973-DD says contractors must register with the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and that it is the Agency's discretion which projects or contracts will be "registered with the DIR for payroll reporting".

DIR's FAQ has the awarding body register the project, after which contractors submit through DIR's portal. If it is not registered, ask the awarding body to register it, and if it still has not, contact the DIR Public Works Office at publicworks@dir.ca.gov. Labor Code 1771.4(a)(3) requires each contractor and subcontractor on covered public works to furnish payroll records electronically to the Labor Commissioner at least monthly, or more often if the awarding body's contract says so, meaning at least once every 30 days while work is performed.

The small project exemption is narrow

The FAQ says contractors who work exclusively on small public works projects need not register or file electronic certified payroll for them. The limit is $25,000 for new construction, alteration, installation, demolition or repair and $15,000 for maintenance, measured on the whole contract between the awarding body and the prime contractor, so a small subcontract under a larger contract does not qualify. The IFB says the Agency may register some or all projects even below DIR's small project limit. The text of 24 CFR 965.101 addresses wage rates and is silent on payroll filing.

Ask SHRA in writing whether it registered your project and for its project ID, or search with our project ID guide. If it did, the filing duty applies and you also submit on DIR's portal: see how to submit certified payroll to DIR.

Forms and signatures

IFB 1973-DD reproduces form HUD-5370-EZ (1/2014), which accepts a properly executed WH-347 certification as the Statement of Compliance. The IFB does not say whether eComply replaces the form or its signature. Under current 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii), the statement must be signed by the contractor or subcontractor, or the agent who pays or supervises payment of the workers, with an original handwritten or legally valid electronic signature, and the IFB's clause has no signature-type wording. Ask SHRA which clause applies. See ink or electronic signature on HUD work and who signs.

If a week is late or missed

29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(iv)(B) lets the federal agency, after written notice, act to suspend further payment, advance or guarantee of funds if a contractor fails to submit required records or make them available, and failure to submit on request may be grounds for debarment. Labor Code 1771.4(a)(3)(B) adds a state penalty of $100 per day for failing to furnish records to the Labor Commissioner, up to $5,000 per project, and (C) bars it until the records are 14 days late. For a week with no covered work, see the no-work payroll guide.

Who to contact at SHRA

The Doing Business page (footer 2022) lists the Procurement Services Division, ps@shra.org, (916) 440-1378, and no labor compliance contact.

The HUD maintenance wage decision form in IFB 1973-DD (Form 52158, December 4, 2019) gives a name and the title Compliance Analyst, and the IFB cover lists the same name as its Procurement buyer. That person may not hold either role now. Start with Procurement, ask to be routed, and keep every answer in writing.

What we do

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.

Questions