Overtime on certified payroll

Davis-Bacon itself sets minimum hourly rates; it does not set overtime. Overtime on federal construction comes from the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) and, alongside it, the Fair Labor Standards Act. On the WH-347 it shows up in three places: the OT line of column 4, the bottom line of column 6A, and the gross in column 7A.

When CWHSSA applies

The CWHSSA clauses in 29 CFR 5.5(b) go into contracts subject to the act's overtime provisions. DOL's overtime guidance puts the thresholds this way:

• Federal contracts subject to FAR procurement: contracts in excess of $150,000.
• Contracts assisted under a Related Act (non-FAR): contracts in excess of $100,000.

If you are not sure, look for the CWHSSA overtime clause in your contract, or ask the contracting officer. On a contract where CWHSSA does not apply, the FLSA may still require overtime.

The rule

The clause says no contractor or subcontractor may require or permit a laborer or mechanic to work more than 40 hours in a workweek "unless such laborer or mechanic receives compensation at a rate not less than one and one-half times the basic rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of forty hours in such workweek."

Three details matter:

1. It is per workweek, not per day. Overtime is hours over 40 in the week. DOL notes that CWHSSA and the FLSA do not require premium pay just because work falls on a holiday, weekend or day of rest. (A union agreement or your own policy may pay more; that is between you and your workers, and the higher actual rate goes in 6A.)
2. Hours on covered contracts are combined, including off-site hours. The WH-347 instructions say to count hours "in excess of 40 hours total in the week as overtime (including hours worked on and off the site of the work of the covered contract)." DOL's example: 5 hours of work at the home office plus 40 hours on site is 45 hours, so 5 hours of overtime are due.
3. Commercial work and the FLSA. For CWHSSA, DOL says to exclude commercial, non-governmental work. But where a worker does both covered and commercial work in the same week, DOL notes the FLSA generally requires an overtime premium for hours over 40, unless the worker is exempt.

What "basic rate of pay" means

DOL describes the CWHSSA basic rate as the straight-time hourly rate. Under 29 CFR 5.32:

• Fringe is excluded. Your contributions to bona fide fringe benefit plans, and cash paid in lieu of fringe benefits, are left out when you compute the overtime rate.
• There is a floor. The basic rate used for overtime can never be less than the basic hourly rate in the wage determination.
• Paying above scale raises the overtime base. If you actually pay more cash than the determined basic rate, the higher cash rate is the base. The regulation's example: a mechanic paid $3.25 cash plus a $0.50 plan contribution, where the determination is $3.00 + $0.50, has an overtime base of $3.25.
• Shifting cash into fringe does not lower it. In the second example, a contractor that cuts cash from $3.00 to $2.75 and claims $1.00 of benefits still owes overtime on $3.00.
• Cash that is really wages. DOL adds that if you normally pay the same cash amount on your non-prevailing-wage work, it is part of the basic rate, not cash in lieu, and must be included in the overtime calculation.

Worked example 1: plan contributions

DOL's own example: an electrician on a DBRA contract works 44 hours. Wage determination: $35.00 basic + $15.00 fringe. The contractor pays $35.00 cash and $15.00 to plans.

Piece	Calculation	Amount
Straight-time cash for all hours	44 × 35.00	1,540.00
Fringe for all hours	44 × 15.00	660.00
CWHSSA overtime premium	4 × 0.5 × 35.00	70.00
Total		2,270.00

On the WH-347 you would show the same thing as rates: column 4 has 40 ST and 4 OT hours; 6A is 35.00 on top and 52.50 (1.5 × 35.00) on the bottom; 7A is 40 × 35.00 + 4 × 52.50 = 1,610.00; 6B is 44 × 15.00 = 660.00. 1,610.00 + 660.00 = 2,270.00, the same total.

Worked example 2: fringe paid as cash

Same worker, same 44 hours, but the $15.00 fringe is paid as cash in lieu.

• 6A: 35.00 / 52.50. The overtime rate does not change, because cash in lieu is excluded from the overtime base.
• 6C: 44 × 15.00 = 660.00.
• 7A: 1,610.00.

A common mistake is computing overtime on $50.00 (basic plus fringe): 4 × 75.00 = 300.00 instead of 210.00. That overpays. The opposite mistake underpays: paying fringe only on the first 40 hours (40 × 15.00 = 600.00 instead of 660.00).

Worked example 3: paid above scale

Wage determination: Laborer $24.00 + $8.00. The contractor pays $26.00 cash and $8.00 to a plan; the worker works 46 hours.

• 6A: 26.00 / 39.00 (1.5 × 26.00, not 1.5 × 24.00).
• 7A: 40 × 26.00 + 6 × 39.00 = 1,040.00 + 234.00 = 1,274.00.
• 6B: 46 × 8.00 = 368.00.

Two classifications in one week

When a worker's overtime hours fall in more than one classification, DOL's guidance shows two methods: a weighted regular rate across the week, or the rate in effect when the overtime was worked. In DOL's example (painter at $33.00 and electrician at $35.00, 48 hours, 8 of them overtime), the weighted method gives a premium of $135.04 and the rate-in-effect method gives $140.00. On the WH-347, each classification has its own row, with its own OT hours and its own OT rate in 6A. See multiple classifications.

How WH-347 Kit handles it

You enter straight-time and overtime hours per day, the way the form asks. The app fills the bottom line of 6A with 1.5 times the base rate you pay for that classification, never multiplies fringe, and flags weeks where a worker has more than 40 straight-time hours on the project. Whether overtime is owed under your contract, and for which hours, is still your call.