Oregon certified payroll: BOLI form WH-38, the monthly deadline, and Davis-Bacon jobs

Oregon certified payroll goes to the public agency that owns the job, once a month, on BOLI's form WH-38. The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) writes the form and enforces the law; it doesn't collect the payrolls.

The law and what it covers

Oregon's prevailing wage rate (PWR) law is ORS 279C.800 to 279C.870, with BOLI's rules in OAR chapter 839, division 25. Under ORS 279C.810 it doesn't apply to:

• projects with a contract price of $50,000 or less, counting the value of work by everyone a contractor or sub pays, and
• projects that use no funds of a public agency, directly or indirectly.

The statute lists other exemptions, including certain privately owned projects using less than $750,000 of public funds and privately owned affordable housing. When the law applies, ORS 279C.830 requires the contract specifications to state the prevailing rates, so a covered job's bid documents say so.

How certified payroll is submitted

To whom. The public agency. ORS 279C.845 says the contractor and every subcontractor file certified statements with the public agency, and BOLI's WH-38 instructions say they are "only required to be submitted to the public agency associated with the project." On a job where no agency awards the contract, OAR 839-025-0010 sends payrolls to the agency funding it, or the one that will use it.

How often. Each statement covers 1 week. Under ORS 279C.845(4), statements for each week you employ a worker on the job are submitted once a month, by the 5th business day of the following month. BOLI says more frequent filing is allowed.

No-work weeks. The statute ties the statements to weeks "during which the contractor or subcontractor employs a worker upon the public works." Neither the statute nor BOLI's instructions call for a statement for an idle week. Ask the agency or the prime if they want one anyway.

The form. OAR 839-025-0010 names form WH-38, the Payroll/Certified Statement. You may use another form if it has every element of the WH-38, and then you must attach the WH-38's certified statement. The statement is sworn: the signer says they have read it, know its contents, and that it is true to their knowledge. BOLI says unsigned reports don't count as filed.

Late or missing. If the prime doesn't file, the agency holds 25% of what the prime has earned until it does. If a first-tier sub doesn't file, the prime holds 25% of what that sub has earned and can't release it until the sub's statements are in with the agency. Either way the money is paid within 14 days after filing. Keep the statements for 3 years from completion of the contract.

Worker data beyond the WH-347

ORS 279C.845(3) requires each worker's name and address, classification, rate of pay, daily and weekly hours, and gross wages each week. The current WH-38 and its instructions spell out the items the WH-347 doesn't carry:

• Worker address on the first payroll for that worker, and again if it changes.
• Work schedule. A 5/8 or 4/10 box and the regular hours, such as 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• BOLI classification and group number, from BOLI's definitions of covered occupations.
• Apprentice supervisor. The name of the supervising journey worker, beside the apprentice's step or percentage.
• Header items: your CCB registration number, project county, subcontract amount, the prime's CCB number, and the date you began work. A prime adds the date the contract was first advertised for bid.

Owners and supervisors who earn prevailing wages during the week go on the report too, BOLI says, with the same information as other workers.

Larger state contracts. On public improvement contracts over $3 million awarded by a state agency, or by a public university or community college using State Treasury money, contractors also report each worker's apprentice or journey hours, race or ethnicity, gender and veteran status. BOLI's WH-38E and the demographic columns of the WH-38F carry them. Ask the prime whether your subcontract is included.

Other state rules that affect payroll

Overtime. ORS 279C.540 requires time and a half for hours over 8 a day on a Monday-to-Friday 5-day schedule, or over 10 a day on a 4-day schedule, over 40 a week, and for all work on Saturday, Sunday and 6 named holidays. A holiday falling on Saturday moves to Friday; one falling on Sunday moves to Monday. The 1.5 applies to the base rate and not the fringe. If you never gave workers written notice of the schedule, OAR 839-025-0034 presumes a 5-day schedule. These rules don't apply to a contractor that is party to a collective bargaining agreement. Overtime on prevailing wage jobs.

Multiple classifications. Track the hours in each one. BOLI says that if your records don't show the split, you owe the highest rate for all hours.

Apprentices. OAR 839-025-0035 lets you pay an apprentice the program's percentage of the journey rate only while they work under their program's standards. If apprentices exceed the program's ratio, all of them get the journey rate.

Jobs with federal money

A project over $50,000 that meets Oregon's definition stays under the PWR law even when Davis-Bacon applies, BOLI says, and federal money becomes "funds of a public agency" once an Oregon agency holds it. ORS 279C.830 and 279C.838 require the higher of the state or federal rate for each classification. Residential projects have their own rate rule in OAR 839-025-0037.

The filing can be shared. BOLI's instructions say that on a project subject to both laws, the U.S. Department of Labor's WH-347 plus BOLI's WH-38F supplemental statement meets the requirement in ORS 279C.845. The WH-38F carries the Oregon items the WH-347 lacks: your CCB number, project county, the subcontract and prime details, each worker's address and schedule, apprentice supervisors, and a short certified statement about deductions under ORS 652.610. Attach one to each WH-347. A WH-347 alone doesn't satisfy BOLI.

The federal clause still asks for a weekly WH-347. Filing each week with the WH-38F attached meets both schedules. How the state systems compare.

What CertifiedHours does here

CertifiedHours produces the federal WH-347, plus an LCPtracker upload file and a CSV, for federally funded work in Oregon. On a job under both Davis-Bacon and Oregon's law, BOLI accepts that WH-347 with a WH-38F attached. You fill out and sign the WH-38F yourself, with addresses, schedules and CCB numbers, because the app doesn't collect home addresses or full Social Security numbers. It does not produce form WH-38 or the WH-38F, so for state-only work use BOLI's WH-38.