Prevailing wage overtime calculator: the right rate, with fringe on every hour
Free Davis-Bacon overtime calculator: enter the basic rate, fringe, and daily hours for the 1.5x rate, fringe on every hour, and the gross for WH-347 column 7A.
Overtime on a Davis-Bacon job is 1.5 times the basic hourly rate only. The fringe is paid at its plain hourly amount on every hour, straight time and overtime, and is never multiplied.
What the WH-347 should show
- Straight time hours
- 40
- Overtime hours
- 4
- Straight time rate (6A top)
- $42.15
- Overtime rate (6A bottom), 1.5 × basic
- $63.225
- Cash fringe per hour, every hour
- $18.40
- Cash paid per overtime hour, all in
- $81.625
- Cash in lieu (6C), 44 h × $18.40
- $809.60
- Gross for this project (7A)
- $2,748.50
The two mistakes reviewers see
- Multiplying the fringe into overtime: 1.5 × ($42.15 + $18.40) = $90.825 per overtime hour
- Gross $2,785.30, an overpayment of $36.80. The reviewer will ask which rate you are actually paying.
- Leaving fringe off the overtime hours
- Gross $2,674.90, an underpayment of $73.60. That is back wages, with the payroll returned for a revision.
Watch: Overtime on a prevailing wage job
2:07 · transcript and chaptersHow the overtime rate is computed
On a Davis-Bacon job the wage has 2 parts: a basic hourly rate and a fringe rate, both printed on the wage determination. Overtime is 1.5 times the basic hourly rate only. The fringe is paid at its plain hourly amount on every hour worked, straight or overtime. That is 29 CFR 5.32, and it is the same whether the fringe goes to a plan or into the paycheck as cash.
So on a $42.15 basic and $18.40 fringe determination, an overtime hour paid all in cash is $63.225 in wages plus $18.40 in fringe, $81.625 total. It is not 1.5 × $60.55, which would be $90.825.
When overtime starts
After 40 hours in the workweek. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires it for most workers on any job and counts every hour worked for the employer that week, private jobs included. The Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act also requires it on covered contracts over $100,000, counting hours on covered contracts, and adds liquidated damages when it is missed. The calculator splits the week at the 40th hour the way the WH-347 does: the day the 41st hour falls is the first day with time on the overtime line.
Daily overtime is not a federal rule. Some states require it on their own public works, California after 8 hours in a day for example, and some union agreements do. If your job is under one of those, the state or the agreement controls and this calculator’s weekly split is the floor, not the answer.
The 2 mistakes
The calculator shows both because they are the 2 mistakes reviewers describe most. Multiplying the fringe into the overtime rate overpays the worker and confuses the reviewer about which rate you are paying. Leaving fringe off the overtime hours underpays the worker, and the difference is back wages.
Where the figures go on the WH-347
Straight time rate on the top line of column 6A, overtime rate on the bottom line. Fringe credit for the week in 6B, cash fringe for the week in 6C, and the gross for the project in 7A. Column by column.
Read the rules
This math runs on every line in CertifiedHours.
The calculator and the app share the same code. In the app it runs as you type, against the wage determination you entered once, and the WH-347 prints itself. Free for one payroll a month.
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This tool applies the federal rules as written and is not legal advice. Your contract, the wage determination, and any state law control when they differ.