Education Sector GC Automates Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Tracking

A Southwest general contractor focused on K-12 school construction was managing Davis-Bacon prevailing wage compliance across 12 federally funded projects. Certified payroll reporting for 25-35 subcontractors per project required collecting, reviewing, and submitting WH-347 forms on a weekly basis — a task that consumed two full-time employees.

Errors in wage classifications and fringe benefit calculations were common. A Department of Labor audit on one project identified $87,000 in wage underpayments across six subcontractors, resulting in back-pay obligations and a formal warning that jeopardized the firm's eligibility for future federal contracts.

The firm also struggled with keeping up-to-date wage determination schedules, as rates changed frequently and varied by county within their operating region.

SubcontractorAudit's certified payroll module was integrated with the firm's project management workflow. The platform automatically pulls current wage determinations from the DOL database and validates every line of submitted WH-347 forms against the applicable prevailing wage rates, classifications, and fringe benefit requirements.

Subcontractors submit certified payrolls through the portal, where AI-powered validation flags classification mismatches, underpayment calculations, and missing apprenticeship ratios before the payroll is accepted. Non-compliant submissions are automatically returned with specific correction instructions.

The system generates DOL-ready reporting packages and maintains a complete audit trail for every payroll submission, correction, and approval.