California certified payroll: Form A-1-131 and the DIR

California does not accept the federal WH-347 for state-funded public works. It has its own form, its own wage determinations, its own electronic filing system, and — the part that trips up out-of-state contractors and most payroll software — its own overtime rules, which are calculated daily rather than weekly.

A crew on a four-day, ten-hour schedule works exactly 40 hours and generates no federal overtime at all. In California that same week generates eight hours of overtime. If your software only knows the federal rule, it will tell you that payroll is clean, and it will be wrong every single week.

When California rules apply

California prevailing wage applies to public works — construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, and maintenance — paid for in whole or in part with public funds, where the project exceeds $1,000. That threshold is half the federal one, and it catches small jobs that contractors assume are too minor to be covered.

Where the awarding body operates an approved labour compliance programme, the practical thresholds rise to $25,000 for construction and $15,000 for maintenance, but the safe assumption is that a public job over $1,000 is covered until someone in writing tells you otherwise.

Every contractor and every subcontractor on the job files their own records. There are also two registration steps that catch people before payroll even starts:

• Contractor registration with the DIR — you must be registered as a public works contractor to bid or work on covered projects.
• Project registration (PWC-100) — the awarding body registers the project. Confirm this has happened before you try to file, because eCPR submissions fail without a valid DIR Project ID.

Six ways A-1-131 differs from WH-347

The 13 deduction categories are the visible difference when you first see the form: Federal Tax, FICA, State Tax, SDI, Vacation/Holiday, Health & Welfare, Pension, Training, Fund Administration, Dues, Travel/Subsistence, Savings, and Other. California wants the fringe contributions itemised on the payroll itself, where the federal form is content with a note on the certification.

Daily overtime and the seventh-day rule

This is the section worth reading twice.

As with federal work, the multiplier applies to the base rate only. Fringe is owed on every hour at its straight value and is never multiplied.

Worked example: the 4/10 schedule

Inside Wireman at $54.15 base + $28.40 fringe, paid in cash, working four ten-hour days:

$216.60 per worker per week is the gap. On a six-person crew over a twenty-week job, that is roughly $26,000 in unpaid overtime — accrued by software that was working exactly as designed, for the wrong state.

The form, column by column

Form A-1-131 is titled Public Works Payroll Reporting Form. The header alone asks for more than the federal form: contractor name, CSLB licence number, DIR registration number, address, payroll number, week ending, workers' compensation policy number, the project, contract number, and the DIR Project ID.

Redaction

Records you provide to the awarding body, the DIR or the Labor Commissioner are unredacted. Copies released to the public must have the employee's name, address and Social Security number removed. Keep the two versions distinct; handing an unredacted copy to a member of the public is its own problem.

Finding your DIR wage determination

California issues general determinations twice a year, on 22 February and 22 August, published at dir.ca.gov/oprl/dprewagedetermination.htm.

Use the determination in effect on the date the contract was awarded. Determinations carry an expiration date and predetermined increases — scheduled rate rises that take effect during the project. Missing a predetermined increase is a slow-building underpayment, so diary the dates when you set the job up.

Filing through eCPR

Most covered projects require electronic submission through the DIR's eCPR system. You can key records in directly or upload an XML file. Three practical points:

1. Confirm the project is registered before your first filing. Without a valid DIR Project ID from the PWC-100, the submission has nowhere to go.
2. Submit at least every 30 days while work is being performed, and within 30 days of the final day of work. Your contract may require weekly copies to the awarding body regardless — read it.
3. File a Statement of Non-Performance for periods with no work rather than leaving a gap.

The XML schema is versioned, and the DIR updates it. Submissions built against a retired schema are rejected, which is a common and thoroughly annoying failure mode for firms that automated this once and never revisited it.

Penalties

The $100 per worker per day figure is what makes California unforgiving. A ten-person crew, one payroll thirty days late, is a $30,000 exposure from a clerical oversight.

Projects with both state and federal funding

Dual-funded projects are common — a school modernisation with a federal grant and state bond money — and both regimes apply simultaneously. In practice:

• Rates: pay whichever is higher, classification by classification. It is not one determination or the other; you compare per classification.
• Overtime: apply whichever rule produces more pay, which in California is nearly always the daily rule.
• Forms: expect to file both. The federal WH-347 to the federal agency or prime, and A-1-131 data through eCPR. The underlying hours are the same; the presentation is not.

Confirm the funding mix in writing at the start of the job. "We think it is just state money" is not a defence eighteen months later.

Common questions

Can I just submit a WH-347 for a California job?

Not for state-funded work. The regulation allows an alternative format only if it contains all the information required by Labor Code §1776 — which includes addresses, cheque numbers and itemised contributions the federal form does not collect. In practice, use A-1-131 or a format that reproduces it.

Do I file weekly or monthly?

Payroll records are kept weekly. eCPR submission is required at least every 30 days while work continues, and within 30 days of the final day of work — but many awarding bodies contractually require weekly copies. The contract governs.

What if a worker refuses to give a Social Security number?

You still record what you have and cannot omit the worker. Discuss it with your payroll provider and, if it persists, the awarding body's compliance officer — do not simply leave the line off the payroll.

Do apprentices have separate requirements?

Yes, and they are strict. Apprentices must be registered with the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards, contractors must submit contract award information (DAS 140) and often request dispatch (DAS 142), and there are ratio requirements on the job. Paying an unregistered worker an apprentice rate is a straightforward underpayment.

How long must I keep the records?

At least three years from completion, and you must be able to produce them within 10 days of a written request. That ten-day clock is the one people miss.

Related: how to fill out Form WH-347 · overtime and fringe calculated correctly.