Certified Payroll Reviewer

On a Davis-Bacon or prevailing-wage job, the certified payroll that gets you in trouble is rarely the one that looks short - it's the WH-347 that's signed, the gross wages look generous, and the totals tie out, so it gets approved and the next progress payment is released. The exposure lives one layer down: a worker classified as a laborer at the laborer rate while the task descriptions show electrician or operator work that carries a higher prevailing rate, a fringe-benefit credit taken against wages with no bona fide plan behind it, overtime computed on the base rate instead of the full prevailing rate, an apprentice billed without a registered program or beyond the allowed ratio, or a signed Statement of Compliance that doesn't match what the hours actually show. Each one is small per line; across a public-works contract it is back-wage liability, withheld payments, and debarment exposure - and 'signed and within budget' is not the same as 'compliant with the wage determination.' This assistant reads each certified payroll against the applicable wage determination and the contract's labor provisions, returns a result (compliant / correct & resubmit / withhold & investigate), a compliance risk level, the specific entries it flagged and the rule each one violates, a suggested correction, and a recommended action - turning a stack of WH-347s into a consistent, defensible review in minutes, while a labor-compliance or project-controls reviewer confirms every flag and owns the decision to approve, request a correction, or withhold payment.

Category: Construction

How it works

1. A labor-compliance officer or project-controls reviewer submits a certified payroll - the WH-347 line items (worker, classification, hours, base and fringe rates, gross) and the signed Statement of Compliance - along with the applicable wage determination and the contract's labor provisions for the project.
2. The assistant reads each worker against the determination: does the classification match the work actually described, does the paid rate meet the prevailing rate for that classification, is the fringe credit backed by a bona fide plan, is overtime computed on the full prevailing rate, and are apprentices registered and within the allowed ratio?
3. It returns a payroll result (compliant / correct & resubmit / withhold & investigate), a compliance risk level, the specific entries flagged with the rule each one violates, a suggested correction, and a recommended action - clear to certify, return for a corrected payroll, or withhold pending investigation.
4. It hands the reviewed payroll and its reasoning to a labor-compliance or project-controls reviewer to confirm the flags and decide - nothing is approved, withheld, or paid automatically, no back wages are computed or assessed on the assistant's say-so, and a person owns every payment and compliance decision and the relationship with the contractor.

Key benefits

• Apply one standard to every payroll - each WH-347 is read against the same wage determination and contract provisions the moment it arrives, replacing the reviewer-by-reviewer variation that lets a misclassification pass on one submission and get caught on the next
• Catch what a signed, in-budget payroll hides - a laborer rate paid for electrician work, a fringe credit with no plan behind it, overtime on the base rate, and an out-of-ratio apprentice are surfaced even when the gross wages look generous and the totals tie out
• See exactly why each entry was flagged - the specific worker, line, and the prevailing-wage rule it violates are spelled out with a suggested correction, so a withhold or correction request is documented and defensible if the contractor pushes back
• Clear the compliant payrolls fast - submissions where every classification, rate, and fringe credit checks out are marked compliant with a documented rationale, so reviewer time goes to the payrolls that actually carry back-wage or debarment risk

Use cases

• Public-agency labor-compliance officers reviewing high volumes of certified payrolls against Davis-Bacon or state prevailing-wage determinations before approving progress payments
• General contractors and construction managers checking subcontractor WH-347s for classification, rate, and fringe compliance before passing them up to the owner
• Construction project controls and contract administration teams enforcing labor provisions, apprentice ratios, and approved wage decisions across many subs and pay periods
• Owner's representatives and program managers on public-works projects who need every payroll exception mapped to a specific rule ahead of a DOL audit or payment certification

Frequently asked questions

Does this assistant automatically approve or withhold payroll payments?

No, it never approves or withholds payments on its own. It flags issues and recommends actions, but a labor-compliance or project-controls reviewer must confirm every flag and make the final decision.

How does it check if a worker is misclassified?

It compares each worker's classification against the work actually described in the payroll and the applicable wage determination, flagging any mismatch like a laborer paid at the laborer rate while performing electrician work.

Can I use this without connecting to any external apps?

Yes, it works entirely within your Gaia workspace. You paste or upload the certified payroll and wage determination, and no external connections are needed.

Does it calculate back wages or file reports with the Department of Labor?

No, it does not calculate official back wages or file anything with any agency. It only flags potential violations and suggests corrections for a human reviewer to act on.

What specific rules does it check on a WH-347 form?

It checks classification vs. work performed, rate compliance with the wage determination, fringe benefit credits against bona fide plans, overtime computed on the full prevailing rate, and apprentice registration and ratio limits.