What does the WH-347 statement of compliance certify?

What does each box on page 2 certify?

Page 2 opens with one sentence the signer makes for the week: "I paid or supervised the payment of the laborers or mechanics working on the above project during the stated time period." Then come six check boxes. The DOL's instructions say boxes 1, 2, 3 and 6 always have to be checked, box 4 is checked when anyone is paid as an apprentice, and box 5 is checked for fringe benefits.

Under box 4, the form lists up to three apprenticeship programs, each with its name, whether it's registered with the OA or an SAA, and the labor classification. The instructions say to attach an addendum if there are more than three, and to leave box 4 unchecked and write "Not Applicable" or "N/A" under Apprenticeship Program Name when no apprentices worked that week.

What does the regulation say the statement has to certify?

29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(C) requires three certifications with every certified payroll:

1. The payroll contains the required information, the basic records are being kept, and both are correct and complete.
2. Each laborer or mechanic, including helpers and apprentices, was paid the full weekly wages earned, with no rebates and no deductions other than those allowed by 29 CFR part 3.
3. Each laborer or mechanic was paid not less than the wage rates and fringe benefits, or cash equivalents, in the wage determination for the classifications of work actually performed.

29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(D) says a properly executed page 2 of the WH-347 satisfies this. 29 CFR 3.3(b) allows the statement on the WH-347 "or on any form with identical wording," so a company that uses its own payroll report still attaches the same wording.

How are fringe benefits paid into plans reported?

Check box 5 and fill in the Hourly Credit for Fringe Benefits table on page 2. The DOL's instructions describe it:

• The first column lists each worker's entry number from column 1A and name, in the same order as page 1.
• Each of up to six plan columns has the plan name (FB Name), plan type (FB Type), plan number, and a check for funded or unfunded.
• Each worker's row shows the hourly credit claimed under each plan, and the last column shows the Total Hourly Credit.
• More than six plans goes on an addendum.

That total hourly credit, times the worker's hours for the week, is the amount in column 6B on page 1. The DOL's resource book says contributions to a funded plan, paid irrevocably to a trustee or third party, can be credited without prior DOL approval. A plan paid from the company's own assets, which the form calls unfunded, needs DOL approval before any credit is claimed (29 CFR 5.28).

How are fringe benefits paid in cash reported?

Cash paid in place of fringe benefits goes in column 6C on page 1, Payment in Lieu of Fringe Benefits: the worker's hours times the hourly cash amount. The DOL's instructions say that when all fringes are paid this way, you check box 5 but leave the Hourly Credit table blank, because the cash is already in column 6C. Column 6A, the hourly rate, leaves out cash paid in lieu of fringes.

What if fringes are part plan, part cash?

The instructions say to show both: the plan credit in the page 2 table (and column 6B) and the cash in column 6C. 29 CFR 5.31 allows the fringe obligation to be met by plan contributions, by cash, or by a combination. The regulation's own example uses a laborer with a $21.93 basic rate and $6.27 in fringes, which can be met with $21.93 plus $6.27 in plan contributions, $28.20 all in cash, or any mix of cash and plan contributions totaling at least $28.20. (The regulation prints that total as $28.60, but $21.93 plus $6.27 is $28.20.) The rates for your job come from its wage determination, not from that example.

Where are 4(a), 4(b) and 4(c) on the January 2025 form?

They aren't on it. The January 2025 WH-347 has no paragraphs numbered 4(a), 4(b) or 4(c). If an older copy of the form or a prime's checklist refers to them, here is where the same information goes on the current form:

What counts as a bona fide fringe benefit?

The DOL's Prevailing Wage Resource Book lists examples that may qualify: life insurance, health insurance, pension, vacation, holidays, sick leave and supplemental unemployment benefits. It also lists what doesn't count:

• Benefits required by law, such as workers' compensation, unemployment compensation and Social Security taxes.
• The contractor's own administrative costs of running the benefits.
• Travel lodging, board and transportation that are for the contractor's convenience.

The resource book also says contributions have to be made at least quarterly, credit is figured for each individual worker rather than as an average, fringes are due on every hour worked including overtime, and most contributions have to be annualized over all hours worked, covered and private. 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(i)(C) requires records showing an unfunded plan is enforceable, financially responsible and communicated to workers in writing.

Who can sign the statement of compliance?

The contractor or subcontractor, or their agent who paid or supervised the payment of the workers during that week (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(C)). The signer's name and title go in the Certifying Official's Name and Title box at the top of page 2, and the signature, date, telephone number and email address go at the bottom.

The DOL's instructions say the statement doesn't need to be notarized, and that "the party signing this statement should have knowledge of the facts represented as true." The signature has to be an original handwritten signature or a legally valid electronic signature (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(E)). The DOL's resource book says photocopies, faxes and emailed scans of a signed statement don't meet the requirement.

What does the warning at the bottom of page 2 say?

The form says willful falsification of any of the statements "may subject the contractor or subcontractor to civil or criminal prosecution," citing section 1001 of title 18 and section 3729 of title 31 of the U.S. Code, as well as debarment from future federal and federally assisted contracts. It also says information on certified payrolls may be disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The DOL's instructions describe the 18 U.S.C. 1001 penalties as a fine, imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both.