Georgia Prevailing Wage Laws: Davis-Bacon Rules and Payroll Duties

Georgia has no state prevailing wage law. Public construction projects paid for with state or local money in Georgia carry no required wage floor beyond the federal minimum wage, and Georgia law blocks cities and counties from filling that gap on their own. The only time a prevailing wage obligation attaches to construction work in Georgia is when the federal government funds or contracts for the project, which triggers the Davis-Bacon Act and its requirement that workers be paid at least the locally prevailing wage and fringe benefits for their trade.¹

No State Law, and No Local Substitute

Georgia is one of 24 states without a prevailing wage statute for public construction.² A purely state-funded road, school, or bridge in Georgia has no prevailing wage floor at all. Contractors bid at market rates and pay workers whatever the contract provides.

Georgia also closes the door on local wage mandates. Under O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3.1, no county, city, consolidated government, or local authority in Georgia can adopt an ordinance, regulation, or purchasing policy that requires contractors to pay a specific wage rate or provide particular benefits beyond what state or federal law already demands. Local governments can set pay and benefits for their own employees, but they cannot push those requirements onto outside vendors or contractors through bidding preferences or contract terms.³ If you were hoping an Atlanta or Savannah ordinance might require a higher rate on a city-funded job, it won’t, because the state has preempted the field.

One narrow carve-out exists. Georgia’s Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program, authorized under the Working Against Recidivism Act (O.C.G.A. § 42-5-120 et seq.), requires the Georgia Department of Corrections to request a prevailing wage determination from the Georgia Department of Labor before using inmate labor on a PIECP project. The state Department of Labor then verifies that the proposed wage matches what is paid for similar work in the area.⁴ This applies only to inmate labor programs and creates no broader prevailing wage duty for Georgia contractors.

When Federal Prevailing Wages Apply in Georgia

The Davis-Bacon Act applies whenever the federal government or District of Columbia is a party to a construction contract exceeding $2,000.⁵ That threshold is low enough to pull in nearly every federal project, from a small paint job at a federal building to a multimillion-dollar highway widening. Covered work includes construction, alteration, and repair of public buildings and public works, including painting and decorating.

Coverage reaches further than direct federal contracts. The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts extend to federally assisted construction, meaning projects funded through grants, loans, or loan guarantees from federal agencies. In Georgia, that commonly captures:

Highway and transit projects receiving Federal Highway Administration funds
Public housing developments
Water and sewer infrastructure backed by EPA grants
School construction financed through certain federal programs⁶

If none of those federal connections exists, Davis-Bacon does not apply, and because Georgia has no state law or local ordinances to step in, the project runs free of any wage-floor obligation beyond the federal minimum wage and standard overtime rules.

On a covered project, every laborer and mechanic working at the site must be paid at least the prevailing wage and fringe benefits listed in the wage determination incorporated into the contract.¹ The obligation flows down to subcontractors at every tier. A general contractor cannot escape compliance by handing work to a cheaper subcontractor.

Wage determinations are published by trade. Rates appear by classification: electricians, plumbers, carpenters, ironworkers, and so on. Correct classification matters. A worker performing electrical work must be paid the electrician rate even if the contractor considers that person a general laborer, and when someone works across classifications during a week, hours have to be tracked separately and paid at the correct rate for each type of work.⁷

What Contractors Must Do on a Covered Project

Compliance on a federally funded Georgia project involves more paperwork than most contractors expect, and the obligations start before the first worker arrives on site.

Weekly Certified Payrolls

For every week in which covered work is performed, the contractor and each subcontractor must submit a certified payroll to the contracting agency. The payroll lists each worker’s name, an identifying number (typically the last four digits of a Social Security number), correct work classification, hourly pay rate, daily and weekly hours worked, deductions, and actual wages paid.⁸ Each submission must include a signed Statement of Compliance certifying that the payroll is accurate and every worker was paid at least the required prevailing wage.⁹

Form WH-347 is available for this purpose, though its use is optional. Any format containing the same information and identical certification language works.⁷ The prime contractor is responsible for collecting and submitting all subcontractor payrolls, not just its own. Payroll and basic employment records must be kept for at least three years after all work on the prime contract is complete.⁸

Fringe Benefits

Contractors can satisfy the prevailing wage obligation entirely in cash, or through a combination of cash wages and contributions to bona fide fringe benefit plans. Excess cash wages above the basic hourly rate can offset the fringe benefit portion of the obligation. A benefit plan is bona fide if it is legally enforceable and covers benefits common to the construction industry, such as health insurance, pensions, or disability coverage. Funded plans require contributions at least quarterly. Unfunded plans paid from the contractor’s general assets need prior Department of Labor approval, written communication to employees, and enough set-aside money to cover the benefits when workers become eligible.¹⁰

Apprentices

Apprentices can be paid less than the full prevailing wage rate, but only if they are individually registered in a program approved by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship or a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency. Workers in the first 90 days of probationary apprenticeship can qualify if they have been certified as eligible by the appropriate agency.¹¹

The ratio of apprentices to journeyworkers is capped by the registered program and checked daily, not weekly. Any apprentice beyond the permitted number must be paid the full journeyworker rate for the classification of work performed.¹¹ Apprenticeship programs generally do not transfer across localities, so a contractor working outside its home area must follow the ratios and wage percentages of a program registered where the project is located.

Overtime

The Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act requires overtime pay of at least one and one-half times the basic hourly rate for every hour worked beyond 40 in a workweek. For Davis-Bacon contracts subject to federal procurement rules, CWHSSA applies when the contract exceeds $150,000. For federally assisted contracts not subject to standard procurement rules, the threshold is $100,000.¹²

The basic rate for calculating overtime is the straight-time hourly rate listed on the wage determination, separate from any fringe benefit amount. Weekend or holiday work does not automatically trigger overtime. Only total hours above 40 in the workweek matter, and paid holidays and paid leave do not count toward the 40-hour threshold.¹²

Job-Site Postings

Every contractor on a covered project must display the Department of Labor’s WH-1321 “Worker Rights Under the Davis-Bacon Act” poster at the job site where workers can easily see it. The applicable wage determination must be posted alongside the poster so that workers can verify they are being paid correctly.

Payroll Deductions

The Copeland Anti-Kickback Act prohibits unauthorized deductions from workers’ pay on federally funded construction. Regulations under the Act specify which payroll deductions are allowed without Department of Labor approval, such as taxes and voluntary union dues, which deductions require prior DOL consent, and which are banned outright.¹³

What Happens If a Contractor Underpays

The Department of Labor’s enforcement tools escalate from financial withholding to outright exclusion from government work.

The contracting agency can withhold enough money from contract payments to cover any unpaid wages owed to workers. Prevailing wage violations can also be grounds for terminating the contract, leaving the contractor liable for any additional costs the government incurs to finish the project.¹

Contractors found to have disregarded their obligations to employees or subcontractors can be placed on a federal debarment list maintained by the Comptroller General. Once listed, neither the contractor nor any firm in which the contractor has an interest can receive a federal contract for three years.¹⁴ For a company that depends on government work, that effectively shuts the business out for the duration of the ban.

Overtime violations under the CWHSSA carry liquidated damages of $33 per worker for each calendar day the violation occurs. Those damages are assessed on top of the back wages owed and are calculated for each individual worker who was required to work more than 40 hours without proper overtime pay.¹⁵

Workers who were underpaid can recover the difference between what they received and what the wage determination required, through civil claims that can result in back pay awards plus legal fees.

How a Worker Can File a Complaint

Workers on Davis-Bacon covered projects in Georgia who believe they are being underpaid can file a complaint with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The WHD accepts complaints by phone at 1-866-487-9243 or through any local WHD office. You do not need to be a U.S. citizen to file, and the Department investigates complaints regardless of immigration status. The complaint process is free, and retaliation against a worker for filing a complaint violates federal law.

Checking the wage determination posted at the job site is the fastest way to confirm whether your pay matches what the contract requires. If no wage determination or WH-1321 poster is visible at the site, that itself signals a potential compliance problem worth reporting.

1
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 66 – The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Dollar Threshold Amount for Contract Coverage
3
Justia. Georgia Code 34-4-3.1 – Wages, Employment Benefits, and Scheduling by Local Government Entities
4
Legal Information Institute. Georgia Comp R and Regs R 300-9-1-.04 – Determination of Prevailing Wage for Work of a Similar Nature in the Locality in Which the Work Is to Be Performed
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 40 USC 3142
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Davis-Bacon and Related Acts
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Instructions for Completing Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Weekly Certified Payroll Form WH-347
8
eCFR. 29 CFR 5.5
9
U.S. Department of Labor. Weekly Certified Payroll Form
10
U.S. Department of Labor. The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts – Compliance with Fringe Benefit Requirements
11
U.S. Department of Labor. Davis-Bacon Compliance Principles
12
U.S. Department of Labor. Overtime Pay on Government Contracts
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 40 USC 3145 – Regulations Governing Contractors and Subcontractors
14
GovInfo. 40 USC 3144 – Authority to Pay Wages and List Contractors Violating Contracts
15
eCFR. 29 CFR Part 5 – Labor Standards Provisions Applicable to Contracts