How to Fill Out and Submit Oregon Form WH-38: Deadlines and Filing

Oregon Form WH-38 is the certified payroll statement contractors and subcontractors must complete each week and submit each month on public works projects covered by the state’s Prevailing Wage Rate law. The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) prescribes the form under ORS 279C.845, and it applies even when the project is also covered by the federal Davis-Bacon Act. Filing the federal WH-347 does not satisfy Oregon’s requirement.¹

When You Have To File a WH-38

Oregon’s PWR law applies to public works projects funded by a public agency and costing more than $50,000. Projects that use $750,000 or more in public funds for construction on privately owned property also qualify, as do privately funded buildings that a public agency will occupy at 25 percent or more once finished.² “Public works” reaches broadly across roads, buildings, demolition, hazardous waste removal, painting, and major renovations.

Every contractor and subcontractor on a covered project files WH-38 forms with the awarding public agency. On dual-coverage projects (state PWR plus federal Davis-Bacon), you still use WH-38, and you pay the higher of the two applicable rates for each trade. Oregon overtime rules apply where they are stricter than federal rules.¹

Get the Right Rates and Classifications First

Before you fill out a single line, pull the prevailing wage rate book that was in effect when the project was first advertised for bid. That book generally controls for the life of the project and lists the hourly base wage and fringe benefit amounts by occupation and region.³

Classify workers by the work they actually perform, not by their job title or trade certification. A journey-level electrician who spends a day moving materials is a laborer for that day, at the laborer rate. Misclassification is one of the most common WH-38 errors, and it flows through every column of the form.

Filling Out the Weekly Form

The WH-38 has 11 columns, and you complete one form per week for each week any of your workers are on the project. Download the current form and its WH-38a instruction sheet from BOLI at oregon.gov/boli.⁴

Column 1 — Name and Address. Full name of each employee on every weekly payroll; include the address on the first payroll for that person.
Column 2 — Classification. The classification that matches the work performed, with the group number if the rate book uses one. Flag apprentices and list their current percentage, classification, and group number.
Column 3 — Day, Date, and Daily Hours. Day of the week and calendar date across the top row; straight time hours on the “ST” line and overtime hours on the “OT” line beneath.
Column 4 — Total Hours. Straight time hours in the lower box, overtime in the upper. If a worker performed in more than one classification, break the hours out separately.
Column 5 — Hourly Base Rate. Base rate (plus zone pay if applicable) for both straight time and overtime.
Column 6 — Hourly Fringe Benefits Paid as Wages. Any fringe amounts you pay directly to the worker as cash rather than into a benefit plan.
Column 7 — Gross Amount Earned. Gross wages earned on the PWR project for the week. If the worker also performed non-PWR work in the same pay period, or is paid less often than weekly, show both the PWR-project amount and the total pay period gross.
Column 8 — Itemized Deductions. FICA, federal tax, state tax, and any other withholdings for the pay period.
Column 9 — Net Wages Paid. Actual net pay for the pay period.
Column 10 — Hourly Fringe Benefits Paid to Plans. Hourly amount paid into each approved plan, fund, or program on the worker’s behalf.
Column 11 — Name of Benefit Plan. The specific plan, fund, or program tied to each Column 10 amount.

Owners, managers, and supervisors who earned prevailing wages during the week also appear on the form with all the same details, though deductions and net pay may not apply to an owner.⁵

Fringe Benefits

You can meet the fringe portion of the prevailing wage by contributing to qualifying health, pension, or other benefit programs, by paying the fringe amount to the worker in cash, or by a combination of both. Cash goes in Column 6; plan contributions go in Columns 10 and 11. Whichever route you use, base wage plus fringe together must meet or exceed the prevailing rate.⁶ Leaving both fringe columns blank makes the form look like you underpaid.

Apprentices

An apprentice may be paid a percentage of the journey-level base rate only if the apprentice is registered with BOLI’s Apprenticeship and Training Division or the federal Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, is performing work within the trade, and the project meets the required apprentice-to-journey-worker ratio. If the ratio is off, everyone owed the apprentice rate is instead owed the full journey-level prevailing wage for that period.¹

Whether the apprentice rate comes from the Region pages or the Appendix section of the rate book also affects fringe. Region-page rates require the full fringe amount; Appendix rates may allow a reduced fringe where that reflects the prevailing practice for the trade and region.¹

Signing the Certified Statement

The back of the WH-38 is what turns the form into a legal document. The person who pays or supervises payment of the workers signs under oath, certifying that all workers on the project were paid their full weekly wages during the payroll period with no rebates or impermissible deductions, that the wage rates listed are not less than the contract’s wage determination and that each worker’s classification matches the work performed, and that any apprentices employed during the period are registered in a bona fide apprenticeship program.

The form warns in bold that willful falsification may bring civil or criminal prosecution under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1001 and 31 U.S.C. § 231). A fourth section addresses whether fringe benefits were paid to approved plans or in cash; complete that section only when the Davis-Bacon Act also applies.⁴

When and Where to Submit

You fill out the WH-38 weekly, but you submit monthly. The deadline is the fifth business day of the month following the work: payrolls covering March work are due by the fifth business day of April.⁷

File with the public agency that awarded the contract, not with BOLI. The form itself says so at the top: “FILE THIS FORM WITH THE PUBLIC AGENCY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROJECT.”⁴ Attach copies to each payroll submission for the project. The public agency is not required to verify the contents; accuracy stays with you. Once filed, the certified statements are public records under Oregon’s public records laws.⁷

Subcontractor Filings and the Prime’s Duty

Subcontractors file their own WH-38s directly with the public agency on the same monthly schedule.⁸ Under ORS 279C.845(8), a prime contractor must withhold 25 percent of amounts earned by any first-tier subcontractor who has not turned in certified payroll reports, and must release that retainage within 14 days of receiving the reports.⁷

What Happens if You File Late or Wrong

If a prime contractor doesn’t submit certified payroll reports each month, the public agency must withhold 25 percent of the contractor’s earnings on the project, on top of any other retainage the contract already requires. The money is released within 14 days once the reports come in.⁷ Late filing is the easiest penalty to avoid: put the fifth-business-day deadline on a recurring calendar reminder.

More serious violations trigger debarment. Under ORS 279C.860, the Commissioner of BOLI can place a contractor or subcontractor on the ineligibility list for three years after finding that they intentionally failed to pay prevailing wages, intentionally refused to post required wage rates, or intentionally falsified information on their certified statements. The debarment reaches any firm, corporation, partnership, or LLC in which the violating contractor holds a financial interest, so reorganizing under a new name does not restore eligibility.⁹ Separate civil penalties may also apply under ORS 279C.865, and willful falsification of the certified statement can bring federal criminal prosecution.⁴

Record Retention

Keep completed WH-38 forms and supporting payroll records for at least three years after contract work is finished. Both ORS 279C.845(5) and BOLI’s administrative rules set that minimum, and the records must show that every worker received the appropriate prevailing wage rate and overtime rate.⁷ Three years is a floor, not a ceiling. Prevailing wage claims can be filed up to six years from the date of the violation under ORS 12.080(1), so holding records longer protects you if a late claim surfaces.¹

1
BOLI. Prevailing Wage – For Employers
2
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 279C – Public Contracting
3
BOLI. Prevailing Wage Rates – For Employers
4
Bureau of Labor and Industries. WH-38 Oregon Payroll Form
5
BOLI. WH-38a Instructions
6
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 279C.840 – Payment of Prevailing Rate of Wage
7
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 279C.845 – Certified Statements Regarding Payment of Prevailing Rates of Wage
8
BOLI. Contractor and Subcontractor Responsibilities
9
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 279C.860 – Ineligibility for Public Works Contracts