How to Fill Out and Submit the Oregon WH-38 Certified Payroll Form

The Oregon WH-38 certified payroll form is the weekly payroll record and sworn wage statement that every contractor and subcontractor on a covered public works project must complete, with the month’s forms due to the contracting public agency by the fifth business day of the following month.¹ The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) publishes the form. Miss the deadline, misclassify a worker, or underpay a fringe benefit, and you can face a 25 percent retainage hold, civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation, and a three-year ban from public works contracts.

When You Have to File a WH-38

Oregon’s prevailing wage law covers construction, reconstruction, major renovation, demolition, hazardous waste removal, and painting on projects that serve a public purpose. That includes direct public agency work, privately initiated projects that use $750,000 or more in public funds, private buildings where a public agency will occupy 25 percent or more of the completed square footage, solar installations on public property, and construction on real property owned by a public university listed in ORS 352.002.²

A project is exempt if its total price stays at or below $50,000, counting work by every contractor and subcontractor combined. Cross the $50,000 line at any point and the exemption disappears, with prevailing wage requirements applying retroactively.³ Prime contractors and every tier of subcontractor file their own WH-38 forms for their own workers.

Where to Get the Form and the Right Wage Rate

Download the current WH-38 as a fillable PDF from the BOLI website at oregon.gov/boli.⁴ A substitute form, such as output from your own payroll software, is acceptable as long as it contains every element on the WH-38 and you attach the WH-38’s certified statement to each submission.¹

Before entering any wage figures, pull the correct prevailing wage rate. BOLI publishes rate books organized by occupation and geographic region. Use the rate book that was in effect when the project was first advertised for bid, then find the occupation and region for the applicable hourly base rate and fringe benefit amounts. Rate books and amendments are posted on BOLI’s prevailing wage rates page, and BOLI can be reached at 971-245-3844 or PWR.email@boli.oregon.gov for classification questions.⁵

How to Complete the Form

Each WH-38 covers one workweek. Start with the header: contractor or subcontractor name, address, project name and location, the contracting public agency, and the payroll week’s start and end dates.

Worker Name, Address, and ID (Column 1)

List each worker’s full name on every weekly payroll. The address only needs to appear on the first payroll for that worker, unless it later changes. The employee identification number does not have to be the last four digits of a Social Security number. Any unique ID you assign will work, though many contractors use the last four SSN digits out of convenience.⁶

Work Classification (Column 2)

Enter the classification using the exact titles from BOLI’s publication “Definitions of Covered Occupations for Public Works Contracts in Oregon.” Match the work actually performed that week, not the worker’s job title. A journeyman electrician who spent the week doing laborer tasks is listed as a laborer and paid the laborer’s prevailing rate.

Hours Worked (Columns 3–4)

Columns 3 and 4 track daily and total hours, split between straight time (ST) and overtime (OT). Overtime rules under ORS 279C.540 depend on the work schedule.⁷ On a five-day workweek (Monday through Friday), overtime begins after 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. On a four-day workweek (Monday through Friday), overtime begins after 10 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week.

All work on Saturdays, Sundays, and the listed legal holidays (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) is overtime regardless of weekly hours already worked. Enter overtime hours in the OT row for each day and total them separately in Column 4.

Base Rate (Column 5)

Record the hourly base rate (including zone pay, if applicable) for both straight time and overtime. The overtime rate must be at least one and a half times the base rate plus zone pay. Fringe benefits are not included in the overtime multiplier.⁶

Fringe Benefits (Columns 6 and 10)

This is where most mistakes happen. Fringe benefits paid directly to the worker as cash wages go in Column 6. Fringe benefit amounts paid to approved third-party plans, funds, or programs (health insurance, pension contributions, apprenticeship training funds, and similar) go in Column 10. The total of the base rate plus all fringe benefits, whether cash or plan-based, must meet or exceed the prevailing wage published in BOLI’s rate book for that classification and region.⁴

The Certified Statement

At the bottom of every WH-38 is a sworn declaration, not just a signature line. The signer affirms that the payroll data is accurate, that the classifications match the work performed, that wage rates meet or exceed the prevailing wage, and that fringe benefits were paid as reported. Intentionally falsifying it can lead to debarment from public works for three years.⁸

When and How to Submit

Each WH-38 covers a single workweek, but you don’t send them in weekly. Oregon law requires submission by the fifth business day of the month following any month in which workers were employed on the project.⁹ If your crew worked during June, bundle all weekly WH-38 forms for June and deliver them by the fifth business day of July.¹

Send the forms to the public agency overseeing the project, not to BOLI. That agency is the primary recipient and monitors compliance. Delivery varies: some agencies accept mailed paper copies with original signatures, others use electronic portals. Confirm the preferred method before the project starts. Both primes and subs submit their own certified payroll, but many agencies route everything through the prime contractor, who collects subcontractor forms and submits the full package.

What Late or Missing Filings Cost

If you are required to file certified statements and have not done so, the public agency must withhold 25 percent of any amount you have earned on the project. The retainage stays locked until you submit the outstanding forms, after which the agency has 14 days to release it.⁹ A prime contractor’s retainage release is not held up by a subcontractor’s failure to file. That does not relieve the prime of responsibility for making sure subcontractors comply.

BOLI can assess a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation of the prevailing wage statutes or rules. Failing to pay the required wage and failing to pay required fringe benefits count as separate violations, so a single underpaid worker can generate multiple penalty assessments.¹⁰

Debarment is the more serious consequence. A contractor or subcontractor who intentionally underpays workers, intentionally fails to post prevailing wage rates, or intentionally falsifies a certified statement goes on BOLI’s ineligible list for three years. During that period the firm cannot receive any public works contract or subcontract in Oregon. The ban extends to corporate officers or LLC members responsible for the violation, so forming a new entity won’t get around it.⁸

Records to Keep for Three Years

Keep all WH-38 forms and supporting payroll records for at least three years after the project is complete. OAR 839-025-0025 lists the required records:¹¹

Name and address of each employee
Work classification for each employee
Wage and fringe benefit rates paid, including amounts paid in lieu of required fringe benefits
Daily and weekly hours worked by each employee
Total daily and weekly compensation paid
Written notice given to employees about expected days and hours per week
Apprenticeship and training agreements
Deductions, rebates, or refunds taken from each employee’s compensation

These records must be available for inspection on request. BOLI or the contracting agency can audit at any point during the three-year window, and not having the records is a problem on its own, separate from whether you actually paid the right wages.

Projects With Both State and Federal Funding

When a project receives federal funding, the federal Davis-Bacon Act applies alongside Oregon’s prevailing wage law. The WH-38 is designed to meet the requirements of both, though a note on the form itself says it has not been officially approved by the U.S. Department of Labor.⁴

Pay whichever rate is higher, state or federal, for each classification. ORS 279C.838 requires the Oregon prevailing wage rate to apply whenever it exceeds the federal Davis-Bacon rate.¹² In practice, compare BOLI’s rate book against the federal wage determination for the project’s county and trade, then enter the higher figure on the WH-38. You may also need to file the federal certified payroll form (WH-347) with the federal contracting agency, depending on the terms of the grant or contract. Check the federal requirements separately, because the WH-38 alone may not satisfy every federal reporting obligation.

1
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Administrative Rule 839-025-0010 – Payroll and Certified Statement Requirements
2
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 279C.800 – Definitions for ORS 279C.800 to 279C.870
3
US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute. Oregon Code 839-025-0100 – Exemptions from ORS 279C.800 to 279C.870
4
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. WH-38 Oregon Certified Payroll Form
5
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Prevailing Wage Rates
6
Oregon State Legislature. Instructions for Completing the Prevailing Wage Rate Payroll/Certified Statement Form WH-38
7
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 279C.540 – Maximum Hours of Labor on Public Contracts
8
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 279C.860 – Ineligibility for Public Works Contracts
9
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 279C.845 – Certified Statements Regarding Payment of Prevailing Rates of Wage
10
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 279C.865 – Civil Penalties
11
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Administrative Rule 839-025-0025 – Required Records
12
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Prevailing Wage