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Prevailing wage time tracking

Prevailing wage time tracking for public works: hours by day, by contract and by place.

Prevailing wage time tracking means keeping each worker's daily and weekly hours, in total and on each covered contract, for everyone working at the site of the work. That is what 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3) asks of contractors on Davis-Bacon jobs. ZeroBadge records shifts from a company badge and splits hours by jobsite, so covered and private hours stay apart. Classifications, rates and certification stay with your payroll and compliance people.

ZeroBadge aids certified payroll reporting by supplying verified hours by worker, day and jobsite. It does not produce or file certified payroll on its own; final certified payroll reports require review by a qualified person.

Get startedSee where hours count
  • Hours by worker, day and jobsite
  • Your shop kept apart from the project
  • One month or more of battery life*

*Under qualifying operating conditions. Battery life varies with reporting frequency, signal conditions, usage, and configuration.

Hours by worker

Lincoln Elementary Modernization

Mon Oct 5 – Fri Oct 9

Public work

Worker · title

Total

  • Dana R.

    Foreman

    1.01 day

  • Luis P.

    Journeyman wireman

    40.55 days

  • Omar J.

    Apprentice

    39.35 days

  • Victor N.

    Journeyman wireman

    16.02 days

Journey

57.5 h

Incl. foreman

Apprentice

39.3 h

On this job

Elsewhere

63.2 h

Other jobs

Export

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ZeroBadge aids certified payroll reporting by supplying verified hours by worker, day and jobsite. It does not produce or file certified payroll on its own; final certified payroll reports require review by a qualified person.

What ZeroBadge does for you

How ZeroBadge helps public works contractors

One company badge per worker covers safety alerts, timekeeping, labor analytics and ZeroBadge AI. Here is what each part does in your line of work.

  • 01

    Worker safety

    A laborer working alone on a roadside or utility project can press SOS or the alert button, and the office sees which project the alert came from.

    Learn more

  • 02

    Workforce management

    See which workers are inside the project limits and which are at the yard or shop, so covered work and shop time stay on separate lines.

    Learn more

  • 03

    Automated timekeeping

    Badge records give daily and weekly hours by worker and by contract, with the site of the work kept apart from the shop for whoever prepares payroll.

    Learn more

  • 04

    Workforce productivity

    Compare actual labor hours with the bid on each public contract and see which job is running over while there is still time to raise it.

    Learn more

  • 05

    Location analytics

    GPS places crews inside the contract limits you drew, and dedicated yards are drawn separately, so the record shows which place the work happened.

    Learn more

  • 06

    Field logistics

    Balance crews across covered projects and private jobs using the record of where each worker spent each day of the week.

    Learn more

  • 07

    AI advisory and analytics

    Ask how many hours each worker logged on a contract this week and get an answer from your own records, with every number linked to the shifts behind it.

    Learn more

Safety alerts support your safety program. They do not replace supervision or training, ZeroBadge does not monitor alerts or contact 911, and in an emergency workers should call 911.

Where public job hours get questioned

The rates are on the wage determination. The hours are what gets checked.

Davis-Bacon labor standards apply to federally funded or assisted construction contracts over $2,000, according to the Department of Labor. The wage determination sets the rates. Disputes usually come down to how many hours were worked, and where.

  • An interview on the job

    Agency and Department of Labor representatives may interview workers during working hours on the job. A laborer who says he starts at 6:30 every day, against a payroll that says 7:00, is a question you want to answer from a record.

  • Your shop versus the site of the work

    Hours at the project are covered. Hours at your permanent shop across town generally are not. A crew sheet that says eight hours on the job, when two of them were at the shop, puts the wrong number on the payroll in either direction.

  • The prime answers for the subs

    The prime contractor is responsible for the submission of every subcontractor's certified payrolls and for their compliance. Primes ask subs for backup, and a sub with a foreman's notebook has little to send.

  • Public and private work in the same week

    A crew that splits a week between a public school and a private office needs each day's hours by contract. Rebuilt on Friday, that split is a guess.

  • Payments held back

    The contracting agency may withhold accrued payments to cover unpaid wages, and may suspend payments when required records are not submitted. Records that are complete and on time protect the cash flow of the job.

When an investigator talks to the crew

A laborer says the day started at 6:30. Payroll says 7:00.

Illustrative. The record can show the worker is right as easily as it shows the payroll is right, and either answer is better than none.

Foreman sheets

  1. InterviewA laborer tells the investigator the crew starts at 6:30 to unload before the school buses arrive.
  2. RecordsWeekly sheets show 7:00 to 3:30 every day, filled in on Fridays. Nothing shows when anyone actually arrived.
  3. OutcomeYour word against the worker's, for every day of the job.

Badge record

  1. InterviewThe same statement.
  2. RecordsEach shift's start at the project, by worker and day, and every correction with who made it and why.
  3. OutcomeIf the badges show 6:30 starts, the back pay is clear and limited to the days it happened. If they show 7:00, the record says so.

What the rules ask for

The record-keeping duties in 29 CFR 5.5, and the part ZeroBadge supplies.

Davis-Bacon contract clauses are written into covered contracts and flow down to every subcontract.

  • Daily and weekly hours, in total and on each covered contract

    Under 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(i)(B), basic records must include each worker's daily and weekly hours actually worked in total and on each covered contract. ZeroBadge supplies this: hours by worker and day at every jobsite you draw, so the covered contract and everything else that week are both visible.

  • Time in each classification

    A worker who performs work in more than one classification may be paid at each rate only if payroll records accurately show the time spent in each (29 CFR 5.5(a)(1)(i)). ZeroBadge does not record classifications. A badge sees one jobsite all day, not whether a worker ran equipment in the morning and shoveled in the afternoon. That stays with the foreman.

  • Records available, and worker interviews

    Contractors must make records available to the agency and the Department of Labor and permit interviews of workers during working hours on the job (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(iv)(A)). Approved weekly PDFs are kept as unchangeable versions, with a trail of every correction.

  • The prime contractor and its subs

    The prime is responsible for compliance by every subcontractor and lower-tier subcontractor (29 CFR 5.5(a)(6)). ZeroBadge records only the people who wear your badges. A sub that uses it can export its own hours by worker, day and jobsite as CSV, Excel or PDF to send up the chain.

  • Certified payroll

    ZeroBadge aids certified payroll reporting by supplying verified hours by worker, day and jobsite. It does not produce or file certified payroll on its own; final certified payroll reports require review by a qualified person. For a field-by-field look at Form WH-347, see certified payroll.

  • Posting at the site

    The wage determination and the Davis-Bacon poster must be posted at the site of the work where workers can see them (29 CFR 5.5(a)(1)(i)). That is your job-trailer wall, not something software does.

This is general information, not legal advice. Checked against eCFR and Department of Labor pages on 2026-10-29.

State and local public works

Many states have their own prevailing wage laws for state and local public works, with their own coverage thresholds, rates, forms and deadlines.

The Department of Labor publishes a table of state contract thresholds, last revised January 1, 2023. State laws change, so check the current rules with the state labor agency named in your contract. The badge record is the same input either way: hours by worker, day and jobsite.

This is general information, not legal advice. Source: US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.

Why phone apps struggle on public jobs

Mixed crews, secured buildings and records kept for years.

  • Phones and secured facilities

    Some public facilities, such as correctional buildings and certain secure sites, restrict personal phones. A badge is a cellular device too, so ask the facility whether any cellular device is allowed before you plan around one.

  • Personal phones as payroll evidence

    An app on a worker's own phone mixes their personal device with records you may be asked to produce. The badge is company-owned, worn during paid shifts, and powered off between them.

  • Records asked for long after the job

    Payroll records on covered work have to be kept for years after the prime contract is complete. A weekly PDF that cannot change, with corrections logged, is easier to stand behind than a phone screenshot.

Setting up a covered project

Draw the places the way the definition treats them.

  1. 01

    Draw the project to the contract limits

    One geofence per covered contract, so a public school job never blends with a private job across the street.

    Office · setup

  2. 02

    Draw dedicated yards separately

    A job trailer or tool yard used only for the project, and an off-site module yard, each get their own location. Your permanent shop stays its own location too.

    Office · setup

  3. 03

    Clear exceptions and approve each week

    Missing clock-outs and late starts are corrected with a reason before a manager approves the Saturday-to-Friday week.

    Every week

  4. 04

    Hand the hours to the person who prepares payroll

    Approved hours are sent to your payroll provider, or exported as CSV, Excel or PDF. Classifications, rates and the signed statement are added and reviewed there.

    Every week

Go deeper

Where public works contractors usually look next.

ZeroBadge AI

Ask ZeroBadge AI about your covered projects

No reports to build first. Ask, read the answer from your own records, and open any number to see what is behind it.

  • You ask

    How many hours did each worker log on the Route 9 resurfacing contract this week?

    Twenty-two workers logged 861 hours inside the contract limits, listed by worker and day. Each number links to the shifts behind it.

  • You ask

    How many hours were at the yard instead of inside the project limits?

    Yard time was 74 of 935 recorded hours, 8%, kept on separate lines from time inside the Route 9 limits. Whoever prepares payroll can review both.

  • You ask

    Which workers have exceptions waiting before I approve the week?

    Four exceptions: one missing power-off, two late starts and one stretch outside the drawn project limits. Each opens the record to review.

Answers come only from your company's own records. Every number links to the records behind it. Read-only; admins control access.

How ZeroBadge AI works

Questions

Questions public works contractors ask.

What time records does a prevailing wage job require?
On Davis-Bacon covered work, basic records must include each worker's daily and weekly hours actually worked, in total and on each covered contract, along with classifications, rates, deductions and wages paid (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(i)(B)). ZeroBadge supplies the hours by worker, day and jobsite. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do hours at our shop count as covered work?
Generally not, if it is a permanent shop whose location and continued operation have nothing to do with the project. A yard or trailer dedicated to the project and next to it can be included. The definition of site of the work in 29 CFR 5.2 has more conditions, so decide with your compliance person. The record keeps shop hours apart so the decision can be made.
Can a prime contractor see its subcontractors' hours in ZeroBadge?
No. ZeroBadge records only the people who wear your company's badges. A subcontractor using ZeroBadge can export its own hours by worker, day and jobsite and send them to the prime.
What happens if an investigator interviews our crew on site?
The rules require contractors to permit interviews during working hours on the job. If a worker's account differs from payroll, the badge record of shift starts and ends at the project, with its correction trail, is what you compare it to.
Which states have their own prevailing wage laws?
Many do, each with its own thresholds and forms. The Department of Labor publishes a table of state thresholds, last revised in 2023. Check the current rules with the state labor agency named in your contract.

This is general information, not legal advice. Laws differ by state and change over time.

Last updated

Sources

  1. 1.Davis-Bacon and Related Acts · US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
  2. 2.Instructions for Completing Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Weekly Certified Payroll Form, WH-347 · US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
  3. 3.29 CFR 5.5, Contract provisions and related matters: (a)(1)(i), (a)(2), (a)(3)(i)(B), (a)(3)(iv)(A) and (a)(6) · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
  4. 4.29 CFR 5.2, Definitions: site of the work; construction, prosecution, completion, or repair · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
  5. 5.Dollar Threshold Amount for Contract Coverage (state prevailing wage laws) · US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division

Get started

See a covered project's hours by worker and day, with the shop kept apart.

We'll walk through drawing a covered project and its dedicated yards, the weekly approval, and how hours reach the person who prepares your payroll.

Get startedCertified payroll

What we will walk through

  • 01Covered, private and shop hours in one week
  • 02Shift starts and ends with a correction trail
  • 03Approved hours sent to your payroll provider