Massachusetts Certified Payroll Requirements

Massachusetts keeps the familiar weekly rhythm — but two things about it are distinctly local. Your certified payroll goes directly to the awarding authority, and enforcement sits with the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division, not a labor department. Prevailing wage in Massachusetts is a law enforcement matter, and the penalty structure reflects that.

Who's covered: MGL c. 149, s. 27B

The core certified payroll obligation lives in Massachusetts General Laws chapter 149, section 27B. Every contractor and subcontractor on a covered public works project must submit a true and accurate copy of its certified weekly payroll records to the awarding authority. Rate schedules are issued by the Department of Labor Standards (DLS), which also publishes a payroll form containing the information the law requires you to keep.

What you file, and how it gets there

The statute is specific about the delivery method: records go to the awarding authority by first-class mail or e-mail. There is no statewide upload portal to learn — though an individual awarding authority or prime may run its own system on top, so confirm with yours.

Each weekly payroll must be accompanied by a statement of compliance signed by the employer. And each report must contain, at minimum:

• the employee's name
• the employee's address
• the occupational classification
• hours worked
• wages paid

The address requirement is worth flagging for anyone arriving from federal work. The federal WH-347is built around an individually identifying number and doesn't require a home address on every weekly submission; Massachusetts names address among the minimum contents. If you plan to adapt a WH-347-style report for Massachusetts, that field has to be there.

Enforcement: the Attorney General, and a $10,000 exposure

The Attorney General's Fair Labor Division is responsible for enforcing the prevailing wage laws in Massachusetts. This is a genuine structural difference from most states, where a department of labor administers the program and pursues wage recovery.

The exposure is specific, and it attaches to the paperwork as well as the pay: failure to submit certified weekly payroll records and statements of compliance may result in fines of up to $10,000 per occurrence. Read that carefully — the penalty is for failing to submit, independent of whether the underlying wages were correct. A contractor who paid every worker properly and simply didn't file is still exposed.

Record retention runs on the awarding authority's clock too

The awarding authority is required to preserve the records you submit for three years from the date the project is completed. That is a useful thing to know from the contractor's side: what you file is retained and retrievable for years after the job closes, by an entity you don't control. Reports assembled carelessly on the assumption that nobody will look at them again are exactly the ones that resurface.

Common Massachusetts mistakes

• Omitting the employee address. It is named in the statutory minimum contents. A federal-style report without it is incomplete for Massachusetts.
• Treating non-filing as a small problem. Failure to submit carries its own fine — up to $10,000 per occurrence — regardless of pay accuracy.
• Sending the payroll without the statement of compliance. Each weekly payroll must be accompanied by a signed statement.
• Assuming a portal exists.The statutory route is mail or e-mail to the awarding authority; anything else is that authority's own overlay.
• Shorting the fringe. Cash plus bona-fide benefit contributions must meet the full required package.
• Multiplying fringe on overtime.Overtime is 1.5× the base rate plus straight-time fringe.

Federal overlap

Massachusetts work carrying federal funds — transit, highway, federally assisted housing — brings Davis-Bacon alongside chapter 149. Both weekly obligations can apply to the same crew in the same week, with workers owed the higher of the applicable rates. Check the contract documents for the funding sources and confirm the required submissions with the awarding authority.

How Certiwage helps

Certiwage computes the week — gross, overtime on the correct base rate, deductions, net — and runs a fringe shortfall check against the required package before you sign. On the federal side of a Massachusetts job it produces the WH-347 and signed Statement of Compliance directly. For the state submission, it gives you the per-worker classification, hours, rate, and deduction detail that chapter 149 requires, computed and checked, ready to go onto the DLS-style form your awarding authority accepts.

Certiwage is a document-preparation tool, not legal advice, and is not affiliated with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, DLS, or the U.S. Department of Labor. Confirm your project's required format and delivery method with the awarding authority. Compare the regional rules in our Connecticut and New York guides.

Run one week through the free WH-347 builder to see the fringe and overtime math verified — no signup.