Wisconsin prevailing wage and certified payroll rules

Short answer: Wisconsin repealed its state prevailing wage laws. The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) says the 2017-2019 state budget ended them, and the state Department of Transportation (WisDOT) says state requirements no longer apply to state-funded highway projects advertised for bid after September 23, 2017. What did not change is the federal Davis-Bacon Act. Any federally funded or assisted contract over $2,000 still carries federal wage rates and weekly certified payroll, and WisDOT collects those payrolls electronically.

What the repeal changed

Before the repeal, Wisconsin ran two statutes: Wis. Stat. 66.0903 for local public works and Wis. Stat. 103.49 for state public works, with DWD administrative rules in Chapters DWD 290 and DWD 294. DWD still links those authorities on its prevailing wage page, but labels them as applying to projects bid before January 1, 2017. The U.S. Department of Labor's state survey notes that the repeal does not affect federal Davis-Bacon requirements.

For a contractor, the practical effect is that a Wisconsin job paid only with state or local money no longer comes with a state wage determination, a state payroll report, or a DWD audit of public works wages. Say a framing contractor in Green Bay picks up a $390,000 village maintenance garage paid from the village's own budget. There is no state rate to price against. Pay follows the market and federal minimum wage and overtime rules, plus anything the owner writes into the contract.

Where Davis-Bacon still reaches Wisconsin jobs

The U.S. Department of Labor says Davis-Bacon and its Related Acts cover contracts over $2,000 to build, alter, or repair public buildings or public works when the work is federally funded or assisted. The Related Acts carry the wage rules into projects paid with federal grants, loans, loan guarantees, and insurance. DWD's own page says the prevailing rates that apply to state agencies are now the ones the U.S. Department of Labor issues under Davis-Bacon, and it sends contractors to the federal Wage and Hour Division for questions.

• Highway work: WisDOT says the repeal does not affect Davis-Bacon on federally funded projects, so federal-aid lettings still carry federal rates.
• Water, sewer, and housing: municipal projects funded with federal grants or loans can carry Davis-Bacon even when a city or sanitary district signs the contract.
• Federal facilities: work let directly by a federal agency follows the federal rules.
• Mixed funding: if any federal money touches the contract, treat it as covered until the owner confirms otherwise in writing. The guide to finding the right Davis-Bacon wage determination covers the lookup on SAM.gov.

WisDOT certified payroll: CRCS and AWP CRL

WisDOT is where most Wisconsin contractors still meet certified payroll. Its labor and wage page says contractors enter electronic payrolls weekly through the Civil Rights Compliance System (CRCS). Its payroll submission page adds that, starting with projects awarded at the January 14, 2025 construction bid letting, certified payroll reports are entered in AWP CRL instead, while contracts awarded earlier stay in CRCS through completion. WisDOT also posts a blank compliance statement form, DT1816, for paper payrolls on emergency projects, and contractor user manuals for payrolls and for sublets and payments.

So a paving sub working two WisDOT jobs in the same week could be entering payroll in two systems: CRCS for a contract awarded in 2024 and AWP CRL for one awarded in 2025. Track which system each contract uses in your job setup, not from memory.

Federal certified payroll rules outside WisDOT

On other federally assisted jobs, contractors and subcontractors submit payroll information weekly to the contracting or funding agency. The Department of Labor's WH-347 form is optional, but the weekly data is required, and each payroll needs a signed Statement of Compliance (page 2 of the WH-347 or a document with identical wording). See how to fill out the WH-347 form for a line-by-line walk-through.

How Wisconsin compares with Davis-Bacon states

In states that still have their own law, contractors juggle state rates, state thresholds, and state portals on top of federal rules. Wisconsin dropped that layer, so the question on every public bid is simply whether federal money is involved. The estimator who skips that question is the one who prices a federally assisted sewer job at open-shop rates and finds the wage determination after award. Flag funding at takeoff.

Other Wisconsin rules still matter on public jobs: Wisconsin contractor licensing, lien deadlines, and prompt payment. On federally funded work, Smart Business Automator can prepare weekly payroll reports from crew hours and keep each job's wage determination with the job, which is the point of certified payroll automation.