WH-347 Column 6B: Gross Amount Earned This Period, Explained

What Column 6B Means

Column 6B on the WH-347 is titled "Gross Amount Earned." It captures the total dollars a worker earned on this specific project during the payroll period. It is the product of hours worked times the hourly rate, separated into straight time (ST) and overtime (OT).

The formula is simple:

Column 6B = (ST hours × ST rate) + (OT hours × OT rate)

Column 6B vs Column 7: The Difference That Trips People Up

Column 7 is titled "Gross Amount Earned All Work" and captures the worker's total gross earnings for the week across all projects, not just this one. Column 6B is just this project. The difference matters for two reasons:

• DOL wants to see that the worker is being paid consistently across all their work for the week
• Tax deductions in Column 8 are calculated based on Column 7 (total weekly earnings), not Column 6B

If a worker only worked on one project this week, Column 6B and Column 7 will be identical. If they split time between projects, Column 7 will be larger than Column 6B.

Do Fringe Benefits Go in Column 6B?

This depends on how you pay fringes.

• Cash-in-lieu fringes: Yes. If you pay the fringe portion of the prevailing wage as cash added to the hourly rate, then Column 6B includes it. The hourly rate in Column 6A is base + fringe combined, and 6B is hours × that combined rate.
• Bona fide benefit plan fringes: No. If you contribute the fringe to health insurance, pension, or other qualifying plans, Column 6A shows only the base rate (without fringe), and Column 6B is hours × base rate. The fringe amount is documented separately on page 2 of the WH-347.
• Split (some cash, some plan): Column 6A and 6B include the cash portion only. The plan contribution is on page 2.

Worked Example

A Laborer works 40 ST hours + 5 OT hours on the Main Street project this week. Their prevailing wage is $38/hr base + $14/hr fringe. The contractor pays the fringe as cash-in-lieu.

• Column 6A ST: $52.00/hr (base + fringe)
• Column 6A OT: $71.00/hr (1.5× base = $57 + fringe $14 = $71, fringe always at straight time)
• Column 6B = (40 × $52.00) + (5 × $71.00) = $2,080 + $355 = $2,435

If the worker also worked 10 hours on another project this same week earning $500 there, Column 7 would be $2,435 + $500 = $2,935.

Common Column 6B Mistakes

Confusing Column 6B with gross pay on the paycheck

The paycheck shows total weekly gross. Column 6B is this-project-only. These are different numbers for workers on multiple jobs.

Forgetting the overtime premium

OT hours get paid at 1.5× the base rate. Contractors sometimes multiply all hours by the ST rate and undercount the OT premium. This is both a WH-347 accuracy issue and a wage violation.

Including fringes when paid into plans

If fringes go into a benefit plan, don't include them in 6B. The plan contributions are on page 2 of the WH-347, not in the main payroll table.

Related Columns

Column 6B connects directly to Column 6A (Hourly Wage Rate). For the full form, see our WH-347 step-by-step guide and the fringe benefit calculation guide.