Connecticut has a real prevailing wage law with thresholds, a state form and criminal penalties for a false or missing filing. It also has two details most summaries get wrong: the threshold is no longer $400,000, and the filing is monthly, not weekly.
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Connecticut General Statutes section 31-53(h)(1) sets it out as an exclusion rather than a trigger: the section does not apply where the combined total cost or total bond authorization for all work to be performed by all contractors and subcontractors in connection with new construction of a public works project is less than one million dollars, or where the combined total cost of all work on any remodeling, refinishing, refurbishing, rehabilitation, alteration or repair is less than one hundred thousand dollars.
Two traps in that sentence
First, the word combined. A $120,000 electrical subcontract on a $4 million school addition is covered, because the test runs on the whole project, not on your slice of it. Second, the number itself. The new construction threshold sat at $400,000 for decades and was raised to one million dollars, so a legislative research report or a contractor forum post from before the change will tell you the wrong figure with total confidence. We read the current statute text on 2026-09-13 for this page, and you should read it yourself before you rely on it.
Sources: cga.ct.gov Connecticut General Statutes chapter 557, section 31-53, dol.gov state prevailing wage thresholds, portal.ct.gov CT DOL Prevailing Wage.
This is the part that trips up contractors who learned certified payroll on federal work. Connecticut keeps the weekly payroll shape and changes the submission clock.
Records are weekly, and may be electronic
Section 31-53(f)(1) requires each covered employer to keep, maintain and preserve records of wages and hours worked by each mechanic, laborer and worker, plus a schedule of the occupation or work classification each person is employed at during each work day and week, in the manner and form the Labor Commissioner establishes. The statute expressly gives the employer the option of keeping those records in an electronic format.
The certified payroll is submitted monthly
Section 31-53(f)(2) requires the employer to submit monthly to the contracting agency a certified payroll consisting of a complete copy of those records, accompanied by the signed statement. The state form says the same thing on its face: certified payrolls with a statement of compliance shall be submitted monthly to the contracting agency.
By mail, by email, or another method the agency accepts
The statute names mail and electronic mail and then allows any other method accepted by the contracting agency. There is no single statewide upload portal for prevailing wage certified payroll, so the contracting agency on your project decides the channel. Ask at the preconstruction meeting, not in month three.
The form is WWS-CP1, continued on WWS-CP2
The Connecticut Department of Labor publishes the Payroll Certification for Public Works Projects as form WWS-CP1 with WWS-CP2 as the continuation sheet, and says the form can now be completed online. The Certified Statement of Compliance shares a page with the fringe benefits explanation, so download both pieces or your package is incomplete. One quirk that costs people ten minutes: the department's website calls it WWS-CPI with a capital i, while the form itself is footed WWS-CP1 with the numeral, so searching the site for WWS-CP1 finds nothing.
On a DECD project or a covered energy project, the recipient changes
Section 31-53(f)(2) routes the monthly certified payroll to the contracting agency, or to the Department of Economic and Community Development under section 31-53c, or to the developer of a covered project as defined in section 31-53d, depending on which regime the job sits under. Know which one you are on before the first filing.
The prime's separate wage certification
The department also publishes a Contractor's Wage Certification Form for the construction manager at risk, general contractor or prime contractor. It is a notarized statement that the company and all of its subcontractors will pay the wages in the attached rate schedule, and it is returned to the Wage and Workplace Standards Division in Wethersfield rather than to the contracting agency.
Sources: cga.ct.gov section 31-53(f), portal.ct.gov Certified Payroll Form WWS-CPI, portal.ct.gov Wage and Workplace Standards forms.
If you are bringing federal habits to a Connecticut job, this is the gap list. Every item below is a column or a field on the state form, and every one of them is a reason a monthly package comes back.
| Field on WWS-CP1 | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Worker address and section | The state form carries the worker's address; the current federal WH-347 does not ask for one. |
| Apprentice rate percentage | An apprentice is paid a percentage of the journeyworker rate, and the form wants the percentage, not just a status letter. |
| Male or female, and race, where required | The column is marked with an asterisk and the form's footnote reads IF REQUIRED, so confirm with the contracting agency whether your project calls for it. The federal form has no equivalent column. |
| Trade license type and number | Licensed trades, principally electrical and plumbing, carry their license number on the payroll line. |
| OSHA 10 certification number | Section 31-53b requires proof of the ten-hour course with the first week's payroll for each worker. |
| Six fringe benefit types | Medical or hospital care, pension or retirement, life insurance, disability, vacation and holiday, and other, each with its own per-hour amount. |
| Cash fringe alongside base rate | The form splits the base rate, the cash fringe and the total fringe benefit plan contribution rather than collapsing them. |
| Gross for all work and gross for this job | Two separate gross figures, so the agency can see the prevailing rate job inside the worker's whole week. |
| Check number and net pay | The payment itself is identified on the line. |
| Workers' compensation carrier and policy | The payroll page header carries the carrier name, the policy number and the effective and expiration dates, and section 31-53(f)(2)(D) is what requires them. |
It is a public record, so no Social Security numbers
Section 31-53(f) says that notwithstanding section 1-210, the certified payroll shall be considered a public record and every person shall have the right to inspect and copy it under section 1-212. The state form prints the consequence in capitals: this is a public document, do not include Social Security numbers. Anything you put on that form can be requested by anyone, so put the worker's identifying information on it the way the form asks and nothing more.
Sources: ct.gov Payroll Certification for Public Works Projects (WWS-CP1 and WWS-CP2), cga.ct.gov sections 31-53 and 31-53b.
Most states treat a certified payroll problem as a money problem. Connecticut wrote felonies into the statute, for the false filing and for the missing one.
A knowingly false certified payroll is a class D felony
Section 31-53(f) states that under section 53a-157a the employer is aware that filing a certified payroll which the employer knows to be false is a class D felony for which the employer may be fined up to five thousand dollars, imprisoned for up to five years, or both. The employer signs that awareness every month.
So is failing to file one at all
The same subsection provides that failing to file a certified payroll is a class D felony for which the employer may be fined up to five thousand dollars, imprisoned for up to five years, or both. A missed month is not a paperwork lapse in Connecticut.
Underpayment brings a citation and $5,000 per offense
Under section 31-53(b), where the commissioner believes on inspection or investigation that a contractor or subcontractor knowingly or wilfully paid less than the prevailing rate, or failed to pay welfare fund contributions, the contractor shall be issued a citation and may be fined five thousand dollars for each offense.
There is a list, and it runs three years back
The commissioner maintains a list of any contractor or subcontractor that violates the section during the three preceding calendar years, or that settles a claim brought by the commissioner. Section 31-53a carries the debarment machinery and the limits on awarding contracts.
A prime can rely on a subcontractor, but not blindly
The statute does not prohibit a general contractor from relying on the certification of a lower tier subcontractor, but the general contractor is not exempted from section 53a-157a if it knowingly relies upon a subcontractor's false certification. Reliance is a defense only while it is honest.
The contractor who pays for someone else's failure has a remedy
Section 31-53(g) lets a contractor required by the Labor Department to make a payment because of a subcontractor's failure to pay wages or benefits bring a civil action in Superior Court to recover the damages sustained, with costs and a reasonable attorney's fee.
Source: cga.ct.gov Connecticut General Statutes sections 31-53, 31-53a and 53a-157a. This page describes the statute; it is not legal advice, and a specific enforcement question belongs with your attorney.
Every July 1, you go get the new rates
Section 31-55a puts the burden on the contractor. A contractor awarded a covered contract shall contact the Labor Commissioner on or before July first of each year, for the duration of the contract, to ascertain the prevailing rate of wages and the payment or contributions payable on behalf of each worker, and shall make any necessary adjustments effective each July first. A two-year job bid at last year's rates is a two-year job that owes this year's rates from July 1.
The 2025 acts widened what counts
The Connecticut Department of Labor states that Public Acts 25-168 and 25-174, effective July 1, 2025, made certain changes to the prevailing wage statutes: certain types of off-site fabrication are now covered, all prevailing wage projects are subject to the annual July 1 rate adjustment, and coverage of Department of Economic and Community Development funded projects changed. If your work includes shop fabrication for a Connecticut public job, that is the paragraph to read in full.
OSHA 10 proof rides with the first payroll
Section 31-53b requires the contract to include a provision that the contractor furnish proof, with the weekly certified payroll form for the first week each employee begins work on the project, that the worker completed an OSHA-approved course of at least ten hours in construction safety and health. There are parallel routes for miners under 30 CFR 46 and telecommunications employees under 29 CFR 1910.268. Collect the cards before the crew starts, not after.
Post the rates where the crew can see them
Section 31-55 requires every contractor or subcontractor performing covered state work to post the prevailing wages determined by the Labor Commissioner in prominent and easily accessible places at the site of work, or wherever the workers are paid.
Sources: cga.ct.gov sections 31-53b, 31-55 and 31-55a, portal.ct.gov CT DOL prevailing wage updates. Rates themselves live with the department, and we deliberately do not reprint them here: they move every July 1 and a stale number on a marketing page is how a crew gets underpaid.
On a Connecticut job with federal money in it, both columns apply at once. You pay the higher rate for each classification and you satisfy both filing rhythms.
| Requirement | Connecticut | Federal Davis-Bacon |
|---|---|---|
| Governing law | C.G.S. 31-53 and related sections | Davis-Bacon Act and the Related Acts |
| Threshold | $1,000,000 new, $100,000 remodeling, combined | In excess of $2,000 |
| Who sets rates | Connecticut Labor Commissioner | U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division |
| Rate updates | Annually on July 1, contractor must obtain them | Determination locked to the contract |
| Records | Weekly, electronic format allowed | Weekly |
| Filing frequency | Monthly | Weekly |
| Filing deadline rule | Monthly to the contracting agency | Within 7 days after the regular payment date |
| Form | WWS-CP1 and WWS-CP2 | Optional Form WH-347 |
| Demographics on the form | Male or female, and race | Not collected |
| Safety training | OSHA 10 proof with the first week's payroll | No equivalent payroll requirement |
| Public record | Public notwithstanding 1-210; inspect and copy under 1-212 | Records are not published by rule |
| False filing | Class D felony, up to $5,000 and 5 years | 18 U.S.C. 1001 exposure |
| Failure to file | Class D felony | Contract remedies and withholding |
Sources: cga.ct.gov chapter 557, dol.gov Davis-Bacon construction coverage, 29 CFR 3.4(a), 29 CFR 5.5(a)(3). Federal rates: sam.gov wage determinations. Multi-state reading: multi-state prevailing wage compliance.
The rates below are illustrative placeholders, not Connecticut rates. Use the schedule the Labor Commissioner issued for your project and classification.
One electrician on a covered Connecticut school project. Say the rate schedule shows a $44.00 base rate and a $28.00 hourly fringe for the classification. The crew works eight hours Monday through Friday plus four on Saturday, so 44 hours. The example computes the premium on the base rate; read the note below it before you copy that choice.
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Straight time | 40 hrs at $44.00 base | $1,760.00 |
| Overtime hours | 4 hrs at 1.5 x $44.00 base = $66.00 | $264.00 |
| Total cash wages before fringe | $1,760.00 + $264.00 | $2,024.00 |
| Fringe obligation | 44 hrs at the $28.00 fringe rate | $1,232.00 |
| Total wage and fringe obligation | $2,024.00 + $1,232.00 | $3,256.00 |
| Credit for bona fide plans | 44 hrs at $24.50 across the six plan types | $1,078.00 |
| Cash in lieu still owed | 44 hrs at the remaining $3.50 | $154.00 |
| Cash the worker actually receives | $2,024.00 + $154.00 | $2,178.00 |
Connecticut adds a step the federal form does not. That $24.50 of plan credit has to be broken into the six numbered fringe types on the form, so a contractor who only tracks one lump fringe number per worker cannot fill the state form out of their own records. Track the split from the first week, not at month end. The fringe is owed on all 44 hours either way.
Check the overtime base if you pay fringe in cash
Section 31-53 contains no overtime rule at all, so the premium runs off Connecticut's general definition of the regular rate at C.G.S. 31-76b(1). That definition includes all remuneration for employment paid to, or on behalf of, the employee, and its exclusions cover contributions irrevocably made by an employer to a trustee or third person pursuant to a bona fide plan. Cash handed to the worker in lieu of fringe is not one of the listed exclusions. The example above computes the premium on the base rate alone, which is the federal habit; if you pay fringe in cash on Connecticut public work, confirm the premium base with the Labor Commissioner before you certify rather than assuming the federal answer travels. Pennsylvania, for one, says plainly that its regular rate includes that cash.
Want this done for your own numbers? Use the free prevailing wage calculator, split the fringe with the fringe benefit calculator, or read how to calculate fringe benefits on prevailing wage projects.
We produce the reports and the math. You file with the contracting agency. We never submit anything to any agency on your behalf.
To be straight with you: our state-specific report formats today are California, Illinois and New York. We do not generate form WWS-CP1, so a Connecticut contractor uses us for the payroll math, the federal WH-347 and the record trail, and fills the state form from that. Connecticut is on the list of formats we would build, and contractors asking for it is how that list gets ordered.
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Start Free TrialAt the thresholds in Connecticut General Statutes section 31-53(h)(1): the law does not apply where the combined total cost or total bond authorization for all work to be performed by all contractors and subcontractors in connection with new construction of a public works project is less than one million dollars, or where the combined total cost of all work on any remodeling, refinishing, refurbishing, rehabilitation, alteration or repair of a public works project is less than one hundred thousand dollars. Read the word combined carefully. The test is the whole project across every contractor and subcontractor, not the size of your own contract.
No, and this is the single most common stale fact about Connecticut prevailing wage. The new construction threshold was $400,000 for decades and was raised to one million dollars. Plenty of summaries, including older legislative research reports that still rank well in search, print the old figure. The current statute text is the thing to check, and the remodeling threshold is unchanged at one hundred thousand dollars.
The records are weekly and the filing is monthly. Section 31-53(f) requires each covered employer to keep, maintain and preserve wage and hour records, with the option of keeping them in an electronic format, and to submit monthly to the contracting agency, by mail, electronic mail or other method accepted by that agency, a certified payroll that consists of a complete copy of those records with a signed statement. That is why the state form is headed WEEKLY PAYROLL but says on its face that certified payrolls shall be submitted monthly to the contracting agency.
The Connecticut Department of Labor's Payroll Certification for Public Works Projects, form WWS-CP1, with form WWS-CP2 as the continuation sheet. The Certified Statement of Compliance sits on the same page as the fringe benefits explanation, so a complete package is the payroll pages plus that signed page. The department also publishes a Contractor's Wage Certification Form, which is a notarized certification from the construction manager at risk, general contractor or prime contractor that it and all of its subcontractors will pay the wages in the attached rate schedule, and that one goes back to the Wage and Workplace Standards Division rather than to the contracting agency.
Quite a lot. The state form has columns for the worker's address, the apprentice rate percentage and section, male or female and race where required (that column is asterisked and the footnote reads IF REQUIRED), the work classification, the trade license type and number, and the OSHA 10 certification number. It splits fringe benefits into six numbered types, medical or hospital care, pension or retirement, life insurance, disability, vacation and holiday, and other. It asks for gross pay for all work performed this week alongside gross pay for this prevailing rate job, and for the check number and net pay. The payroll page header also carries the workers' compensation carrier name, policy number and effective and expiration dates, which section 31-53(f)(2)(D) is what requires.
Six things, listed in section 31-53(f)(2): that the records are correct; that wages and welfare fund contributions are not less than the prevailing rate determined by the Labor Commissioner and not less than the contract requires; that you have complied with the applicable provisions of sections 31-53, 31-53c, 31-53d(f) and 31-54; that every worker is covered by a workers' compensation policy, demonstrated by giving the contracting agency the carrier name, policy number and policy dates; that you do not receive kickbacks as defined in 41 USC 52; and that you are aware that filing a certified payroll you know to be false is a class D felony.
They are unusually sharp. Under section 31-53(f), filing a certified payroll the employer knows to be false is a class D felony under section 53a-157a, for which the employer may be fined up to five thousand dollars, imprisoned for up to five years, or both. The same subsection makes failing to file a certified payroll a class D felony carrying the same range. Separately, under section 31-53(b), a contractor or subcontractor the commissioner believes knowingly or wilfully underpaid may be issued a citation and fined five thousand dollars for each offense, and the commissioner maintains a list of violators from the three preceding calendar years. A general contractor may rely on a lower tier subcontractor's certification, but not if it knowingly relies on a false one.
Yes, expressly. Section 31-53(f) says that notwithstanding section 1-210, the certified payroll shall be considered a public record and every person shall have the right to inspect and copy those records under section 1-212. That is why the state form carries the warning in capitals that this is a public document and that Social Security numbers must not be included. Treat everything you write on it as publishable, because it is.
Section 31-55a puts the work on you, not on the agency. A contractor awarded a covered contract shall contact the Labor Commissioner on or before July first of each year, for the duration of the contract, to ascertain the prevailing rate of wages and the payments or contributions payable, and shall make any necessary adjustments effective each July first. A multi-year job does not keep the rates it was bid at. Public Acts 25-168 and 25-174, effective July 1, 2025, also brought certain off-site fabrication into coverage, made all prevailing wage projects subject to the annual July 1 rate adjustment, and changed coverage of Department of Economic and Community Development funded projects.
Section 31-53b requires each contract for a covered public works project to include a provision that the contractor furnish proof, with the weekly certified payroll form for the first week each employee begins work on the project, that the worker completed an OSHA-approved construction safety and health course of at least ten hours. There are parallel routes for miners under 30 CFR 46 and for telecommunications employees under 29 CFR 1910.268. Practically, that means the OSHA 10 card is attached to a worker's first payroll, not collected later.
It does when federal money is in the job, and then both regimes run at once. Davis-Bacon applies to contracts in excess of $2,000 for construction, alteration or repair of public buildings or public works, with weekly submission to the contracting agency within 7 days after the regular payment date. Connecticut's own filing stays monthly. Where both apply, you pay the higher rate for each classification and you satisfy both filing rhythms. Do not assume one filing covers the other.
We produce the certified payroll records and do the weekly math: straight time, overtime on the base rate, the fringe credit split across plan types, and cash in lieu. On federally funded Connecticut work we generate the Rev. January 2025 federal WH-347 with its Statement of Compliance. To be straight with you: we do not generate form WWS-CP1 today. The state filings we offer today are California's A-1-131 and DIR eCPR XML and the Illinois CTP portal upload file, and Connecticut is a candidate we would build on demand. You file with the contracting agency either way; we do not submit anything to any agency on your behalf.
Start the free trial. Enter hours by day and classification, and get the base rate, overtime, fringe credit by plan type and cash in lieu already worked out.
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