Overtime and daily hours on the WH-347

Hours are where most WH-347 mistakes start. A day typed in the wrong column or a weekly total that does not match the days flows straight through to gross pay. This guide covers columns 4, 5 and 6A on the Rev. January 2025 form. It summarizes the DOL instructions and is not legal or payroll advice.

Column 4: days, dates, and ST/OT rows

Column 4 is a small grid for the work week:

• Top: the first letter of each workday (for example M, T, W).
• Bottom of the heading: the date of that day.
• Hours: each worker has an ST (straight time) row and an OT (overtime) row, with the hours worked that day in each.

If a worker performed more than one classification during the week, the DOL instructions call for a separate row for each classification under the same worker entry number. The hours in each row should be the hours worked in that classification.

Column 5: total hours for the week

Column 5 is the total of column 4: the sum of the daily hours for that row. Practical advice: if your payroll system reports a weekly total separately from the daily figures, compare the two before you trust either one.

The CWHSSA over-40 rule, as the instructions state it

The DOL instructions say that under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA), hours over 40 in the workweek are overtime, including hours worked on and off the site. In other words, a worker who spent part of the week on another job still counts those hours toward the 40. If you are unsure whether CWHSSA applies to your contract, or how to treat a particular schedule, check the DOL instructions or ask the contracting agency. This page does not cover other overtime rules.

Column 6A: rates for ST and OT

Column 6A is the hourly wage rate paid, entered for both ST and OT. The instructions say to exclude cash paid in lieu of fringe benefits from 6A; that cash belongs in column 6C. See the fringe benefit columns guide for 6B and 6C.

A worked example (illustrative only)

A worker in one classification works Monday to Friday at 9 hours a day, all on this project, with no other work that week:

Here the 45 hours are split as 40 ST and the 5 hours past 40 as OT, which matches the over-40 rule as the instructions state it. The figures are only an illustration of the layout. How you split ST and OT across days depends on your contract and payroll practice, so follow the DOL instructions and your payroll provider, not this example.

What the WH-347 Layout Tool checks

When you load a CSV or Excel export into the WH-347 Layout Tool, it runs these checks on hours and rates before you export:

• Daily sums vs. weekly total: the daily ST + OT hours for each row must add up to the weekly total.
• Straight time over 40: a worker with more than 40 ST hours in the week is flagged so you can look at it.
• Gross vs. rate x hours: gross should be close to ST hours x ST rate plus OT hours x OT rate.
• Optional rate reference: if you enter a prevailing-wage rate, rates paid below it are flagged.

Hours and money are rounded to two decimals (half-up) and compared with a 0.01 tolerance. A flag is not a legal finding. It tells you something does not add up, and you decide what to fix. The tool cannot see hours a worker spent on other jobs unless they are in your export, so the over-40 check is only as complete as your data.

For getting hours out of your payroll system in a usable shape, see making a WH-347 from Excel or CSV.