Is this pay compliant, and what does a shortfall cost?
check_prevailing_wageRead-onlyIdempotent
Compares pay for one classification with the Davis-Bacon prevailing rate (basic hourly rate + fringe from the wage determination; look it up with lookup_wage_determination) and, if short, computes the IRS cure: the shortfall (x3 for intentional disregard), interest at the Federal short-term rate + 6 points, and the $5,000 per-worker penalty ($10,000 for intentional disregard), with the penalty waivers (corrected by the quarter deadline and either no more than 10% of pay periods short or no more than 5% short; or work under a qualifying project labor agreement). Cash plus bona fide fringe contributions together must reach base plus fringe (29 CFR 5.31).
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| hours | No | Hours worked at this (short) pay: only the underpaid hours, to total the shortfall. | |
| workers | No | How many laborers or mechanics were paid this way (the penalty is per worker). | |
| cash_rate_paid | Yes | Cash wages paid ($/hour). | |
| classification | No | The work classification (e.g. Electrician), for the record. | |
| wages_due_date | No | When the wages were due (YYYY-MM-DD): the server looks up that quarter’s Federal short-term rate (table through 2026-10-16) to show the interest rate. | |
| year_wages_paid | No | What the worker was actually paid for that year on the facility (defaults to the year’s required wages less the shortfall entered). | |
| pay_periods_below | No | Of those, how many were paid below the prevailing rate. | |
| pay_periods_total | No | Pay periods the worker was employed on the facility in the calendar year (for the small-failure waiver). | |
| required_base_rate | Yes | The determination’s basic hourly rate for the classification ($/hour). | |
| year_required_wages | No | The amount required to be paid to this worker for the calendar year (or the part of it) during which they worked on the facility: the 5% test in 1.45-7(c)(6)(i)(B) runs over the year, not over the underpaid hours alone. | |
| fringe_paid_per_hour | No | Bona fide fringe benefit contributions per hour ($/hour): health, pension, insurance, vacation... not legally required benefits (29 CFR 5.29). | |
| required_fringe_rate | No | The determination’s fringe benefit amount ($/hour); 0 if none. | |
| intentional_disregard | No | true if the failure was knowing or willful. | |
| federal_short_term_rate_pct | No | Or give the Federal short-term rate (IRC 6621(b)) for the period yourself, in percent; the interest rate is that + 6 points. | |
| corrected_by_quarter_deadline | No | true if the back pay is made by the last day of the first month after the calendar quarter in which the failure occurred. | |
| qualifying_project_labor_agreement | No | true if the work is under a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement for this project that meets 1.45-7(c)(6)(ii) and back pay is made before the credit is claimed (no penalty). |