Construction daily reportlegal requirements.
A 2026 reference for federal Davis-Bacon, state prevailing wage, and AIA contract record-keeping. The required content, the retention periods, and the mistakes that lose claims.
Construction daily report legal requirements come from three stacked sources: federal law (Davis-Bacon Act 29 CFR Part 5, Service Contract Act, FAR Part 22), state prevailing wage statutes (California Labor Code §1776, New York Labor Law §220, Illinois Prevailing Wage Act, and 10+ others), and contract forms (AIA A201-2017 §3.10, ConsensusDocs 200 §6.2.4). Most large projects trigger more than one source at once. The required content is the union of fields demanded by each applicable source. Retention periods range from 3 years (federal Davis-Bacon) to 10 years (statute of repose). When sources stack, the longest controlling period governs.
Required content by source
Each row is a field. Each column is a legal source. Build your daily report template to cover the union of required fields across all applicable sources on your project.
| Field | Federal | State | Contract (AIA / ConsensusDocs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date and project ID | Required (29 CFR 5.5) | Required (all states) | Required (AIA A201 §3.10.3) |
| Weather and temperature | Recommended (force majeure) | Recommended | Required (AIA, ConsensusDocs) |
| Crew by name and classification | Required (Davis-Bacon) | Required (prevailing wage) | Required (most owner contracts) |
| Hours worked per worker | Required (WH-347) | Required (CA LC §1776, NY LL §220) | Required (T&M, cost-plus contracts) |
| Prevailing wage rate paid | Required (Davis-Bacon) | Required (public works only) | Per contract terms |
| Work performed by location | Recommended | Recommended | Required (AIA §3.10.3) |
| Equipment and hours of operation | Recommended | Recommended | Required (T&M billing) |
| Materials delivered and installed | Recommended | Recommended | Required (Schedule of Values support) |
| Subcontractors on site | Required (flow-down) | Required (public works) | Required (AIA §3.10.3) |
| Visitors and inspectors | Recommended | Recommended | Required (claims defense) |
| Delays and stoppages | Recommended | Recommended | Required (excusable delay claims) |
| Accidents and safety issues | Required (OSHA 29 CFR Part 1904) | Required (state OSHA plans) | Required (AIA §10) |
| Photographs of progress | Recommended | Recommended | Often required (owner spec) |
| Test results and inspections | Per spec | Per spec | Required (AIA §13.5) |
How to build a compliant daily report
Five steps from project intake to retention. Most projects trigger more than one source, so the workflow assumes the union case.
- 1
Identify which requirements apply to the project
Map funding source and contract form.
Federal funding (HUD, FHWA, DOE, etc.) triggers Davis-Bacon and FAR Part 22. State or local public funding triggers state prevailing wage laws. Private projects under AIA A201-2017 or ConsensusDocs 200 trigger contract record-of-the-Work obligations. Most large projects trigger at least two requirements simultaneously, and the union of fields applies. A $24M school project funded partly by federal money under a CA Labor Code §1776 state contract executed on AIA A201 stacks all three.
- 2
Assemble the required content matrix
Build a template that captures the union of fields.
Combine Davis-Bacon WH-347 fields (worker name, classification, hours, prevailing wage, deductions), state prevailing wage fields (apprentice ratios, fringe benefits where required), and AIA §3.10.3 record-of-the-Work fields (weather, work performed, equipment, materials, delays, visitors, photographs, test results). One template covers all requirements when assembled correctly.
- 3
Capture contemporaneously with attribution
Same day. Named individual. Timestamp.
Federal courts and DOL Wage and Hour treat contemporaneous attribution as the legal floor. Each entry must be attributable to a named individual with a timestamp and be created on the day of the work. Voice capture, mobile app, or paper log are all acceptable formats. After-the-fact reconstruction is the most common cause of failed Davis-Bacon enforcement actions and the most common defense problem in claims litigation.
- 4
File weekly certified payroll where required
WH-347 federal. State forms for prevailing wage.
For Davis-Bacon work, transfer daily labor data to Form WH-347 weekly and submit signed under penalty of perjury. For state prevailing wage work, follow the state-specific certified payroll form and submission cadence: CA uses the DIR online portal, NY uses Form PW-101, IL uses monthly LM-22, NJ uses biweekly forms. Missing filings trigger payment withholding and potential debarment.
- 5
Retain for the longest controlling period
Stack the retention rules. Apply the longest.
Compare federal Davis-Bacon (3 years), state public works (4 to 7 years), IRS audit window (3 to 7 years), mechanics lien window (4 months to 2 years), and statute of repose (6 to 10 years). Apply the longest from project completion. For many large public projects the controlling period is 7 years. Retain daily reports, supporting timesheets, photographs, and weather data together in a single archive indexed by project and date.
A General Contractor is building a $24M public school in California. The project receives federal funding (HUD or DOE component), is bid as a California public works contract, and is executed on AIA A201-2017.
The requirements stack: Davis-Bacon (federal funding portion) plus California Labor Code §1776 (state prevailing wage) plus AIA A201 §3.10.3 (contract record-of-the-Work). The daily report template must capture certified payroll fields (worker, classification, hours, prevailing wage, deductions) plus state prevailing wage fields (apprentice ratios, fringe) plus contract progress fields (weather, work performed, equipment, materials, subs, visitors, photographs, test results).
The controlling retention period is 10 years from substantial completion, driven by California Code of Civil Procedure §337.15 (latent construction defect repose). Daily reports, supporting payroll, photographs, and weather data must all be retained for the full 10-year period.
State-by-state prevailing wage daily reporting
Ten states with active prevailing wage laws on public works projects. The retention column shows the state-specific minimum, not the longest applicable controlling period.
| State | Statute | Scope | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Labor Code §1776 | Public works prevailing wage daily records | At least 3 years from completion |
| New York | Labor Law §220 | Public works prevailing wage, daily reports | 6 years (NY general business) |
| Texas | Government Code §2258 | Public works wage reports | 4 years post-completion |
| Florida | Statute §255.05 | Public construction payment and record requirements | 5 years post-completion |
| Illinois | Prevailing Wage Act (820 ILCS 130) | Monthly certified payroll, daily underlying records | 5 years post-completion |
| Massachusetts | M.G.L. c.149 §27 | Public works prevailing wage daily records | 3 years post-completion |
| New Jersey | N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.25 | Public works contracts, daily certified payroll | 2 years (statutory minimum) |
| Washington | RCW 39.12 | Public works prevailing wage daily records | 3 years post-completion |
| Pennsylvania | 43 P.S. §165 (PA Prevailing Wage Act) | Public works weekly payroll, daily underlying records | 2 years (statutory minimum) |
| Ohio | O.R.C. §4115 | Prevailing wage daily records on public works | 2 years post-completion |
Five compliance mistakes that lose claims
These show up in DOL enforcement actions, AIA delay disputes, and statute-of-repose defect cases. Each one is preventable with a contemporaneous, attributable daily report.
- 01
Reconstructing reports days or weeks after the fact
Federal courts and DOL Wage and Hour treat non-contemporaneous records as presumptively unreliable. The most common Davis-Bacon enforcement finding is "records reconstructed after notice of inspection." On AIA contracts, after-the-fact daily logs are routinely excluded from delay-claim evidence.
- 02
Omitting weather data on schedule-sensitive projects
Force majeure and excusable delay claims depend on contemporaneous weather records. AACE RP 25R-03 and most contract forms require start-of-shift, mid-shift, and end-of-shift entries with quantitative backing (temperature, precipitation, wind). A subjective "rained all day" entry will not support a delay claim.
- 03
Treating subcontractor records as the sub problem
On federal Davis-Bacon projects, the prime contractor is statutorily responsible for collecting and forwarding sub certified payroll (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)). Failure to flow-down and collect is a prime-contractor violation regardless of which party omitted the record.
- 04
Mixing up classification codes between trades
Davis-Bacon and state prevailing wage rates are tied to specific labor classifications. Recording a Laborer doing pipefitter work at the Laborer rate is a wage violation even if the hours are accurate. The daily report must reflect the work performed, and pay must match the higher of the two applicable classifications for that work.
- 05
Discarding records before the controlling retention period
Multiple retention periods apply simultaneously: 3 years (Davis-Bacon), 4 to 7 years (state public works), 6 to 10 years (statute of repose). Companies routinely apply only the shortest period, then discover they have destroyed records needed for a defect claim or DOL audit years later.
Retention periods by source
When multiple sources apply, the longest controlling period governs. Calculate from substantial completion, not from the date of the entry.
Frequently asked questions
The hardest part of daily report compliance is not knowing the rules — it is capturing the union of fields contemporaneously, every day, across every crew, with attribution and a tamper-evident timestamp. Most projects fail not because the team did not understand Davis-Bacon, but because the foreman ran out of time at 6 PM and reconstructed three days of entries on Friday. Plan of Day is voice-first construction reporting that captures the required fields in the field, attributes each entry to a named user with a timestamp, routes prevailing wage data through POD's intelligence engine, and locks records into a tamper-evident archive that survives the longest controlling retention period. Specialized AI agents cross-check classification codes against work performed, flag missing weather entries on schedule-sensitive days, and assemble weekly WH-347 from daily source data without manual rekeying.
Further reading
Construction Daily Report Guide
The complete reference for what goes into a construction daily report, who reads it, and how the data flows from field to executive dashboard.
OSHA 300 Log Requirements for Construction
Recordkeeping rules under 29 CFR 1904 that interact with daily reports — what counts as a recordable case and how to integrate the log with daily reporting.
TRIR vs EMR vs LTIR vs DART
The four safety rates that prequalification packets require and how daily safety observations feed into each one.
Free Construction Report Templates
Compliance-ready daily report templates including Davis-Bacon WH-347 supporting records and AIA A201 record-of-the-Work field sets.
Sources
- DOL Wage and Hour Division — Davis-Bacon and Related Acts — federal authority on construction prevailing wage and daily record-keeping (29 CFR Part 5).
- Form WH-347 Statement of Compliance — weekly certified payroll form required on Davis-Bacon projects.
- Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 22 — application of labor laws to federal construction acquisitions.
- AIA A201-2017 General Conditions of the Contract for Construction — Section 3.10 and 3.10.3 require Construction Schedules and a record of the Work.
- ConsensusDocs 200 Owner-Contractor Agreement — Section 6.2.4 establishes daily diary obligations on private projects.
- California Department of Industrial Relations — Labor Code §1776 — certified payroll requirements on California public works.
- New York Department of Labor — Labor Law §220 — prevailing wage on public works and daily reporting standards.
- AACE International Recommended Practice 25R-03 — Estimating Lost Labor Productivity in Construction Claims; defines weather-data sufficiency.
- OSHA Recordkeeping (29 CFR Part 1904) — incident records that integrate with daily report safety entries.