Guides

Supplemental benefits documentation for the NYSDOL Certified Payroll portal

Supplemental benefits, also called fringe, are part of what you owe on a New York prevailing wage job. When you file certified payroll with NYSDOL, you report them for each employee and back them up with documents. This guide covers what the portal asks for, what proof NYSDOL accepts, how the benefit fields work in the portal and in the XML file, how cash supplements are reported, and the attestation when you submit.

What does NYSDOL expect you to report?

Article 8 of the Labor Law requires employers to pay workers not less than the prevailing rate and supplemental benefits for the occupation they are working in. NYSDOL lists what the weekly electronic submission must include:

• each employee's name, address and the last four digits of their Social Security number,
• the hours and days each worker worked,
• the occupations or classifications each employee worked,
• the hourly wages and supplements paid or provided.

Supplements can be provided as cash payments, as irrevocable contributions to a fund, plan or program (such as retirement or health benefits), or as a combination of the two. How cash is reported is covered below. For how much is owed per hour and how overtime affects it, see how fringe benefits and overtime are calculated in New York.

Where do benefits go in the portal?

Benefits show up in two places.

On each employee's entry. After you add an employee to a weekly payroll, the portal asks for their work schedule, work category, hours worked, hourly rates, benefits, deductions and wages. You enter most of these values yourself. The portal adds up straight time and overtime hours for you.

At submission. When you click Submit Weekly Payroll, the Acknowledge and Declaration popup opens. If you have supplemental benefits to report, you upload the documentation there, before you click Submit.

The full flow, from project setup to the last click, is in how to submit certified payroll to the NYSDOL portal.

What documents does NYSDOL accept?

The NYSDOL electronic payroll FAQ answers this directly. It accepts "any documentation that shows benefits were paid and identifies the benefit plan and contact information."

So a useful document shows three things:

1. That the benefits were paid.
2. Which benefit plan they went to.
3. How to contact that plan.

A few more points from the same FAQ:

• Union remittance forms are preferred. NYSDOL also says it understands there are sometimes timing issues in getting them before payroll is due.
• A company wide report is accepted. You can submit a company wide fringe benefits report as supporting documentation even if it lists employees who did not work on that project.
• Miscellaneous deductions need no documents. The FAQ answers "No" to whether you must provide documentation for miscellaneous deductions.

How is each benefit entered per employee?

The XML schema shows the structure most clearly. NYSDOL's Bulk Upload Formatting Guide says every field captured in the portal must be represented in the XML file, so the same fields apply whether you type the week in or upload it.

Each employee's work week has a supplementalPayments group. Inside it you can add up to 50 supplementalPayment entries. Each entry has these fields:

Points to watch:

• The classification is part of the benefit. NYSDOL updated supplemental benefits to include a work classification field, to better classify and track benefit entries. All benefit types can now be added more than once.
• The explanation is strict. If the type is Other Benefit (Type), you must fill in the explanation. For any other type, the explanation must be left blank.
• Classification names must match. Classifications in an XML file must match the ones in the portal's dropdown list for manual entry. If they do not, the upload fails with "Work Category is invalid".
• Rates have two decimals. Both hourly rates are decimal amounts with at most two digits after the decimal point.

How do you report supplements paid in cash?

The NYSDOL FAQ is short on this: "Any fringe benefits paid in cash should be added to the wage rate reported."

Two related points from the FAQ:

• Disability and Paid Family Leave are not supplements. Social Security Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave are payroll deductions and should be listed as "other".
• Deductions have their own fields. Each employee's week can carry up to 10 deductions, each with a type of up to 50 characters and an amount.

What happens at the attestation?

When the week is ready, click Submit Weekly Payroll. The Acknowledge and Declaration popup opens. NYSDOL's contractor guide says to carefully read the disclosure and use the checkboxes to attest to the statements. If you have supplemental benefits to report, upload that documentation in the same popup, then click Submit. On the last week of a project you also check the Final Work Week box and select a reason code in the Acknowledge and Declaration.

After you submit, the week's status updates and the state has access to your report for review. You can still edit and resubmit the payroll up to 14 days past the due date. How due dates are set is in the 30 day certified payroll deadline in New York.

Take the checkboxes seriously:

• NYSDOL's FAQ says a contractor or subcontractor that willfully fails to provide accurate payroll records can be found guilty of a class E felony and face a civil penalty of up to $1,000.
• If submitted payrolls indicate possible underpayment, the Bureau of Public Work will investigate through its regular investigative process.
• Submitted payrolls are publicly searchable by contractor or subcontractor name or PRC number. Worker names are not displayed, but the number of workers, their hours and pay rates are.

Keep your originals too. NYSDOL says employers must keep original certified payroll records for not less than six years.

Common questions

What documentation does NYSDOL accept for supplemental benefits? Any documentation that shows the benefits were paid and identifies the benefit plan and its contact information. Union remittance forms are preferred.

Can I upload a company wide fringe benefits report? Yes. NYSDOL accepts it as supporting documentation even if it lists employees who did not work on that project.

How do I report fringe benefits paid in cash on New York certified payroll? Add the cash amount to the wage rate you report for that worker.

What benefit types does the NYSDOL portal accept? Health/Welfare, Vacation/Holiday, Apprenticeship/Training, Pension and Other Benefit (Type). Other Benefit (Type) needs a short explanation.

Are disability and Paid Family Leave deductions supplemental benefits? No. They are payroll deductions and are listed as "other".

How WeeklyCert helps

You enter the week's hours once in one grid. Overtime, rates and fringe are checked before you sign. The NYSDOL file and the WH-347 for your GC come out ready to send, and you get a reminder before every project deadline.

Watch the 60 second demo

Start free for 14 days, no card needed

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your project's wage schedule and NYSDOL decide what you owe.