Privacy Policy

Effective date: 2026-10-16. Last updated: 2026-10-16.

This Privacy Policy explains how GCExperts LLC ("we", "us") collects, uses and protects information when you use Government Construction Expert at governmentconstructionexpert.com ("the Service"), a website about certified payroll (WH-347) compliance for federal construction contractors.

Information we collect

• Account information. Your email address and a securely hashed password when you create an account.
• Membership and payment records. The plan you bought, the amount, the currency, the payment status and the payment provider's transaction identifier. Card numbers are handled by Stripe and never reach our servers.
• Preflight submissions. When you run a certified-payroll preflight, we keep the contact details you enter (your name, company and email), the project reference and payroll week ending you supply, the payroll lines with each worker identifier already reduced to at most four digits, the result of the checks, and the time of the submission. We deliberately do not collect worker names, home addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or full Social Security numbers. See "Social Security numbers" below.
• Marketing consent. When you submit the preflight or the EM 385-1-1 edition check you tick a box to accept our email marketing terms. We record the marketing terms you accepted, the date and time you accepted them, and a one-way hash of your IP address, as a compliance record (see Marketing email and consent).
• Usage and security data. Session tokens and rate-limit counters needed to keep sessions working and the site safe. Session tokens are stored in a strictly-necessary cookie.
• Cookie choices. The consent choice you make on the cookie banner.

Social Security numbers and worker identifiers

A full nine-digit Social Security number is rejected by the preflight. The weekly transmittal that the preflight validates must not include full Social Security numbers, last known addresses, telephone numbers or email addresses (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(B)); it needs only an individually identifying number for each worker, such as the last four digits. When a submission contains a nine-digit number we stop, return an error naming that rule, and do not store the number — not in the submission record, not in a log and not in any email. We also do not ask for the data that rule keeps in your own records.

Data we hold for you (the Filing Desk)

The paid Filing Desk keeps a filing history so members can re-download an export. That is a limited data-custody role, and this is how we run it:

• What is kept and why. Preflight submissions are kept to provide the service, to let a member re-export a week, and to meet our own legal and accounting obligations. The lawful basis is performance of our contract with you and our legitimate interest in running a compliant service.
• How long. Free preflight submissions (contact details, project reference and the reduced payroll lines) are kept for 12 months and then deleted by a scheduled cleanup job. A Filing Desk member's saved history is kept for as long as the account is active and until you ask us to delete it (or delete your account); we action deletion requests within 30 days.
• Deletion. You can ask us to delete any submission or your whole history at any time by emailing [email protected], and we will action it within 30 days. Deleting your account triggers the same deletion.
• Access requests by an agency or the Department of Labor. Certified payrolls must remain accessible to the contractor, the contracting agency and the Department of Labor for at least 3 years after the covered work is complete (29 CFR 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(A)). If an agency or the Department of Labor asks us for a submission that we hold, we will notify the member who submitted it unless we are legally barred from doing so, and we release only what is requested. The primary copy of your records is always yours to keep.

How we use information

• To create and secure your account and let you sign in and reset your password.
• To run the preflight you request, return its result, and send you a copy.
• To email you the result you asked for and, where you have consented, to tell you about the Service and the other publications and offers of GCExperts LLC and its associated properties.
• To provide the $39 one-time Filing Desk membership and confirm your payment.
• To send service messages, such as password-reset links, preflight results and payment confirmations.
• To detect abuse, prevent fraud and meet legal and accounting obligations.

Marketing email and consent

When you submit the preflight or the EM 385-1-1 edition check we ask you to tick a box to accept marketing terms. That box is not pre-ticked: you make the choice. If you tick it, you consent to GCExperts LLC and its associated properties and publications emailing you about Government Construction Expert and their other products, services and offers. We record the exact wording you accepted, the time you accepted it, and a one-way hash of your IP address (we do not keep the raw address for this purpose).

This property does not collect a phone number and we do not call or text you for marketing. Email is a separate consent: ticking the box does not sign you up for calls or texts.

Opting out. Every marketing email we send carries a one-click unsubscribe link, and you can also reply to any message with the word "unsubscribe". You can withdraw this consent at any time, and it takes effect for future messages. Withdrawing consent is not a condition of using the Service.

Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers that help us run the Service, and only as needed:

• Stripe processes payments and card data.
• Our email provider delivers transactional email such as password resets and preflight results.
• Our hosting provider operates the servers that run the Service.
• Authorities, where we are legally required to disclose information, as described under "Access requests" above.

Retention

We keep preflight and EM 385 submission lead records, and the marketing-consent record (the accepted wording, its timestamp and the IP hash), for as long as we rely on that consent and for a reasonable period after it is withdrawn, so we can show that the consent was given. We keep account and purchase records for as long as your account exists and for the period required for tax, accounting and legal purposes. Password-reset links expire after 60 minutes and are single-use. Preflight submissions follow the retention rules above. When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information except where we must retain it by law.

Cookies

We use a strictly necessary cookie to keep you signed in; this cookie cannot be switched off without breaking login. With your consent we may also use analytics cookies to understand how the site is used. You can accept all cookies or only the necessary ones on the banner, and you can clear your choice at any time by clearing this site's data in your browser.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or receive a copy of your personal information, and to object to or restrict certain processing. To make a request, email [email protected]. We will respond within the time required by applicable law.

California (CCPA/CPRA). If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it, to request its deletion or correction, to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information, and not to be discriminated against for exercising those rights. We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected] or write to GCExperts LLC, 300 Brushy Creek Rd, Cedar Park, TX 78613.

European Economic Area, UK and Switzerland (GDPR / UK GDPR). If you are in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, you have the rights above plus the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. Our lawful bases for processing are performance of a contract, our legitimate interests (securing the service and preventing abuse), and consent (optional analytics cookies and marketing email, each of which you can withdraw at any time). To exercise a right, email [email protected] or write to GCExperts LLC, 300 Brushy Creek Rd, Cedar Park, TX 78613.

Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

Security

Passwords are stored using a modern one-way hash, sessions use secure cookies, and the Service is served over HTTPS. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data can be sent to [email protected]. Government Construction Expert is owned and operated by GCExperts LLC.

This policy is written for Government Construction Expert and describes the preflight and the Filing Desk only. It is not legal advice, and it does not change any obligation you have under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.