Finding Text
Finding 2024-003: Material Weakness – Controls and Compliance over Special Tests and Provisions
Program: COVID-19 Education Stabilization Fund
Assistance Listing Number: 84.425U
Pass-Through Agency: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Criteria: All laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors to work on construction contracts in excess of $2,000 financed by federal assistance funds must be paid wages not less than those established for the locality of the project (prevailing wage rates) by the Department of Labor (DOL) (40 USC 3141–3144, 3146, and 3147). This includes a requirement for the contractor or subcontractor to submit to the nonfederal entity weekly, for each week in which any contract work is performed, a copy of the payroll and a statement of compliance (certified payrolls) (29 CFR sections 5.5 and 5.6; the A-102 Common Rule (section 36(i)(5)); OMB Circular A-110 (2 CFR Part 215, Appendix A, Contract Provisions); 2 CFR Part 176, Subpart C; and 2 CFR section 200.326).
Condition/Context: Certified payrolls were not obtained or reviewed by the District. Program expenditures for fiscal 2024 included one construction contract.
Cause: The District was not aware of this specific requirement.
Effect: Federal funds may be paid to a contractor or subcontractor that pays wages less than the prevailing wage rates.
Questioned Costs: None noted.
Recommendation: We recommend that the District implement a process to obtain certified payrolls when using federal funds on construction contracts. Once the certified payrolls are obtained, the District should review them as outlined by the applicable federal regulations and retain documentation of their conclusion.
Views of responsible officials: The District will implement a process to obtain, review and retain certified payrolls if ever using federal funds on future construction contracts in excess of $2,000. The District has since received and reviewed the certified payrolls and determined the contractor is in compliance.