Finding 1236277 (2024-005)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2026-09-24

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The School District failed to collect certified payrolls for a project, risking noncompliance with federal wage regulations.
  • Impacted Requirements: Contracts over $2,000 must include provisions for the Davis-Bacon Act and require weekly payroll submissions to ensure compliance.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Establish controls to ensure all contracts include necessary wage clauses and implement a system for timely collection of certified payroll documentation.

Finding Text

2 CFR Section 3474 gives regulatory effect to the Department of Education for Appendix II to 2 CFR Section 200 which states that, in addition to other provisions required by the Federal agency or non-Federal entity, all contracts made by the non-Federal entity under the Federal award must contain provisions covering the following, as applicable: (D) Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 3141-3148). When required by Federal program legislation, all prime construction contracts in excess of $2,000 awarded by non-Federal entities must include a provision for compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 3141-3144 and 3146-3148) as supplemented by Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR Part 5, “Labor Standards Provisions Applicable to Contracts Covering Federally Financed and Assisted Construction”). In accordance with the statute, contractors must be required to pay wages to laborers and mechanics at a rate not less than the prevailing wages specified in a wage determination made by the Secretary of Labor. In addition, contractors must be required to pay wages not less than once a week. The non-Federal entity must place a copy of the current GF prevailing wage determination issued by the Department of Labor in each solicitation. The decision to award a contract or subcontract must be conditioned upon the acceptance of the wage determination. The non-Federal entity must report all suspected or reported violations to the Federal awarding agency. The contracts must also include aprovision for compliance with the Copeland “Anti-Kickback” Act (40 U.S.C. 3145), as supplemented by Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR Part 3, “Contractors and Subcontractors on Public Building or Public Work Financed in Whole or in Part by Loans or Grants from the United States”). The Act provides that each contractor or subrecipient must be prohibited from inducing, by any means, any person employed in the construction, completion, or repair of public work, to give up any part of the compensation to which he or she is otherwise entitled. The non-Federal entity must report all suspected or reported violations to the Federal awarding agency. 29 CFR Section 5.5(a)(3)(ii)(A) states, in part, that a contract in excess of $2,000 which is entered into for the actual construction, alteration and/or repair of a public building or public work, or building or work financed in whole or in part from Federal funds or in accordance with guarantees of a Federal agency or financed from funds obtained by pledge of any contract of a Federal agency to make a loan, grant or annual contribution shall require a clause that the contractor shall submit weekly for each week in which any contract work is performed a copy of all payrolls to the appropriate agency if the agency is a party to the contract, but if the agency is not such a party, the contractor will submit the payrolls to the applicant, sponsor, or owner, as the case may be, for transmission to the agency. 29 CFR Section 5.6 further states, in part, agencies which do not directly enter into such contracts shall promulgate the necessary regulations or procedures to require the recipient of the Federal assistance to insert in its contracts the provisions of Section 5.5. No payment, advance, grant, loan, or guarantee of funds shall be approved by the Federal agency unless the agency ensures that the clauses required by Section 5.5 and the appropriate wage determination of the Secretary of Labor are contained in such contracts. Sound accounting practices require public officials to design and operate a system of internal control that is adequate to provide reasonable assurance over the reliability of federal information provided for federal reimbursement. In 2024, the School District undertook four projects that were subject to prevailing wage requirements. Education Stabilization Funds were utilized for these project costs. For one project, the School District did not provide evidence that certified payrolls were received by the School District. Without proper controls over wage rate requirements, there is an increased risk that the School District and its contractors and subcontractors are not in compliance with applicable federal regulations. Additionally, noncompliance could result in federal funding being reduced or taken away, or other sanctions imposed by the federal grantor agency. The School District should establish (or perform existing) controls to include the required clauses of 29 CFR 5.5, particularly those concerning prevailing wage rates and the requirement that the contract shall contain required prevailing wage clauses and the contractor shall submit weekly for each week in which any contract work is performed a copy of all payrolls to (or for transmission to, where applicable) the School District, in its construction contracts (and subcontracts) greater than $2,000 that are covered by the wage rate requirements and take steps to ensure contractors (and subcontractors, if applicable) are in compliance with all labor standards by collecting the required certified payroll documentation in a timely manner. The School District should obtain the necessary information from the contractor to document compliance with the program requirements and report all suspected or reported violations to the Federal awarding agency. Further, the School District should implement procedures to ensure that copies of executed contracts are maintained to support compliance of wage rate requirements.

Corrective Action Plan

The district will work with legal counsel to ensure proper contractual language pertaining to the Davis-Bacon Act is included in contracts using federal funding. Prior to payment to contractors, prevailing wage reports will be required to be submitted to the district to ensure compliance with federal program requirements per 29 CFR 5.5.

Categories

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Subrecipient Monitoring Cash Management

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1236275 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1236276 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.425 EDUCATION STABILIZATION FUND $2.29M
84.027 SPECIAL EDUCATION GRANTS TO STATES $494,561
10.553 SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM $327,201
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $296,399
81.041 STATE ENERGY PROGRAM $200,000
10.559 SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN $140,836
84.367 SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION STATE GRANTS (FORMERLY IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY STATE GRANTS) $106,567
10.555 NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM $69,385
84.358 RURAL EDUCATION $65,901
84.424 STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM $63,911
84.010 TITLE I GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES $53,106
84.173 SPECIAL EDUCATION PRESCHOOL GRANTS $12,021