Finding 37216 (2022-002)

Material Weakness
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-05-10

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The District failed to include required wage rate provisions in contracts for construction projects over $2,000, risking noncompliance with federal regulations.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act and the Copeland "Anti-Kickback" Act, including the need for weekly certified payroll reports from contractors.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Ensure all future contracts include wage rate provisions and establish a process to collect and verify weekly payroll reports from contractors.

Finding Text

2 C.F.R. ? 3474.1 gives regulatory effect to the Department of Education for Appendix II to 2 C.F.R. ? 200 Paragraph D which states: (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 Provision Applicable to Contract 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 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 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 a provision 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. 2 CFR ? 176.190 Award term - Wage rate requirements under Section 1606 of the Recovery Act indicates when issuing announcements or requesting applications for Recovery Act programs or activities that may involve construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair the agency shall use the award term described in the following paragraphs: (a) Section 1606 of the Recovery Act requires that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on projects funded directly by or assisted in whole or in part by and through the Federal Government pursuant to the Recovery Act shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on projects of a character similar in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code. The District expended $90,884 of its Education Stabilization Fund (ESSER II) AL# 84.425D federal grant funds for office renovations and flooring installation. Due to a lack of proper internal controls over Federal Grants management, the District?s contracts with these vendors did not include a provision to ensure the contactors complied with Federal wage rate requirements. Additionally, the District could not provide support that weekly certified payroll were provided by the contractors. Failure to notify contractors of the wage rate requirements may result in noncompliance with the prevailing wage requirements as well as potentially reduced future federal funding. The District should ensure contracts for construction in excess of $2,000 contain a provision the contractor comply with the Wage Rate Requirements and ensure certified payroll reports are provided weekly by the contractor. The District should obtain the necessary information from the contractor to document compliance with the program requirements and if the contractor failed to comply then they have an obligation under 29 CFR Part 5 to report all suspected or reported violations to the Federal awarding agency.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding Number: 2022-002 Planned Corrective Action: The district will put procedures in place to ensure that all future contracts for federally funded construction projects will include the necessary prevailing wage language. Anticipated Completion Date: June 30, 2023 Responsible Contact Person: Sandi Hurd, Treasurer

Categories

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Subrecipient Monitoring

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 37215 2022-001
    Material Weakness
  • 37217 2022-003
    Material Weakness
  • 613657 2022-001
    Material Weakness
  • 613658 2022-002
    Material Weakness
  • 613659 2022-003
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
10.555 National School Lunch Program $530,383
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $271,376
10.553 School Breakfast Program $158,426
84.287 Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers $144,688
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $118,191
84.367 Improving Teacher Quality State Grants $43,770
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $17,372
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $11,080
84.173 Special Education_preschool Grants $6,157
84.358 Rural Education $2,251