Finding Text
2022-002 ? U.S. Department of Education, for the Period July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, Assistance Listing #84.425D, #84.425U Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Fund Statement of Condition: Documentation of wage rate requirements in construction contracts and verification of certified weekly payrolls was not performed. 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. Management needs to ensure that all contractors and subcontractors are submitting weekly certified payrolls and verify that they are being paid at least the prevailing wage rates. Effect: Contracted employees could potentially not be paid prevailing wage rates, which could jeopardize grant funding. Cause: The School Department did not include language in its construction contracts that included wage rate requirements and did not obtain certified payroll information from contractors. Recommendation: Management should carefully review all contracts related to grants to ensure they include the required language. In addition, management should ensure that contractors submit the required certified payrolls. Questioned Costs: None