Finding Text
2023-006 U.S. Department of Education, Assistance Listing #84.425D and #84.425U, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds for the year July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023
Criteria: Recipients and subrecipients that use Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER) for minor remodeling, renovation or construction contracts that are over $2,000 and use laborers and mechanics are subject to the Davis-Bacon Act and must meet prevailing wage requirements. Construction contracts are required to include a prevailing wage rate clause to notify the contractor or subcontractor of the requirement. Additionally, for each week in which any contract work is performed, a copy of the payroll and a statement of compliance (certified payrolls) are required to be submitted to the City.
Statement of Condition: During compliance testing, only one of the three contracts tested subject to Davis-Bacon requirements contained the necessary contract clause. Certified payrolls were not collected for any of the projects.
Cause: There are no formal procedures to ensure compliance with Davis-Bacon requirements.
Effect: The City is non-compliant with Davis-Bacon requirements. The City has not obtained the required assurance that its contractors are paying workers at or above the prevailing wage rates.
Recommendation: It is our recommendation that procedures and controls be implemented surrounding Davis Bacon requirements. The City should incorporate the specified contract clauses into contracts subject to Davis-Bacon compliance by inserting the contract clauses in full in the contract, or by incorporating the contract clauses by reference to an addendum or bid specification.