Finding 611747 (2022-002)

Material Weakness
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-03-29
Audit: 26887
Organization: Patriot Preparatory Academy (OH)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Academy failed to include required clauses related to prevailing wage rates in contracts over $2,000, risking noncompliance with federal regulations.
  • Impacted Requirements: Contracts must comply with the Davis-Bacon Act and Copeland Anti-Kickback Act, including weekly payroll submissions and adherence to prevailing wage determinations.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Establish controls to ensure all contracts include necessary clauses and collect certified payrolls to monitor compliance with wage requirements.

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 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. 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 2022, the Academy entered into contracts that were subject to prevailing wage requirements. Education Stabilization Funds were utilized for these project costs. However, a copy of one of the contracts could not be provided for us to determine whether required clauses concerning prevailing wage rates were included. The contract that was provided did not have the required clause. Additionally, certified payrolls could not be provided to evidence the Academy was reviewing and monitoring contractor compliance with wage rate requirements. Without proper controls over wage rate requirements, there is an increased risk that the Academy 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 Academy should establish (or perform existing) controls to include the required clauses of 29 CFR 5.5, particularly those concerning prevailing wage rate 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 Academy, 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 Academy 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.

Categories

Subrecipient Monitoring Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Cash Management

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 35303 2022-002
    Material Weakness
  • 35304 2022-003
    Material Weakness
  • 35305 2022-002
    Material Weakness
  • 35306 2022-003
    Material Weakness
  • 35307 2022-002
    Material Weakness
  • 35308 2022-003
    Material Weakness
  • 611745 2022-002
    Material Weakness
  • 611746 2022-003
    Material Weakness
  • 611748 2022-003
    Material Weakness
  • 611749 2022-002
    Material Weakness
  • 611750 2022-003
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $331,548
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $145,404
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $118,302
10.553 School Breakfast Program $97,492
84.367 Improving Teacher Quality State Grants $38,585
10.555 National School Lunch Program $24,503
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $8,911
84.173 Special Education_preschool Grants $3,029