Finding 636143 (2022-001)

Material Weakness
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-03-26

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The District failed to include required clauses regarding prevailing wage rates and weekly payroll submissions in a contract with Hellas Construction, risking noncompliance with federal regulations.
  • Impacted Requirements: Contracts over $2,000 must comply with the Davis-Bacon Act and Copeland Anti-Kickback Act, including timely submission of certified payrolls to ensure proper wage payments.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Establish internal controls to ensure all contracts include necessary clauses and implement a system for timely collection of certified payroll documentation to maintain compliance.

Finding Text

2 CFR ? 3474 gives regulatory effect to the Department of Education for Appendix II to 2 CFR ? 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 ? 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 ? 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 ? 5.5. No payment, advance, grant, loan, or guarantee of funds shall be approved by the Federal agency unless the agency insures that the clauses required by ? 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 April 2022, the District entered into a contract with Hellas Construction for athletic track/turf improvements with a total project cost of $1,868,675. Education Stabilization Funds were utilized for a portion of the project cost. As a result of a lack of proper internal controls, the required clauses concerning prevailing wage rate and the requirement that the contractor shall submit weekly for each week in which any contract work is performed a copy of all payrolls to the District were not included in the contract. Thus, while the contractor maintained weekly certified payrolls, these were not sent to the District weekly for each week during which contract work was performed during fiscal year 2022. Rather, certified payrolls were sent to the District when they were requested during the audit. Without proper controls over wage rate requirements, there is an increased risk that the 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 District 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 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 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 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.

Categories

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Subrecipient Monitoring Cash Management

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 59700 2022-001
    Material Weakness
  • 59701 2022-001
    Material Weakness
  • 636142 2022-001
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.425 Covid-19 Education Stabilization Fund $418,556
10.555 National School Lunch Program $270,525
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $171,317
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $160,046
10.553 School Breakfast Program $64,273
84.027 Covid-19 Special Education_grants to States $34,520
10.556 Covid-19 Special Milk Program for Children $19,707
84.367 Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants $15,974
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $12,516
84.173 Special Education_preschool Grants $3,726
84.173 Covid-19 Special Education_preschool Grants $2,806
10.649 Covid-19 Pandemic Ebt Administrative Costs $614