Finding Text
During our testing of ESSER and Title 1 federal programs, we noted the school was not having the employees who were being paid with this funding to complete Time & Effort Certifications.
Criteria – Federal regulations require that any salaries and benefits charged to a federal award(s) must be based on documentation that meets the following criteria in order to be allowable charges to the award(s):
-The employee’s time must be documented in writing.
-The documentation should reflect the actual time spent by the employee on activities of the federal program(s) being charged. -The period covered by the documentation may not exceed one month unless an approved substitute system is in place. The documentation should account for all of the employee’s time for the period covered (including state/local activities).
-The documentation should be signed by the employee and the employee’s supervisor.
-The requirement applies to all federal awards and subawards, including those received directly from the Federal government, unless specifically exempted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Cause/Effect of Condition – The school was not able to find these documents. The school has undergone turnover in the administrative staff during the year. They did not know if they were just not prepared or if they had been prepared and misplaced. Employees could be paid with Title I or ESSER funds and not be performing duties associated with these programs.
Recommendation –Time and effort reports should be prepared for any certified or classified staff with salary and benefits that are charged:
-Directly to a federal award.
-Directly to multiple federal awards.
-Directly to any combination of a federal award and other federal, state or local fund sources.