Finding 978276 (2023-002)

Title 29, U. S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 5, Sub-Part A Davis Bacon and Related Acts Provisions and Procedures (the “Davis-Bacon Act”), requires that any construction contract in excess of $2,000 that is funded wholly or in part by federal funds include prevailing wage rate clauses. The 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 locality of project (prevailing wage rates) by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the contractor or subcontractor must submit to the nonfederal entity weekly, for each week in which any contract work is performed, a copy of the payroll and a statement of compliance (certified payrolls). During fiscal year 2023, the Chambers County Board of Education (the “Board”) entered into a construction contract for the purchase and installation of temporary classrooms that did not include a prevailing wage rate clause. As of September 30, 2023, the Board expended $358,258.50 of COVID-19 Education Stabilization Funds (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) on the projects. The Board did not have controls in place to ensure the Davis-Bacon Act wage rate requirements were included in construction contracts, therefore, the construction project contract awarded during the fiscal year did not include prevailing wage rate clauses nor did the contractors submit weekly certified payrolls to the Board. As a result, the Board is not in compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act as it pertains to wage rate requirements. The Board should comply with Title 29, U. S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 5, Sub-Part A Davis Bacon and Related Acts Provisions and Procedures (the “Davis-Bacon Act”) when using COVID-19 Education Stabilization Funds (ESSER) to fund construction contracts in excess of $2,000.00.