Tuesday, August 8, 2023
To LEA Staff Working with ESSER Grant Funds,
As you continue to plan and budget for ESF grants this fiscal year, we would like to remind you that all projects involving contracted labor (e.g., trades, construction, HVAC, general labor, etc.) with federal funds over $2,000 must follow all Davis-Bacon and Related Acts requirements.
The three most common audit findings for the 2021-22 fiscal year were lack of prevailing wage requirements in labor contracts, failure to collect certified payrolls and lack of written procedures for procurement that include Davis-Bacon Act requirements. LEAs frequently had findings for all three. It is important to ensure that – if your LEA is going to even partially fund construction, remodeling or other projects that involve contracted labor – prevailing wage is being paid, certified payrolls are being collected weekly and the LEA’s written procedures for procurement include the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts requirements.
For more information on Davis-Bacon requirements, please see our Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Compliance technical assistance document.
If your LEA is considering undertaking a project involving contracted labor (e.g., trades, construction, HVAC, general labor, etc.) funded by ESSER grants, please do not hesitate to reach out to discuss Davis-Bacon requirements if you have any questions.
Thank you,
The ESSER Grants Team
Join the ESSER grants staff for ESSER Open Office Hours during the following times:
- Tuesdays from 9 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. (click here to join)
- Thursdays from 1 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. (click here to join)
Questions and answers from all ESSER Office Hours are included in the ESSER Office Hours Notes and Resources document.