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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202/219-8211
The following statement by Bernard Anderson, assistant secretary of the
Employment Standards Administration (ESA) was issued today in response to the
Office of Inspector General's recently released audit of the agencies, programs
and systems for administering the Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Act. ESA oversees
the Davis-Bacon Act program.
"The Office of Inspector General has conducted a very thorough and
useful audit of the accuracy of wage and fringe benefit data collected and used
for the Davis-Bacon Act wage survey program. The findings of this report will
serve as helpful guideposts as we continue our efforts to improve and
streamline the data collection process. The full text of the Labor Department's
comments regarding the audit are included in the report.
"We are encouraged to note that the inspector general's exhaustive
examination of recent wage survey data found no evidence of fraud or
intentional misreporting by construction contractors, subcontractors or third
parties. We are also pleased that the report found that Wage and Hour staff did
a creditable job of reviewing and analyzing data received and correcting or
eliminating responses which were not appropriate to the surveys.
"The audit examined surveys that were conducted before new data
verification procedures were implemented by the Wage and Hour Division. But we
are seriously concerned that the OIG audit found such a high proportion of data
submissions from all sources containing inaccurate data. Although most of these
inaccuracies had only minimal impact on the accuracy of the resulting
prevailing wage determinations, the OIG findings will play an important role in
our ongoing efforts to reengineer the current process.
"The Department of Labor has sought additional resources in FY 1997 and
FY 1998 to continue and implement methods to improve the wage determination
process. These additional resources will greatly assist our efforts to develop
promising approaches -- consistent with the thrust of the OIG's recommendations
-- to improve the Davis-Bacon wage determination system."
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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