Subcontractor Claim for Additional Compensation for Wage Escalation Costs
B-193657: Published: Jun 8, 1979. Publicly Released: May 6, 1985.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
A request for information was made to GAO regarding a subcontractor's claim for additional compensation for wage escalation costs encountered as a subcontractor on a power plant construction project. In 1973, the prime contractor entered into a contract with the Bureau of Reclamation for construction of the power plant, which specified adjustments for changes in labor costs, effective 1 year from the date of award, with the government paying 75 percent of the additional cost. No added wage costs to subcontractors were to be reimbursed without a specific contractual provision with the prime contractor. The claimant's contract did not contain such a provision, although the prime contractor informed the Bureau that oral terms had been agreed to prior to the start of the contract with each of its subcontractors. The Bureau refused for several months to acknowledge such agreements, but finally acceded to the prime contractor's wishes so long as the original bid papers furnished evidence that an allowance for expected wage increases was not included in the original bids. The claimant's bid had contained some wage escalation agreements, however, disqualifying it from relief eligibility. Although the subcontractor had notified the prime contractor that the wage escalation determination was not considered closed, the prime contractor signed a waiver of all claims against the government on its own behalf as well as that of its subcontractors, so that when the claimant sought to pursue its claim further, the Bureau relied on the release of claims as justification for rejecting the claim. GAO reviewed the dispute and could find no legal obligation for the Bureau to pay the claim, because of the waiver signed in its behalf.
Jan 12, 2021
-
DHS Employee Morale:
Some Improvements Made, but Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Employee EngagementGAO-21-204: Published: Jan 12, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 12, 2021.
Sep 16, 2020
-
Senior Executive Service:
Opportunities for Selected Agencies to Improve Their Career Reassignment ProcessesGAO-20-559: Published: Sep 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 16, 2020.
Feb 25, 2020
-
State Department:
Additional Steps Are Needed to Identify Potential Barriers to DiversityGAO-20-237: Published: Jan 27, 2020. Publicly Released: Feb 25, 2020.
Dec 30, 2019
-
Office of Congressional Workplace Rights:
Using Key Management Practices Would Help to Fully Implement Statutory RequirementsGAO-20-222: Published: Dec 30, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 30, 2019.
Oct 10, 2019
-
Department of Veterans Affairs:
Improved Succession Planning Would Help Address Long-Standing Workforce ProblemsGAO-20-15: Published: Oct 10, 2019. Publicly Released: Oct 10, 2019.
Oct 2, 2019
-
Defense Workforce:
Steps Needed to Identify Acquisition Training Needs for Non-Acquisition Personnel [Reissued with revisions on Oct. 2, 2019.]GAO-19-556: Published: Sep 5, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 5, 2019.
Sep 25, 2019
-
Federal Workforce:
Talent Management Strategies to Help Agencies Better Compete in a Tight Labor MarketGAO-19-723T: Published: Sep 25, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 25, 2019.
Sep 11, 2019
-
USAID Reform:
Efforts Address Most Key Practices but Could Improve in Performance Assessment and Strategic Workforce PlanningGAO-19-609: Published: Sep 11, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 11, 2019.
Aug 15, 2019
-
Defense Acquisition Workforce:
DOD Increased Use of Human Capital Flexibilities but Could Improve MonitoringGAO-19-509: Published: Aug 15, 2019. Publicly Released: Aug 15, 2019.
Jul 30, 2019
-
Human Capital:
Improving Federal Recruiting and Hiring EffortsGAO-19-696T: Published: Jul 30, 2019. Publicly Released: Jul 30, 2019.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here