FHWA issues guidance on reporting executive compensation

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued guidance (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/economicrecovery/guidancedexeccomp.htm) to states clarifying that contractors working on federal-aid highway contracts funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are not required to report the compensation of their five most highly compensated officers, according to a Highway Facts Bulletin from the Associated General Contractors of America.

FHWA issued the guidance to clear up confusion about what is required to be reported. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is charged with issuing guidance for federally assisted contracts under this program, called for recipients and subrecipients of ARRA funds to report the total annual compensation of the five most highly compensated officers of the company.

AGC questioned whether this was intended to apply to contractors working on federally assisted projects funded with ARRA funds. As a result, FHWA asked OMB to clarify the application of these provisions.

OMB advised FHWA that for federally assisted projects, the reporting requirements on executive compensation apply only to direct recipients and their subrecipients. The executive compensation requirements do not apply to contractors working for either the recipient of federal financial assistance or its subrecipient. Contractors working on direct contracts with the federal government, however, are covered under guidance issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council which calls for reporting of this information.