XXI. Sanctions and Termination of Funding
If a subrecipient materially fails to comply with the terms and conditions of a contract, including civil rights requirements, whether stated in a federal statute, regulation, assurance, application, or notice of award, OCJP may take one or more of the following actions as appropriate in the circumstances:
1. Temporarily withhold cash payments pending correction of the deficiency by the subrecipient.
2. Disallow (that is, deny both use of funds and any applicable matching credit for) all or part of the cost of the activity or action not in compliance.
3. Wholly or partly suspend or terminate the current contract.
4. Withhold further contracts for the project or program.
5. Designate "Restrictive Probationary Status."
a. Restrictive Probationary Status Criteria: In general, a subrecipient may be designated "Restrictive Probationary Status" if:
1. Subrecipient has a history of unsatisfactory performance.
2. Subrecipient is not financially stable.
3. Subrecipient has not conformed to the terms and conditions of previous contracts. For example: The subrecipient has been unable to complete past projects and submit deliverables within the accepted timeframe and/or budget.
4. The subrecipient is otherwise not responsible. For example: The subrecipient is not responsive to requests from the OCJP Program Manager for documentation needed to address open site visit findings.
5. Significant issues are identified during grant programmatic or financial monitoring reviews, budget reviews, financial capability review, etc.
b. Mandatory Special Conditions: If a subrecipient is designated as Restrictive Probationary Status, additional special conditions and/or restrictions that correspond to the designation will be included with the grant contract. All subrecipients designated as Restrictive Probationary Status may receive three mandatory special conditions:
1. Subrecipient will be required to submit additional grant-related documentation to OCJP.
2. Subrecipient will be required to participate in additional desk or on-site monitoring by OCJP.
3. Subrecipient must complete training determined by OCJP.
Additional special conditions will be applied as appropriate to the situation.
As staff of the Department of Finance and Administration, OCJP, is committed to assisting subrecipient staff to realize contract success and will utilize all reasonable means to resolve problems or address potentially critical issues. Failure by a subrecipient to materially comply with the terms of the contract or of the requirements described in this OCJP Grants Manual may be considered grounds for termination of subrecipient funding.
The State may terminate the grant by giving the subrecipient at least thirty (30) days written notice before the effective termination date. In that event, the subrecipient shall be entitled to receive equitable compensation for satisfactory, authorized services completed as of the termination date.
If the subrecipient fails to fulfill its obligation under the Grant in a timely or proper manner, or if the subrecipient violates any terms of the grant, the State shall have the right to immediately terminate the Grant and withhold payments in excess of fair compensation for completed services. Notwithstanding the above, the subrecipient shall not be relieved of liability to the State for damages sustained by virtue of any breach of the grant by the subrecipient.
While termination of funding will not be exercised without prior written notice to the subrecipient, any consideration of future grant requests by the subrecipient may be influenced by the gravity and extent of the irregularities causing termination as determined by F&A, OCJP.
The recipient is responsible for promptly notifying OCJP and the State of Tennessee Comptroller of any illegal acts or irregularities and or proposed actual actions. Please notify the State of Tennessee Comptroller Hotline at 1-800-232-5454 of any irregularities that occur. Illegal acts include: conflicts of interest, falsification of records or reports, misappropriation of funds or other assets, and/or fraud, waste or abuse.
The recipient and any subrecipients ("subgrantees") must promptly refer to the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) any credible evidence that a principal, employee, agent, subrecipient, contractor, subcontractor, or other person has, in connection with funds under this award -- (1) submitted a claim that violates the False Claims Act; or (2) committed a criminal or civil violation of laws pertaining to fraud, conflict of interest, bribery, gratuity, or similar misconduct.
Potential fraud, waste, abuse, or misconduct involving or relating to funds under this award should be reported to the OIG by:
1. Online submission accessible via the OIG webpage at https://oig.justice.gov/hotline/contact-grants.htm (select "Submit Report Online")
2. Mail directed to:
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of the Inspector General, Investigations Division
ATTN: Grantee Reporting
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20530
3. Facsimile directed to the DOJ OIG Fraud Detection Office (Attn: Grantee Reporting) at (202) 616-9881 (fax)
Additional information is available from the DOJ OIG website at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig.
No recipient or subrecipient ("subgrantee") under this award, or entity that receives a procurement contract or subcontract with any funds under this award, may require any employee or contractor to sign an internal confidentiality agreement or statement that prohibits or otherwise restricts, or purports to prohibit or restrict, the reporting (in accordance with law) of waste, fraud, or abuse to an investigative or law enforcement representative of a federal department or agency authorized to receive such information.
If OCJP learns or is notified that a subrecipient agency is or has been requiring its employees or contractors to execute agreements or statements that prohibit or otherwise restrict (or purport to prohibit or restrict), reporting of waste, fraud, or abuse as described above, it will immediately stop any further obligations of award funds, will provide prompt written notification to the federal funding agency, and will resume (or permit resumption of) such obligations only if expressly authorized to do so by that federal agency.
Subrecipients must comply with, and are subject to, all applicable provisions of 41 U.S.C. 4712, including all applicable provisions that prohibit, under specified circumstances, discrimination against an employee as reprisal for the employee's disclosure of information related to gross mismanagement of a federal grant, a gross waste of federal funds, an abuse of authority relating to a federal grant, a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to a federal grant. The recipient also must inform its employees, in writing (and in the predominant native language of the workforce), of employee rights and remedies under 41 U.S.C. 4712.
Subrecipients of OCJP grants and cooperative agreements must comply with, and are subject to, all applicable provisions of 41 U.S.C. 4712, including all applicable provisions that prohibit, under specified circumstances, discrimination against an employee of an OCJP subrecipient by the OCJP subrecipient as reprisal for the employee's disclosure of information related to gross mismanagement of a federal grant, a gross waste of federal funds, an abuse of authority relating to a federal grant, a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or a violation of law, rule, or regulation related to a federal grant.
Additional information is available from the DOJ OIG website at https://oig.justice.gov/ and in the DOJ Whistleblower Information documents linked below: