The settlement with the US Attorney’s office for the southern district of New York resolves an investigation into Skanska USA Civil Northeast’s use of disadvantaged, minority and woman-owned business enterprises (D/M/WBEs).
The US Attorney’s office has been looking into whether contractors in the New York area are using D/M/WBEs in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. It had focused on Environmental Energy Associates (EEA), a certified D/MBE subcontractor that has carried out environmental and demolition work for Skanska.
“Skanska takes pride in its industry leadership in the area of diversity and we recognise, and regret, that we did not follow best practices with respect to our use of EEA as a D/M/WBE on certain projects. We’ve learned a tough lesson and we urge others in the industry to learn from it,” said president of Skanska USA Civil Richard Cavallaro.
The US Attorney’s Office, through the settlement agreement, has stated that it will not bring any civil claims or criminal charges against Skanska as a result of the investigation.
Skanska said that, as a result of the investigation, it has reinforced its efforts to adopt best practices in placing contracts with D/M/WBEs. Skanska began implementing its reinvigorated D/M/WBE compliance programme in 2009, and its offices across the USA began adopting similar efforts last summer.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
