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About POGO's Federal Contractor Misconduct Database (FCMD)
The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Report an instance of misconduct »
United Technologies Corporation
United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company that provides high technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries.
Federal Contract $: $7908.1m
Total Number of Instances: 17
Total Misconduct dollar amount: $ 465.9m
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Instances of Misconduct
1. Navy SH-3 Sea King Helicopter Defective Pricing
The government sued United Technologies Corporation’s Sikorsky Aircraft Division alleging violations of the False Claims Act and the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) by submitting false cost or pricing data to the U.S. Navy during negotiations and providing a false statement to the effect that Sikorsky had submitted accurate, current and complete cost or pricing data. The lawsuit involved a contract the Navy awarded to Sikorsky in 1984 to extend the service life of the Navy's SH-3 Sea King helicopter, an effort that became known as the Main Gear Box Improvement Program. The court found one TINA violation, for which it awarded the government $196,640 in damages and $108,089 in interest. The court found Sikorsky did not violate the False Claims Act, concluding its actions were “merely negligent, inadvertent or a mistake.”... more»
2. Cost and Labor Mischarge
According to a GAO report cited by Senator Harkin and Representative DeFazio, United Technologies Optical Systems, reached a settlement for $150,000 for alleged cost/labor mischarging.... more»
3. United States v. United Technologies (Preparing False Purchase Orders and Submitting False Invoices)
United Technologies Corporation's Pratt & Whitney (P&W) Government Engine and Space Propulsion Division entered into a settlement agreement in which P&W agreed to pay the government $14.8 million, following a Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigation. The agreement resolved charges that P&W violated the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729, et. seq.) by preparing false purchase orders and submitting false invoices under the Foreign Military Sales Program (FMSP) administered by the Defense Security Assistance Agency. The program involved the FMSP-funded Lavi fighter aircraft under development for the Israeli Air Force.... more»
4. Brainard v. Pratt & Whitney (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act Violation)
On July 7, 2005, Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies, reached a settlement “for potential violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301- 4333, et. seq…John Brainard worked at Pratt & Whitney’s Jet Propulsion site in Palm Beach County, Florida, under an outsource labor contract between Pratt & Whitney and EDF Company. On April 24, 2002, Brainard, a Major with the United States Army Reserve, was called to active military service. For the next six months, Brainard was stationed primarily overseas in Kuwait. He was released from active duty in October and returned home. Upon his return to work on October 21, 2002, Brainard was informed that his job had been eliminated. No comparable position was offered to him…the companies denied violating the provisions of the Act, but agreed to settle Brainard’s claims. The companies will pay Brainard $30,000.”... more»
5. Violations of Workplace Injury & Illness Recordkeeping Requirements
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor…cited the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, Turbine Modular Center, located in North Haven, Connecticut, for alleged willful violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and has proposed penalties totaling $155,000 for those alleged violations…the company is being cited for four alleged WILLFUL violations, carrying proposed penalties totaling $154,000, for: failing to maintain an equivalent OSHA Log at their facility which is as readable and comprehensible as the OSHA 200 form; for calendar years 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, failure to record 71 recordable injury and illness cases; failure to make available supplementary records of occupational illness and injuries for the month of December 1996; and failure to make readily available complete and accurate OSHA 200 logs for the 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 calendar years”.... more»
6. Submitting False Invoices on Jet Engine Contract
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio found that United Technologies subsidiary Pratt & Whitney had violated the False Claims Act by submitting inflated invoices for jet engines it supplied to the Air Force in the 1980s. Because the court found the government had not suffered any actual damages, the court entered judgment in favor of the government for the statutory maximum fine of $10,000 per invoice submitted, for a total of $7,090,000. In November 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s liability determination but remanded the case to allow the government to pursue its common law contract claims and for a recalculation of damages.... more»
7. Black Hawk False Claims Settlement
United Technologies division Sikorsky Aircraft Company agreed to pay the United States almost $3,000,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations in connection with its U.S. Army contract to install armored plates in Black Hawk helicopters. The government alleged that from 1991 to 2006, Sikorsky knowingly installed armored plates that had not been ballistically tested as required under the contract.... more»
8. CERCLA Cleanup of Memphis Site
Pursuant to a consent decree, United Technologies agreed to undertake the cleanup of hazardous substances at a Superfund Site located in Memphis, Tennessee, owned and operated by its predecessor, Ambac Industries, Inc. (Ambac was acquired by United Technologies in 1978.) United Technologies, which did not admit any liability, also agreed to reimburse the federal government’s past and future cleanup costs.... more»
9. NASA Contract False Claims
United Technologies’ Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., subsidiary agreed to pay the government almost $3 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving fees charged on a contract with NASA after Pratt & Whitney merged with Rocketdyne in 2005. Prior to the merger, Rocketdyne had subcontracted with Pratt & Whitney for work on a Space Shuttle flight support services contract Rocketdyne had with NASA. Following the August 2005 merger, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne billed NASA fees under the pre-merger subcontract. In December 2006, the Defense Contract Audit Agency questioned whether those subcontract fee billings allowed the merged company to reap excess profits.... more»
10. Federal Air Pollution Standards Violations
"Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. will pay a fine of $176,000 to settle an EPA complaint for violations of the federal stratospheric ozone protection regulations and two federal hazardous air pollutant standards...Sikorsky, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., is a helicopter manufacturer with a major plant in Stratford, Conn. EPA’s complaint alleged that Sikorsky violated leak repair and follow-up testing requirements for two industrial refrigeration units that used chlorofluorocarbons (“CFCs”) or other ozone-depleting substances as refrigerants."... more»
11. Violations of Underground Tank Systems Standards
"The [Connecticut] Department of Environmental Protection entered into an administrative consent order with Pratt & Whitney Division of United Technologies Corporation ("Pratt & Whitney") on September 7, 2004 for allegedly violating the standards for underground storage tank systems...As part of the consent order, Pratt & Whitney has agreed to thoroughly empty the tank systems of all contents and ensure that no material is placed in the tank system until approved by the Commissioner. Pratt & Whitney is required to comply with leak detection requirements and to conduct an investigation to determine whether or not the tanks systems have leaked. Pratt & Whitney has also agreed to payment of a $10,000 civil penalty for the alleged violations."... more»
12. Air Emissions Violations
"United Technologies Corporation ("UTC") entered into an administrative consent order with the [Connecticut] Department of Environmental Protection on December 2, 2002 for alleged air emission violations...Emission testing conducted in January and February 2001, and January 2002 showed that P&W exceeded the full load emission rates...The consent order requires UTC to: expend not less than $46,500 to purchase and permanently retire not less than thirty-six (36) tons of approved non-ozone season DERCs, and pay a civil penalty of $17,700."... more»
13. Price Fixing
“European Union regulators on Wednesday fined United Technologies' Otis unit and four other elevator makers $1.3 billion for operating cartels for the installation and maintenance of elevators and escalators in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands… Fined were Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp., the corporate parent of Otis Elevator; German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG; Finland's Kone Corp.; Switzerland's Schindler Holding AG and subsidiaries of Japan's Mitsubishi Elevator Europe BV." Otis was fined almost 225 million euros (approximately $295 million).... more»
14. Clean Water Act Violations (2007)
Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies, pled guilty to two counts of violating the federal Clean Water Act and was sentenced to five years’ probation and $12 million in fines. Hamilton Sundstrand is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of advanced aerospace and industrial systems. The company, in operating its Windsor Locks, Conn. manufacturing plant, violated its state pollutant discharge permit and attempted to conceal those violations by knowingly submitting false environmental reports.... more»
15. Blackhawk Spare Parts Overcharging
An audit by the Department of Defense’s Inspector General (DoD IG) found that United Technologies’ Sikorsky Aircraft unit overcharged the U.S. Army for UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter spare parts and made excessive profits. DoD IG found that neither Sikorsky nor the Army performed adequate cost or price analyses of proposed subcontractor prices and that the Army purchased parts from Sikorsky when it had sufficient existing inventory to meet requirements at lower cost. Sikorsky also paid excessive prices to subcontractors and did not always provide the most current, complete, and accurate cost data. DoD IG calculated that Sikorsky charged the Army 51.4 percent more than fair and reasonable prices ($11.8 million) and was allowed to make excessive profits of about $931,000 between 2008 and 2010. Sikorsky agreed to provide the Army about $1 million in refunds. DoD IG recommended the Army seek an additional $11.8 million in refunds for unnecessary subcontractor pass-through costs, excessive profits, an unacceptable quantity curve, and instances when Sikorsky negotiated lower supplier prices after negotiating with the Army.... more»
16. Illegal Export of Military Software to China
United Technologies and two of its subsidiaries, Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) and Hamilton Sundstrand, settled criminal and civil charges in connection with the export of sensitive military software to China. The government claimed that, between 2002 and 2005, PWC sold to China engine-control software made by Hamilton Sundstrand, which PWC knew China was using to develop its first modern military attack helicopter, the Z-10. The government also alleged that United Technologies, PWC, and Hamilton Sundstrand failed to disclose to the U.S. government the illegal exports to China for several years, and when they did, their disclosures contained numerous false statements. PWC pleaded guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act and making false statements. The three companies also entered into a two-year deferred prosecution agreement and paid a total of $75.7 million in fines and penalties ($20 million of which is a suspended amount which United Technologies agreed to spend on remedial compliance measures).... more»
17. Defective F-15 and F-16 Engine Turbine Blade Replacements
Pratt & Whitney (a division of United Technologies) and its subcontractor, PCC Airfoils LLC, agreed to pay $52.3 million to the federal government to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they knowingly sold defective turbine blade replacements for engines used in F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft. According to the Department of Justice, between 1994 and 2003, replacement turbine blades designed by Pratt & Whitney and cast by PCC failed to meet a critical design dimension. Under the settlement, Pratt & Whitney will pay $45.5 million and provide $4.8 million for re-inspecting potentially serviceable blades bought by the Air Force.... more»
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