Department of Labor:
Further Strategic Planning and Data Quality Refinements Would Assist in Oversight
T-HEHS-98-249: Published: Sep 28, 1998. Publicly Released: Sep 28, 1998.
Additional Materials:
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Labor's progress in (1): meeting its strategic planning responsibilities under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993; and (2) addressing some of the problems with its performance data that GAO identified in its audit work.
GAO noted that: (1) Labor has significantly improved the strategic plan it originally submitted to Congress in September 1997; (2) its revised strategic goals are more focused and better integrate the activities of its component agencies; (3) for example, two of Labor's original six goals have been consolidated to provide a single focus for Labor's efforts in helping people find jobs and to encompass the job training and assistance activities of several of its component agencies, such as the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Women's Bureau; (4) moreover, in comparison with the original plan, Labor now provides more information on how it plans to coordinate its activities with other agencies, such as the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services, that are trying to achieve the same or similar results; (5) yet further plan improvements are possible, even in areas where Labor has made significant progress; (6) for example, Labor could improve its strategic plan by providing explicit information on how it will address known performance data problems, such as the placement data Job Corps uses, which overstates the extent to which program participants are employed; (7) Labor's record in correcting problems with its performance information is mixed; (8) in some cases, it has made significant progress in addressing data weaknesses; (9) for example, GAO found in prior work that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Integrated Management Information System did not always appropriately characterize or fully capture information on employer settlement agreements or reflect timely changes to inspection data on these agreements; (10) such problems limited the extent to which OSHA could effectively manage its inspections program; (11) since GAO's report, Labor has corrected this problem; (12) however, other data quality problems, such as those concerning ETA's Job Corps program, remain largely unaddressed; (13) specifically, GAO found that reported information on the extent to which Job Corps participants completed vocational training and get jobs related to that training is misleading and overstates program results; and (14) Labor still needs to address data quality problems in this and other programs to effectively manage its programs.
Oct 19, 2020
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Fair Labor Standards Act:
Observations on the Effects of the Home Care RuleGAO-21-72: Published: Oct 19, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 19, 2020.
Jun 22, 2020
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Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act:
Additional DOL Actions Needed to Help States and Employers Address Substance Use DisorderGAO-20-337: Published: May 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 22, 2020.
Apr 14, 2020
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Job Corps:
DOL Should Provide Greater Transparency in Communicating Its Rationale for Closure DecisionsGAO-20-240R: Published: Apr 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2020.
Feb 14, 2020
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National Mediation Board:
Additional Actions Needed to Fully Implement Prior GAO Recommendations and Improve Agency Management and OversightGAO-20-236: Published: Feb 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Feb 14, 2020.
Feb 10, 2020
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National Weather Service:
Information on Contractor Selection and Work Performed for Its Operations and Workforce Analysis ProjectGAO-20-271R: Published: Jan 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Feb 10, 2020.
Sep 9, 2019
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Job Corps:
Actions Needed to Improve Planning for Center Operation ContractsGAO-19-326: Published: Aug 8, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 9, 2019.
Apr 10, 2019
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Priority Open Recommendations:
Department of LaborGAO-19-395SP: Published: Apr 3, 2019. Publicly Released: Apr 10, 2019.
Apr 9, 2019
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Military Spouse Employment:
Participation in and Efforts to Promote the My Career Advancement Account ProgramGAO-19-320R: Published: Apr 9, 2019. Publicly Released: Apr 9, 2019.
Apr 8, 2019
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Workforce Automation:
Better Data Needed to Assess and Plan for Effects of Advanced Technologies on JobsGAO-19-257: Published: Mar 7, 2019. Publicly Released: Apr 8, 2019.
Mar 28, 2019
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Employment and Training Programs:
Department of Labor Should Assess Efforts to Coordinate Services Across ProgramsGAO-19-200: Published: Mar 28, 2019. Publicly Released: Mar 28, 2019.
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