Recommendation: The Director of the Office of Personnel Management should assist the 24 CFO Act agencies by using OPM FEVS data to analyze the key drivers of retention for veterans in the agencies' workforces to identify strategies for improving veteran retention. OPM should also be available to non-CFO Act agencies that request assistance with the veteran retention analysis.

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Director of OPM should routinely track and report retention data for employees with disabilities and make such data available to federal agencies, including EEOC, through a centralized web portal—such as MAX.gov. For example, OPM could track and report such data by General Schedule level pay groupings, which could help pinpoint root causes that contribute to retention rates, inform assessments of government-wide progress on employee retention, and identify needed improvements. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Attorney General of the United States should develop and implement policies and procedures for assessing the impact of training provided to agency hiring managers and human resources staff on Schedule A hiring authority. This includes assessing the impact of its training on agency performance goals related to increased hiring of individuals with disabilities and targeted disabilities. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Justice
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Attorney General of the United States should develop and implement policies and procedures for obtaining employee feedback about the agency's reasonable accommodations efforts and use such information to evaluate the ongoing effectiveness of the program. This may include identifying any effects on employee retention, identifying potential risks, and determining any improvements that may be warranted. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Justice
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Administrator of SBA should develop and implement policies and procedures for assessing and tracking the impact of training provided to agency hiring managers and human resources staff on Schedule A hiring authority. This includes assessing the impact of its training on agency performance goals related to increased hiring of individuals with disabilities and targeted disabilities. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Small Business Administration
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Administrator of SBA should develop and implement policies and procedures for obtaining employee feedback about the agency's reasonable accommodations efforts and use such information to evaluate the ongoing effectiveness of the program. This may include identifying any effects on employee retention, identifying potential risks, and determining any improvements that may be warranted. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Small Business Administration
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Commissioner of SSA should develop and implement policies and procedures for assessing and tracking the impact of training provided to agency hiring managers and human resources staff on Schedule A hiring authority. This includes assessing the impact of its training on agency performance goals related to increased hiring of individuals with disabilities and targeted disabilities. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Social Security Administration
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Secretary of DOL should develop and publish a multi-year strategic research plan for evaluation of its employment and training programs that includes assessing the completeness and results of efforts to coordinate among E&T programs to address overlap and fragmentation. In developing this plan, DOL should also consult with other federal agencies and key stakeholders on ways to address gaps in information on how multiple programs are serving the employment and training needs of specific populations, such as Native Americans, youth, and refugees. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: DOL agreed with this recommendation. The agency noted that it actively plans and makes public the research and evaluation topics for these evaluations, but it did not identify a timeline or measures it would take to augment these basic steps. DOL also stated that it will consult with stakeholders regarding the employment and training needs of specific populations. We will consider closing this recommendation when DOL completes these efforts.

Recommendation: To support its strategic and open data goals, the Director of OPM should improve the availability of the EHRI payroll data--for example, by preparing the data for analytics, making them available through online tools such as FedScope, and including them among the EHRI data sources on the OPM website and Data.gov.

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: OPM agreed with the recommendation. In December 2018, OPM told us it will establish a plan to make payroll data available through analytical tools such as FedScope no later than the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM will need to improve the availability of payroll data-either from the existing EHRI system or the new employee digital record-by ensuring the data are prepared and made available for analytics research.

Recommendation: To improve internal controls for data quality, the Director of OPM should consistently monitor system-generated error and edit check reports and ensure that timely action is taken to address identified issues.

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: OPM agreed with the recommendation. In December 2018, OPM reported that it plans to begin follow-up efforts with agencies and shared service providers on payroll data errors and anomalies and to notify data providers of problems. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM will need to follow up with shared services centers and agencies regarding issues identified with the payroll data they submit to EHRI. These steps will help ensure the quality of historical and current payroll data. They will also ensure that system detected errors are resolved and do not compound over time.

Recommendation: To integrate the payroll data into the larger suite of EHRI databases, the Director of OPM should develop a schedule for executing these plans.

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open

Comments: OPM concurred with our recommendation, but has not yet developed a plan for integrating payroll into the larger suite of EHRI databases.

Recommendation: To integrate the payroll data into the larger suite of EHRI databases, the Director of OPM should evaluate existing internal control activities and develop new control activities for EHRI payroll data, such as implementing transactional edit checks that leverage the information in the other EHRI datasets.

Agency: Office of Personnel Management
Status: Open

Comments: While OPM concurred with our recommendation, the agency has not evaluated or implemented, for Payroll data, the control activities and edit checks that are currently used to support the reliability of the other EHRI datasets.

Recommendation: To inform decisions on any potential future iterations of the veterans' employment workshop, the Secretary of Labor should assess and report to Congress the extent to which further delivery of employment workshops to veterans and their spouses could fill a niche not fully served by existing federal programs. Such an assessment could involve collaboration with VA and other stakeholder organizations.

Agency: Department of Labor
Status: Open

Comments: In April 2019, DOL restated its assertion that the employment services most needed by veterans and spouses were already available to them through the state workforce system and should not be offered through another mechanism. DOL pointed to changes in the employment workshops under its Transition Assistance Program, though those changes do not inform the need for any additional services such as Off Base Transition Training workshops. Additionally, DOL noted that Section 502 of the Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016 called for a 5-year longitudinal study of veteran workforce services. DOL concluded a feasibility study in December 2018 and said it will produce a plan to conduct the 5-year longitudinal study, which will inform the extent to which further delivery of employment workshops to veterans and their spouses could fill a niche not fully served by existing federal programs. While completing the feasibility study and planning to conduct the longitudinal study are important steps, DOL has not yet completed that study, nor has it reported to Congress on the extent to which employment workshops might fill a niche not currently served by existing federal programs.