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Open Recommendations

Defense Workforce: Efforts to Address Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining Federal Wage System Employees
GAO-25-107152
Sep 03, 2025
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure that the Commander of Edwards Air Force Base develops measurable staffing targets for Edwards's FWS workforce and documents these targets in a civilian workforce plan or other documents used to help manage Edwards's FWS AF workforce. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Foreign Government Employment: Actions Needed to Clarify and Improve Processes for Military Retirees
GAO-25-107145
Jul 23, 2025
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5 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, working in coordination with Coast Guard, develops department-wide FGE guidance that includes a definition of the employment types that require approval, baseline application procedures, and systems to communicate these requirements to military retirees. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Homeland Security The Secretary of Homeland Security should ensure the Commandant of the Coast Guard, working in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, defines employment types requiring FGE approval, outlines baseline FGE application procedures, and develops a system for communicating these requirements to Coast Guard retirees. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, working in coordination with Coast Guard, develops and documents shared minimum evaluation factors to consider when reviewing FGE applications, including for effect on U.S. national interests. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Homeland Security The Secretary of Homeland Security should ensure the Commandant of the Coast Guard, working in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, develops and documents shared minimum evaluation factors to consider when reviewing FGE applications, including for effect on U.S. national interests. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure the Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs develops and documents factors for evaluating FGE requests from military retirees for adverse effects on U.S. foreign relations and for effect on U.S. national interests. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Workplace Safety and Health: OSHA Should Take Steps to Better Identify and Address Ergonomic Hazards at Warehouses and Delivery Companies
GAO-24-106413
Oct 08, 2024
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5 Open Recommendations
2 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Labor
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of Labor should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health ensures that OSHA compliance officers can easily obtain data during inspections on when musculoskeletal disorders occurred. This could include adding a column for musculoskeletal injuries to OSHA recordkeeping forms. (Recommendation 1)
Open
OSHA stated that inserting this column remains on its long-term regulatory agenda. However, OSHA also stated that completing the regulatory actions necessary to add such a column would divert resources from other current regulatory priorities. The agency also commented that it expects to receive more information on musculoskeletal and other injuries from certain employers who have been required to report case-level injury data electronically to OSHA headquarters since March 2024. In February 2025, DOL confirmed this status continues. We will await further updates on the use of additional information during inspections.
Department of Labor The Secretary of Labor should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health increases training on identifying and assessing ergonomic hazards for compliance officers who inspect worksites under OSHA's National Warehouse and Distribution Center Emphasis Program. This may include making elective ergonomic courses required courses for some officers; adding new courses or ergonomic components to existing courses; or making existing courses more accessible, for example, by increasing their frequency or offering them online. (Recommendation 2)
Open
OSHA said that some of the recommendations in our report may help better protect warehouse and delivery workers from ergonomic hazards; while other parts of the recommendations may not be practical to implement due to resource constraints. OSHA did not provide specific comments on this recommendation: we await further information from the agency.
Department of Labor The Secretary of Labor should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health review and make needed changes to OSHA's internal and publicly available guidance that compliance officers and employers use to identify, assess, and address ergonomic hazards. This may include clarifying existing guidance and providing more current, industry-specific guidance. (Recommendation 3)
Open
OSHA stated that it plans to review its publicly available ergonomic guidance in fiscal year 2025, updating it when warranted and when resources are available to do so. However, OSHA disagreed that there is a need for industry-specific ergonomic guidance for warehousing and delivery work, stating that it prioritizes industry-specific ergonomic guidance for industries with unique hazards. Our recommendation included issuing industry-specific guidance as one potential approach OSHA could pursue. As OSHA reviews its publicly available ergonomic guidance, it may wish to consider other approaches to ensure that compliance officers and employers have access to improved, updated guidance that allows them to identify, assess, and address ergonomic hazards.
Department of Labor The Secretary of Labor should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health conducts timely follow-up with establishments that were issued an ergonomic hazard alert letter, as required by OSHA policy, to determine if establishments have taken corrective actions. This may include regional offices developing formal procedures for tracking ergonomic hazard alert letters. (Recommendation 4)
Open
OSHA said that some of the recommendations in our report may help better protect warehouse and delivery workers from ergonomic hazards; while other parts of the recommendations may not be practical to implement due to resource constraints. OSHA did not provide specific comments on this recommendation: we await further information from the agency.
Department of Labor
Priority Rec.
The Secretary of Labor should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health: (1) formally evaluates how well OSHA's national emphasis program for warehouses and distribution centers helps compliance officers identify, assess, and address ergonomic hazards; and (2) determines and documents next steps to correct any deficiencies detected. (Recommendation 5)
Open
OSHA said that some of the recommendations in our report may help better protect warehouse and delivery workers from ergonomic hazards; while other parts of the recommendations may not be practical to implement due to resource constraints. In February 2025, DOL reported no further action for now.
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