FY 2004 Annual Performance Plan

FY 2004 Performance Goals, Strategies and Cross-Cutting Programs

This FY 2004 Annual Performance Plan establishes performance goals that will lead to the accomplishment of DOL's strategic goals and describes the means and strategies DOL will use to reach those goals. The plan consolidates or aggregates the Department's activities into logical clusters within each strategic goal. For example, the third strategic goal, Quality Workplaces, integrates the outcomes of OSHA's and MSHA's performance goals into one outcome goal — to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. In other cases, only one agency within the Department may contribute to a specific outcome goal.

This chapter is divided into four sections, one for each strategic goal. The introduction to each strategic goal lists the outcome goals associated with the strategic goal and also provides the budget authority and outlays figures for that goal for FY 1999 to FY 2004. These figures are aggregations of outcome goal budget authority and outlays figures, which are described below. The strategic goal introductions highlight the Secretary's areas of emphasis and the role of key performance goals and strategies in achieving these priorities.

For each outcome goal, we provide budget authority and outlays figures for FY 1999 to FY 2004. The method for assigning full costs in terms of budget authority and outlays to the outcome goals mirrors that used by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer in the allocation of costs to outcome goals in the Department's financial statement. While the financial statement ascribes costs at the Agency level, this plan uses the budget activity level as the unit of analysis for analyzing the deployment of resources. Agencies estimated the proportion of their spending that contributed directly to the accomplishment of outcome goals for each of the five years covered by this plan. These factors were applied to the net budget authority and outlay figures contained in the budget request. Indirect costs for program support activities were added to agency budget authority and outlay figures based on usage estimates. As such, spending for the Departmental Management Program Direction and Support activity, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer are allocated to the accomplishment of the outcome goals. Charges for centrally administered administrative services billed through the Working Capital Fund are included in the agency budget activity figures and are likewise allocated to the outcome goals. Each performance goal shows the associated dollar resources as given in Agency performance budgets. These figures do not factor in the departmental-wide costs as described above.

Following the budget figures are the performance goals and their associated means, strategies, and cross-cutting programs. Appendix A displays individual matrices for each performance goal that include the following information:

4.1 DOL Strategic Goal 1 — A Prepared Workforce

The Department of Labor's programs and agencies with the primary operational responsibility for achieving this strategic goal include the Employment and Training Administration's Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Wagner-Peyser Act programs, the Office of Disability Employment Policy, the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, the Women's Bureau (WB), the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI), the Office of the 21^st Century Workforce, the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, and the Office of Inspector General provide indirect support to this strategic goal.

An agile workforce, prepared for the challenges of the 21^st Century workplace is key to keeping America competitive and strong. The Department of Labor is teaming up with our Federal, State, and local partners in the workforce investment system to strengthen our abilities to better serve America's workers. By helping people obtain the necessary skills for a career path rather than just a job, the Department will help people go beyond dreaming of a better life to actually living a better life. The Department is reaching out to employers to find our where the new jobs are, identify what skills are in demand, and setting up programs to help workers acquire those needed skills.

In order to enhance our ability to accomplish these goals, Congress is changing some of the laws that govern our primary employment and training programs. For example, reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) will impact many of the Department's programs and services that ensure a prepared workforce. Four key principles that will guide the legislative initiative include:

• A One-Stop system that works more closely with employers because they hire trainees and referred job seekers;
• A simplified governance structure that can use workforce investment resources as an economic development tool and ensure that the workforce investment system focuses on its key mission of putting people to work;
• More collaborative programs with associations and educational institutions like local community colleges; and
• An improved performance measurement system that will include system-wide measures that are concise, results-oriented, and easy to understand and administer.

The demands of the 21^st Century global economy will require a highly skilled workforce with a strong academic foundation and occupational skills provided through high-quality education and training programs. One approach to prepare workers to meet these demands is through Registered Apprenticeship, a time-tested combination of classroom instruction to lay the academic foundation coupled with on-the-job training and mentoring to building occupational skills. Today, registered apprenticeship has expanded to over 850 occupational areas to meet the needs of numerous new industries including health care, social services, information technology, and security.

DOL policies that guide the implementation of State grant services to adults and dislocated workers underscore the importance of directing training efforts to meet the skill needs of the 21^st Century, especially with respect to countering skill shortages in information technology and other high-tech fields. Grants to the States under WIA provide employment and training activities for adults and dislocated workers that increase the employment, retention, and earnings of participants and increase their occupational skill attainment to enhance life-long career opportunities. Activities include occupational skill training, job placement and support services through the One-Stop Career system. 

In Program Year 2004, consistent with the reauthorization of WIA and the goal of linking budget and performance included in the President's Management Agenda, the Department of Labor proposes to implement common performance measures. These measures will be implemented in conjunction with other federal agencies offering employment and training programs including the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Veterans Affairs. The common measures will apply to WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs, the Labor Exchange program, the Trade program, the WIA Youth program, and the Job Corps. They include measures for employment, retention in employment, the rate of earnings increase and program efficiency. The targets for these indicators are estimates based on the newly proposed measures.

The Trade Act of 2002 reauthorized the program through fiscal year 2007, and amends and adds provisions to the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, many of which became effective on November 4, 2002. It expands eligibility to more worker groups, increases existing benefits available, and adds health care; increases timeliness for benefit receipt, training and rapid response assistance; legislates waivers; and establishes other TAA programs.

The Department's “youth portfolio” under the Workforce Investment Act includes State formula-funded grants and Job Corps. Both programs are designed to help low income youth acquire the education, skills, work experience, and support they need to transition to careers and a productive adulthood. These programs prepare young people for the 21^st Century Workforce by providing a comprehensive array of services that include preparing youth with the skills they need for successful employment; improving educational attainment; providing supportive services; and helping develop the potential of youth as citizens and leaders. Job Corps' full-time, residential education and training program will be even further enhanced under the new agreement between the Departments of Labor and Education which will offer a number of strategies to increase the number of Job Corps graduates who obtain their high school diplomas. This joint project will include developing a Job Corps distance learning/national high school system while maintaining strong content standards.

Faith-based and community organizations can be powerful catalysts in transforming people's lives. The Department is expanding opportunities for these grass-roots groups to receive grants and other resources to carry out their mission of bringing hope and opportunity to individuals and improving our communities. Many grants are specifically designed to link the service expertise of faith and community-based organizations with the One-Stop Career System. The grants are a central component of President George W. Bush's effort to ensure federal policy and programs are accessible for all qualified organizations to compete for government funds.

The Department will continue to improve its delivery of labor exchange services to America's veterans. Through a network of Disabled Veteran Outreach Programs (DVOP) and Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVER), intensive case management services will be provided to disabled veterans and others with significant barriers to employment. Additionally, the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) will implement and evaluate pilot projects to facilitate the employment of veterans in high-demand occupations, such as health care and teaching. Study recommendations will be utilized to respond to specific veterans' employment needs. VETS will also use an improved data collection system to assess success and provide accountability in VETS' grant programs.

To support the New Freedom Initiative, the Department will continue to work to reduce the unemployment rate of Americans with disabilities currently at 14.1 percent (nearly triple the unemployment rate of citizens without disabilities) to allow these citizens to achieve more productive and meaningful work lives. The Office of Disability Employment Policy will develop and evaluate effective employment, training, and employment support service strategies through pilot and research projects.  These evidence-based strategies will be disseminated to the workforce development system to assist adults and youth with disabilities to move successfully into meaningful, long-term career opportunities. Replication of effective practices throughout the job training and vocational rehabilitation community will further promote an integrated approach to adopt the most effective practices and expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

The Women's Bureau supports the outcome goal of increasing employment, earnings and assistance by advocating the employment, training and retention of women to address identified worker shortages, especially in the areas of nursing and the placement of military spouses, older workers and workers with disabilities.

The FY 2004 outcome and performance goals for this strategic goal follow. Detailed information on every performance goal, including indicator, data source, baseline and explanatory comments, can be found in Appendix A.

Means and Strategies

Operating Agencies: ETA, ODEP, VETS

Sustained Efforts in FY 2004

• In Program Year 2004, the Department expects the programs for adults and dislocated workers to begin the fifth year of operation under a reauthorized Workforce Investment Act. The Department expects these programs to be streamlined in the reauthorization process. As the U.S economy changes, it will become ever more critical that the workforce investment system find a way to integrate every available worker into the workforce to enable the continued competitiveness of U.S. businesses and to ensure that no worker is left behind. To further support the principle of no worker left behind, the Department will propose a transition process assuring that Welfare-to-Work participants easily and seamlessly transfer into the workforce investment One-Stop system environment as WtW Formula and Competitive Grants come to a close. Both WIA and TANF Reauthorization present the opportunity for statutory technical adjustments (based upon the lessons learned over the past six years of workforce and welfare system partnership) to facilitate coordination, flexibility of funds, and service sequencing. (Goal 1.1A)
• The Department will work to meet the goal of universal access to the One-Stop system by: 1) supporting outreach to groups of adult workers through community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, organized labor, and other entities, enlisting their assistance in assessment and referral of individuals to local One-Stop Career Centers; and 2) expanding access to services through enhanced use of Internet, telephone and other technologies to provide a broad spectrum of access points not dependent on a single method or medium. (1.1A and 1.1F)
• The Department will focus particular effort on individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), helping One-Stop systems develop their capacity to work with this population. ETA will gather available workforce investment system tools, procedures, curricula, books, and strategies (categorized into core, intensive and training categories) already translated into other languages (with emphasis on Spanish and Asian languages) and post them as downloadable items on a Web site accessible to States and One-Stop Career Centers nationwide. Other technical assistance materials regarding LEP (such as a focused Guidebook) will also be produced and distributed. (1.1A, 1.1B and 1.1F)
• DOL will continue services to adults and dislocated workers who are likely to exhaust Unemployment Insurance benefits as identified by the Worker Profiling and Re-employment Services component of the workforce system by improving the assessment of claimants' needs and providing appropriate Wagner-Peyser Act and Workforce Investment Act Title I re-employment services (e.g., job search workshops, counseling, referrals to suitable openings) and other needed assistance. (1.1A and 1.1F)
• To ensure that performance results drive the management and funding of workforce investment system programs, ETA will fully implement the Performance Enhancement Project (PEP). The project entails a four-part (State, ETA Regional Office, ETA National Office, expert private sector consultants) analysis of the performance of each State that has failed one or more of its negotiated performance standards. The analysis results in the design of a customized technical assistance strategy targeted for a specific State. This customized plan is developed from a menu of assistance topics and methodologies. The delivery methodologies include training, one-on-one assistance, written materials and research. Effectiveness of this approach will be measured by successful performance in the subsequent year. With implementation of the common measure for federal job training and employment programs, the project will focus exclusively on those. (1.1A and 1.1F)
• In partnership with Regional Offices, ETA will initiate a grant review program and develop an OMB approved review tool that focuses on the One-Stop delivery system's universal access and labor exchange functions, and their relationship to more intensive One-Stop services. The goal of this strategy will be to assist state workforce agencies and workforce investment boards in identifying service delivery strengths and improvement opportunities for increasing job seeker entry to employment. (1.1B)
• The Department has created a Business Relations Group to lead the workforce investment system's transition to a demand driven system and to institutionalize this shift at the Federal, State and local level. The Department will work with States and our One-Stop partners to increase the number of businesses engaged in and using the public workforce system to meet their human resource needs using the following strategies: (1) increasing outreach and targeted communication strategies through employer organizations and business liaisons within the State workforce boards; (2) utilizing special initiatives such as Partnerships for Jobs that broker the connection between large and multi-State employers to the workforce system; (3) improving system capacity for working with business; and (4) fostering a better understanding of business human resource needs and how businesses function, and tailoring strategies to meet those needs. (1.1A, 1.1B, 1.1F and 1.1G)
• In order to increase positive employment outcomes for both employers and job seekers, DOL will work with States to produce and deliver quality workforce information products and services to job seekers and employers that effectively facilitate the labor exchange process. (1.1B)
• DOL will continue to review existing research from the registered apprenticeship system, engage current stakeholders and gather input to identify new industries and occupations for the development of apprenticeship programs. (1.1C)
• DOL will continue an education and outreach campaign to promote the development of new apprenticeship programs in the industries in the High Growth Job Training Initiative. (1.1C)
• DOL will continue to initiate new and evaluate ongoing pilot and research projects to identify effective practices that: (1) encourage employers to hire people with disabilities, and (2) support and strengthen the capacity of the workforce development system to provide appropriate and effective employment, training, and employment support services. Specific projects include the Employer Assistance Referral Network, customized employment, Olmstead community programs, High School/High Tech, WIA youth services, the Job Accommodation Network, and development of youth leadership opportunities. Proven effective practices resulting from these and other projects will be replicated throughout the workforce development system. This will be accomplished through partnerships internal and external to the Department and in keeping with the Secretary of Labor's Delegation of Authority and Assignment of Responsibility to the Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy. (1.1D)
• DOL will improve services to veterans within the workforce development system by implementing: 1) pilot projects undertaken in cooperation with employers, State workforce agencies, and educational institutions to place job-ready transitioning service members into career-oriented jobs in industries with known labor shortages, such as retail sales and health care; 2) revised roles and responsibilities with greater flexibility for the States to assign grant-funded State veterans employment representatives, particularly for case managers who serve disabled and other veterans with barriers to employment to locations with larger disabled veterans populations.  (1.1E)
• DOL will utilize recommendations from a study of unemployed veterans service needs, currently underway, to improve the Department's understanding of the characteristics and service needs of the veteran population that uses the Public Labor Exchange, as well as those who do not, so that DOL can better meet the employment and training needs of all veterans. (1.1E)
• The Department will develop tools and mechanisms to improve the ability of faith-based and community-based organizations to participate as service providers, and will remove policy and other barriers to such participation. The Department will explore options for performance outcome measures that accurately reflect the service delivery contributions of faith- and community-based organizations. (1.1A)
• The Department will continue to promote on-the-job-training and customized employer training as a viable means to addressing the current labor shortages being experienced by companies.   (1.1A, 1.1F, and 1.1G)
• To support the creation of an Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) program for workers 50 and over which was passed as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Reform Act of 2002, ETA will emphasize the need for a coordinated approach to assisting jobseekers. Greater emphasis must be placed on the need for all relevant parts of the workforce system to work together in the development of reemployment plans that maximize older worker's skills and abilities. This requirement places greater emphasis on the various rapid response strategies and potential models used throughout the workforce system. (1.1G)
• The Department will continue to conduct onsite monitoring visits to determine the effectiveness of services and benefits provided to trade-affected workers. (1.1G)
• The Department will complete its design and implementation of a reengineered business model for processing all trade petitions received from or on behalf of trade impacted workers within the statutory 40-day timeframe.  This will result in the timely delivery of needed services that put trade affected workers back to work as quickly as possible while they still have a strong attachment to the labor force.  (1.1G)

Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2004:

• The Department will propose in WIA reauthorization, the elimination of the current WIA requirement that outcome data for all students be provided in order for vendor placement onto Eligible Training Provider (ETP) rosters used by States and One-Stop Career Centers. This will eliminate coordination problems driven by differing interpretations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and will result in a greater number of educational institutions (with basic academic foundation capabilities) being added to workforce investment system ETP lists from which customers select the workforce preparation or retraining of their choice. (1.1A and 1.1F)
• DOL will research areas of labor shortage research to identify and develop new partnerships involving apprenticeship training in a minimum of five-targeted industries. (1.1C)
• DOL will continue pilot projects focusing on job development and placement in three States to assist transitioning service members and their spouses. Two pilots address jobs in the health care field. The third pilot will explore the feasibility of military spouses being able to transfer seniority and benefits from store to store in a large retail chain as the military member transfers from base to base. (1.1E)
• The Department will implement a funding formula to provide states with planning estimates in advance of the fiscal year.  This will permit states to plan and manage resources in a more effective and efficient manner.  The formula will incentivize states to maximize the number of TAA participants who receive training during the fiscal year with the expectation of rapid reemployment and improved performance outcomes.  (1.1G)
• ETA will pursue full integration of the Trade Act programs into the One-Stop system and the WIA programs by assisting states and local boards to overcome barriers which hinder service delivery to trade-affected workers as a means of increasing the numbers of TAA participants co-enrolled in the broader dislocated worker program.  DOL will develop a marketing strategy for disseminating promising practices for use by States and local boards.  Regional forums will be held with top level administrators from all relevant program areas throughout the workforce investment system to convey these objectives.  (1.1G)
• The Department will place emphasis on the need for improved case assessment and management (e.g., job search workshops, counseling, resume writing, referrals to suitable employment, remedial training, etc.) in an effort to expedite trade-affected workers return to suitable long-term employment. Additionally, states are being encouraged to use best possible outcomes as the main criteria for approving training.  (1.1G)
• The Department will work with states to undertake and complete data validation of all outcomes data to assure that information reported is accurate and timely.  Findings provided as a result of the validation exercise will be used to establish program effectiveness, quality of services provided, and technical assistance strategies, as necessary. (1.1G)
• The Department will institute management improvements designed to reduce the average processing time from over 100 days to less than 40 days.  This will encompass timely institution of petitions, prompt investigations and determinations, and expeditious notification of petitioners and state agencies regarding petition decisions.  (1.1G)

Cross-Cutting Programs and Issues

DOL in partnership with HHS, ED, and HUD has developed a working group to focus on common measures for federal employment and training programs. The measures include entered employment, retention, earnings increase and efficiency. These changes will enable the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training to better measure and justify the program's impact, value, and benefits to Congress and the public.

The Department will continue to collaborate with other Federal agencies, including Commerce, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury and the Small Business Administration, as well as state and local governments, in programs for economic development and community adjustment assistance in areas affected by worker dislocations, including trade-impacted areas. These government entities work with the Community Adjustment and Investment Program and the North American Development Bank, created by the implementing legislation for the North American Free Trade Agreement, to increase business investment opportunities and employment opportunities for dislocated workers. DOL will also work across One-Stop partner programs to identify and eliminate disincentives for co-enrolling individuals in multiple programs, in order to improve program integration and outcomes for jobseekers.

Means and Strategies

Operating Agencies: ETA

Sustained Efforts in FY 2004:

• In order to increase the attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent, placement in advanced training, and employment opportunities with career paths, DOL will continue to provide guidance for programs serving youth to focus on the provision of strong academic and skills training and enhanced placement and transitional services for program graduates. Such placement and transitional services will include child care, transportation, and housing support, as well as counseling from career transition services providers and other workforce development partners. (1.2A)
• DOL Federal and State staff will jointly determine the effectiveness of local youth programs. These staff will complete 50 site visits by June 30, 2004, to local areas, providing technical assistance, guidance and identifying best practices. Local area directors and youth council chairs will receive a report of findings and recommendations. (1.2A)
• DOL will issue its annual program guidance to States and local areas implementing comprehensive youth services under Workforce Investment Act. The 2004 program emphasis will include a focus on designing programs that address literacy and numeracy skill deficiencies and on developing program strategies that integrate Workforce Investment Act youth services with other existing education and skill training providers within the community. (1.2A)
• DOL's regions will conduct at least one youth conference or other technical assistance event that focuses on providing local communities and youth councils with strategies to build strong youth investment systems that promote attainment of diplomas/General Education Diplomas or advanced training leading to career opportunities. (1.2A)
• DOL will continue the national best practices strategy to promote educational and skills training achievement for younger youth. The National Office, assisted by the regions, will maintain a web-base database of best practices and strategies. (1.2A)
• DOL will continue to establish and refine clear, measurable benchmarks of program success through input from State and local officials and by monitoring participant outcomes in such areas as academic achievement, placement and retention in employment and further education after program completion. (1.2A)
• The Department will develop tools and mechanisms to improve the ability of faith-based and community-based organizations to participate as service providers, and will remove policy and other barriers to such participation. The Department will explore options for performance outcome measures that accurately reflect the service delivery contributions of faith- and community-based organizations. (1.2A)

Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2004:

• While in this last year of authorization under the Workforce Investment Act, DOL will place continued emphasis on improving the quality of services in order to equip our youth with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to effectively meet the changing needs of business and the new economy as well as a focus on the reauthorization of The Workforce Investment Act. Because Program Year 2003 is the last year of authorization, DOL plans to analyze the experiences of State and local areas in the effective delivery of high quality, comprehensive youth services and assess how well these services met the challenge of preparing our most at-risk youth for post-secondary education and careers. Our goal is to determine the potential areas for improvement and issues that could be addressed through the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. (1.2A)
• DOL will provide technical assistance and program guidance to assist State and local areas make the program changes required under a reauthorized WIA. The emphasis will be on continuity of service and maintaining high levels of quality of services to youth during this transition year. Our goal is to maintain service and participation levels in Program Year 2004. (1.2A)
• DOL will develop informational materials to assist local areas in more effectively engaging business in the operation of youth programs and in hiring those youth who have completed Workforce Investment Act youth programs. (1.2A)
• DOL is dedicated to the success of its students both during and after their experience in the program. Strategies to help students achieve success will continue to be implemented through a more comprehensive and effective training, placement, and career transition support system as part of Job Corps' Career Development Services System (CDSS) program enhancement initiative. DOL will continue to emphasize the attainment of academic and vocational credentials along with high quality placements and wages that will lead to long-term attachment to the work force. (1.2B)
• DOL will enhance results by improving our strategies to meet external challenges that may impact the program's ability to achieve desired results. These factors may include economic conditions, changes in State and/or local requirements for achieving academic credentials, and availability of resources to implement initiatives. Strategies to accomplish program objectives include the following:
  • Enhance the mix and relevance of career offerings in Job Corps that meet local labor market demands, resulting in the modernization of Job Corps' training programs through input from Industry Councils, local employers and labor market information;
  • Identify and address the personal needs of students early-on and provide flexible scheduling of services and training tailored to each student's needs and career goals;
  • Expand opportunities for the attainment of high school diplomas by establishing new partnerships with local schools;
  • Use online high school courses to provide students with opportunities to complete their high school requirements while in Job Corps;
  • Improve staff capacity by providing Job Corps teachers with online resources, professional development planning, and training;
  • Continue to integrate academic skills into vocational curricula, based on industry standards, and to align vocational training cluster curricula with industry standards and certification programs;
  • Infuse advanced technologies into staff and student training, including the incorporation of information technology skills beginning in the first 60 days of a student's enrollment and continuing throughout the program;
  • Continue to forge partnerships that bring new employers and new community resources to students while expanding students' enrichment activities;
  • Enhance post-center services to better meet quality placement and employment retention needs of all Job Corps students;
  • Continue to place emphasis on performance in the competitive procurement process through performance-based service contracting as a means of enhancing program effectiveness;
  • Ensure that the Job Corps program remains a viable entity that will continually meet the evolving needs of the 21^st Century workforce by continuing to emphasize the core activities and services that achieve maximum benefits for students and taxpayers; and
  • Help ensure the efficient use of Job Corps funds by monitoring training slot capacity utilization at all Job Corps centers. (1.2B)

Cross-Cutting Programs and Issues

DOL will facilitate the involvement of faith-based organizations, as partners, to expand educational, cultural, recreational and career opportunities for youth.

DOL will work with the Department of Education and the Department of Defense's Education Activity to assist with the development of local partnerships to expand high school diploma attainment opportunities for Job Corps program participants.

DOL will disseminate the findings from its young offender demonstration programs as a way to improve services through the One-Stop system.

Means and Strategies

Operating Agency: BLS

Sustained Efforts in FY 2004:

• DOL will continue to carry out its mandate as the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal government in the field of labor economics. This includes producing impartial and objective essential economic data for the Nation in the areas of employment and unemployment, price change, compensation, safety and health, productivity, and economic growth. Business, labor, governments, the media, and the public rely on these measures to develop economic policy and make well-informed decisions.
• By utilizing technological advances, DOL will improve the operational processes used to develop economic data, specifically through the use of the BLS Statistical Program Model. The stages of the model are as follows: conceptualization, planning, design, development, implementation, validation, and administration.  
• The Department's BLS is a knowledge-based organization composed of information workers: individuals who must have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to gather, analyze, and disseminate statistical information relevant to policy makers and American citizens. The rapid development of information technology and new approaches and methods for data collection and analysis has changed and continues to change the nature of the work at BLS. As a result, BLS needs to ensure that it remains competitive with other organizations in terms of the salaries, benefits, training, challenging work, and other incentives it offers to its highly skilled workers.
• DOL will continue to improve and enhance its data collection and dissemination capabilities.  For example, to reduce respondent burden, BLS provides a variety of options for participating in BLS surveys.  The BLS Internet Data Collection Facility (IDCF), which can be shared across statistical program areas, provides a single, manageable, and secure architecture for Bureau surveys to use in collecting information over the Internet.  Work is underway in 2004 to expand the project for additional BLS programs.  To improve and enhance public access to its data, BLS will expand the functionality and availability of statistical data on the BLS website. In FY 2004, BLS will expand the use of map tools for additional programs.  With this tool, users can download maps showing unemployment rates by State, county, or metropolitan statistical area, for any month or year from 1990 forward. 
• To determine customer satisfaction with BLS statistical products and services, BLS will continue to participate in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey.  Participation in the ACSI allows BLS to know, understand, and anticipate customers' needs, expectations, and preferences as well as allows BLS to compare its services with other public and private organizations to discover best practices to improve customer service.
• BLS in its entirety was one of the Federal programs that the Administration assessed with the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). One recommendation was to maintain BLS' current successes in program monitoring and operations, which BLS will continue to do in FY 2004. 

Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2004:

• DOL will publish Quarterly Productivity and Costs Statistics, Producer Prices and Price Indexes (PPI), Occupational Employment Survey (OES), and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) data using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). NAICS replaces the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system and offers a new and more consistent approach to industrial classification that better reflects the modern economy. By 2004, eight BLS programs that produce industry-based statistics will be using NAICS. 
• DOL will continue to increase service industry coverage in the PPI. With the service sector accounting for over 70 percent of marketed U.S. domestic production, this expanded coverage will provide decision-makers in the public and private sectors more comprehensive information on price trends for domestic service outputs.
• DOL will continue to expand industry coverage in productivity statistics by producing measures of labor productivity and unit labor costs for three additional service-producing industries. 
• DOL will continue work to maintain and improve responses for its statistical programs.  The Employment Cost Index program, for example, will increase its response rate by conducting activities, such as better monitoring and measuring of response rates to target problematic areas; building upon a national training curriculum whereby all field data collectors are trained on the best techniques and methods to use in approaching respondent contacts; and improving outreach efforts to better educate potential respondents about the value of BLS surveys.   
• As part of the continuing efforts to modernize the computing system for monthly processing of the PPI, the program will complete approximately one-third of the new pricing system components by 2004.  This new system will be based on a more secure, stable, and expandable computing platform. 

Cross-Cutting Programs and Issues

BLS, as a producer of economic statistics on the U.S. economy, must work in partnership with other Federal, State, and international statistical agencies. These organizations encounter common and sometimes overlapping issues that must be addressed in a coordinated manner for the benefit of the users of these data. Such coordination not only maximizes BLS performance, but also helps to improve the accuracy, efficiency, and relevancy of economic measures produced.

As a Federal statistical agency, BLS is a member of the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy, a committee of representatives from 15 agencies, which works to identify areas for collaboration. During FY 2004, the Council will enhance FedStats, a portal or "one-stop shopping" website for Federal statistics, and continue research and development efforts with its academic Digital Government partners in moving towards a National Statistical Knowledge Network.

Progress will continue on operationalizing the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002. The law provides for the sharing of business data among three Federal statistical agencies, that is, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Bureau of the Census.  Among the benefits, this will help to reduce respondent burden by ensuring that the duplication of data collection efforts is minimized.

As a member of the international statistical community, BLS also works with foreign statistical agencies and international organizations in efforts to enhance comparability of concepts and definitions. During FY 2004, BLS will participate in statistical working parties sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to address issues dealing with improving and standardizing the data on productivity and employment/unemployment used around the world.  BLS staff also will participate on working groups sponsored by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on topics such as metadata and statistical data editing.

4.2 DOL Strategic Goal 2 — A Secure Workforce

DOL is committed to protecting workers' hours, wages, and other working conditions; providing unemployment compensation and other benefits when workers are unable to work; and expanding, enhancing, and protecting workers' retirement plans, health care plans, and other benefits.

Department of Labor programs and agencies with the primary operational responsibility for achieving this strategic goal include the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA); the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC); the Employment and Training Administration's Unemployment Compensation programs; and, the Employment Standards Administration (ESA)'s Wage and Hour Division, Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. In addition, the Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, the Office of Inspector General, and the Appellate Boards provide indirect support to this strategic goal.

The performance goals in this section support the Department's commitment to the protection of the American workforce in the 21st Century. The goal of promoting compliance in typically low-wage industries, for example, reflects the Department's commitment to guaranteeing an honest day's pay for an honest day's work, which is especially critical for the most economically disadvantaged American workers. The Department has also established a goal to protect the economic safety and security of American workers and their workplaces by promoting the responsible stewardship of union funds.

A key objective of the Department's role in the administration and oversight of benefit programs for unemployed workers and for those who have suffered work-related injuries and illnesses is the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Additionally, DOL's goals to improve payment timeliness and assistance to unemployed and injured workers to return to the workplace represent the practical implementation of the Department's pledge to give hope to all individuals that they will not be left behind in the quest for the American dream.

The FY 2004 outcome and performance goals for this strategic goal follow. Detailed information on every performance goal, including indicator, data source, baseline and explanatory comments, can be found in Appendix A.

Means and Strategies

Operating Agencies: ESA

Sustained Efforts in FY 2004:

Improving Customer Service

• DOL will continue to employ streamlined procedures where necessary to ensure early: contact with complainants, development of case facts, identification of appropriate investigative tools, and identification of potential litigation cases. (2.1A)
• DOL will maintain complaint intake procedures to ensure the adequate screening of complaints, and DOL offices will conduct regular reviews of complaint inventories using established accountability measures and management reports to ensure that timeliness measures are being met. (2.1A)

Reducing Employer Recidivism

• DOL will provide compliance assistance on all applicable statutes administered by DOL during an investigation; secure agreements for future compliance and specific commitments for future compliance following a DOL intervention; and, obtain commitments for corporate-wide compliance by multi-establishment employers through formal and informal agreements following a history of DOL interventions. (2.1A)
• DOL will assess penalties, pursue litigation and prosecution, and publicize the consequences of non-compliant behavior as may be appropriate for willful and repeat violators. (2.1A)
• DOL will provide ongoing training to its investigative staff and conduct reviews according to established accountability measures to ensure that proper policies and procedures are followed during initial DOL interventions. (2.1A)

Increasing Compliance in Industries with Chronic Violations

• DOL will conduct a directed enforcement initiative of garment contractors to determine the percent of employees paid “on the payroll” for firms that have not received outreach and compare with those firms that have received outreach. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct face-to-face contacts with contractors in southern CA, providing them with compliance assistance and meet with known monitoring companies in southern CA to discuss and train staff in ways to detect and correct situations where workers are “off the payroll”. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct payroll audits of newly registered contractors and will ensure that contractors producing for manufacturers that are members of NYC-Apparel Industry Compliance Partnership (AICP) will participate in the AICP's training program. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct a payroll audit initiative which includes informing employers of obligations to pay employees “on the books” and possible follow-up investigations. DOL will also distribute employee rights card to employees during investigations and through employee advocacy organizations, community groups, community colleges and State licensing agencies. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct full investigations of overtime, minimum wage and child labor complaints in a timely manner with focus on obtaining long-term sustaining compliance. (This excludes last paycheck conciliations.) (2.1A)
• DOL will assess whether the Department is receiving multiple complaints against the same corporations and take appropriate intervention measures to ensure corporate-wide compliance, including being approached to participate in a compliance agreement program. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct compliance assistance highlighting problems common in residential care and nursing home and in geographic areas where violations appear more common. (2.1A)
• DOL will work with State licensing agencies to pilot the dissemination of compliance materials to newly licensed residential care facilities. (2.1A)
• DOL will develop and pilot a face-to-face consultation program for small and new residential group homes and will distribute industry-specific fact sheets on most common violations in the nursing home industry. (2.1A)
• DOL will provide compliance assistance training to nursing home corporations or associations entering into compliance assistance partnerships. (2.1A)
• DOL will contact employers with prior agricultural violations who agreed to future compliance and encourage them to enter compliance partnership agreements with an emphasis on housing, transportation and child labor compliance. (2.1A)
• DOL will plan initiatives in agricultural commodities or geographic areas with high violation rates and where housing is provided and transportation is provided and child labor is likely to be present or the use of farm labor contractors is prevalent. (2.1A)
• DOL will provide compliance assistance to farm labor contractors, growers and associations through mailings, outreach events, the internet and other means. DOL will develop a farm labor contractor non-technical bulletin and distribute plain language compliance assistance information to farm labor contractor applicants who register for initial certificates of registration. (2.1A)
• DOL will continue the operational development of the Technology for Excellent Customer Service (TECS) systems that will provide nationwide toll-free access to: 1) promptly identify and refer calls unrelated to DOL activities to the appropriate agency; 2) answer commonly asked questions quickly and accurately; and, 3) eventually accept employee complaints alleging violations and refer them electronically to the proper field office. (2.1A)
• DOL will implement an agreement with the Bureau of Census to scan and electronically enter wage payment data and encourage use of electronic survey data collection form. (2.1A)
• DOL will improve the speed and efficiency of the Automated Survey Data System and implement the new Wage Determination Generation System. (2.1A)

Advancing safeguards for union financial integrity and democracy

• DOL will investigate complaints concerning union officer elections, supervise remedial union officer elections, and conduct audits and civil and criminal investigations to enforce the LMRDA standards for union democracy and financial integrity. (2.1B)
• DOL will secure reports required from unions and others under the LMRDA and make them available for public disclosure, including public disclosure via the Internet using a searchable database of information from union financial reports (2.1B)
• DOL will continue to offer and conduct compliance assistance seminars throughout the country to explain the requirements of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). These seminars cover topics such as union reporting and record keeping, financial safeguards for union funds, elections of union officers, and training for union trustees on conducting audits in small unions. DOL will continue to advertise upcoming compliance assistance seminars on its website and to extend to interested organizations the opportunity to sponsor seminars in the future. (2.1B)
• DOL will foster liaison with international unions to promote voluntary compliance with LMRDA standards by affiliates and will provide compliance assistance to union officials. A program of compliance assistance contacts will be continued that targets unions scheduled to elect officers in FY 2004 whose previous elections were investigated by the Department. A program of contacts at the field office level to obtain timely reports by unions with receipts of more than $200,000 that were delinquent in the prior year will be continued. DOL will provide outreach to union members to promote the objectives of the LMRDA. DOL will also continue a program to advise new unions and new officers about their responsibilities under the LMRDA. (2.1B)

Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2004:

• DOL will develop and implement a wide variety of compliance assistance programs, including self-audit tools and incentive-based consultation programs in selected industries. (2.1A)
• DOL will explore and develop new strategic partnerships to facilitate the distribution of compliance assistance material including with States, community-based organizations, employer associations and others. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct a statistically valid survey of agricultural compliance with the disclosure, wages, housing and transportation provisions of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Act, Fair Labor Standards Act and OSHA field sanitation standards. (2.1A)
• DOL plans to incorporate in the Internet-based public disclosure system, union trusteeship reports and reports filed by union officers and employees, and surety companies under the LMRDA. (2.1B)
• As resources permit, DOL will enhance efforts to advance union financial integrity by establishing a sustained, productive program of investigative audits. This would include a viable program to audit national/international unions under the agency's International Compliance Audit Program (I-CAP). (2.1B)
• New compliance assistance and union liaison initiatives are planned to support all aspects of the LMRDA program, particularly to assist union officials with new and planned LMRDA reporting changes. New compliance assistance materials will be developed to support planned electronic reporting initiatives. (2.1B)

Cross-Cutting Programs and Issues

The Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) serves a cross-cutting function by coordinating with ESA and other DOL enforcement agencies on customer/stakeholder feedback to resolve problems and improve agency operations.

This FY 2004 Annual Performance Plan establishes performance goals that will lead to the accomplishment of DOL's strategic goals and describes the means and strategies DOL will use to reach those goals. The plan consolidates or aggregates the Department's activities into logical clusters within each strategic goal. For example, the third strategic goal, Quality Workplaces, integrates the outcomes of OSHA's and MSHA's performance goals into one outcome goal — to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. In other cases, only one agency within the Department may contribute to a specific outcome goal.

This chapter is divided into four sections, one for each strategic goal. The introduction to each strategic goal lists the outcome goals associated with the strategic goal and also provides the budget authority and outlays figures for that goal for FY 1999 to FY 2004. These figures are aggregations of outcome goal budget authority and outlays figures, which are described below. The strategic goal introductions highlight the Secretary's areas of emphasis and the role of key performance goals and strategies in achieving these priorities.

For each outcome goal, we provide budget authority and outlays figures for FY 1999 to FY 2004. The method for assigning full costs in terms of budget authority and outlays to the outcome goals mirrors that used by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer in the allocation of costs to outcome goals in the Department's financial statement. While the financial statement ascribes costs at the Agency level, this plan uses the budget activity level as the unit of analysis for analyzing the deployment of resources. Agencies estimated the proportion of their spending that contributed directly to the accomplishment of outcome goals for each of the five years covered by this plan. These factors were applied to the net budget authority and outlay figures contained in the budget request. Indirect costs for program support activities were added to agency budget authority and outlay figures based on usage estimates. As such, spending for the Departmental Management Program Direction and Support activity, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer are allocated to the accomplishment of the outcome goals. Charges for centrally administered administrative services billed through the Working Capital Fund are included in the agency budget activity figures and are likewise allocated to the outcome goals. Each performance goal shows the associated dollar resources as given in Agency performance budgets. These figures do not factor in the departmental-wide costs as described above.

Following the budget figures are the performance goals and their associated means, strategies, and cross-cutting programs. Appendix A displays individual matrices for each performance goal that include the following information:

4.1 DOL Strategic Goal 1 — A Prepared Workforce

The Department of Labor's programs and agencies with the primary operational responsibility for achieving this strategic goal include the Employment and Training Administration's Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Wagner-Peyser Act programs, the Office of Disability Employment Policy, the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, the Women's Bureau (WB), the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI), the Office of the 21^st Century Workforce, the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, and the Office of Inspector General provide indirect support to this strategic goal.

An agile workforce, prepared for the challenges of the 21^st Century workplace is key to keeping America competitive and strong. The Department of Labor is teaming up with our Federal, State, and local partners in the workforce investment system to strengthen our abilities to better serve America's workers. By helping people obtain the necessary skills for a career path rather than just a job, the Department will help people go beyond dreaming of a better life to actually living a better life. The Department is reaching out to employers to find our where the new jobs are, identify what skills are in demand, and setting up programs to help workers acquire those needed skills.

In order to enhance our ability to accomplish these goals, Congress is changing some of the laws that govern our primary employment and training programs. For example, reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) will impact many of the Department's programs and services that ensure a prepared workforce. Four key principles that will guide the legislative initiative include:

• A One-Stop system that works more closely with employers because they hire trainees and referred job seekers;
• A simplified governance structure that can use workforce investment resources as an economic development tool and ensure that the workforce investment system focuses on its key mission of putting people to work;
• More collaborative programs with associations and educational institutions like local community colleges; and
• An improved performance measurement system that will include system-wide measures that are concise, results-oriented, and easy to understand and administer.

The demands of the 21^st Century global economy will require a highly skilled workforce with a strong academic foundation and occupational skills provided through high-quality education and training programs. One approach to prepare workers to meet these demands is through Registered Apprenticeship, a time-tested combination of classroom instruction to lay the academic foundation coupled with on-the-job training and mentoring to building occupational skills. Today, registered apprenticeship has expanded to over 850 occupational areas to meet the needs of numerous new industries including health care, social services, information technology, and security.

DOL policies that guide the implementation of State grant services to adults and dislocated workers underscore the importance of directing training efforts to meet the skill needs of the 21^st Century, especially with respect to countering skill shortages in information technology and other high-tech fields. Grants to the States under WIA provide employment and training activities for adults and dislocated workers that increase the employment, retention, and earnings of participants and increase their occupational skill attainment to enhance life-long career opportunities. Activities include occupational skill training, job placement and support services through the One-Stop Career system. 

In Program Year 2004, consistent with the reauthorization of WIA and the goal of linking budget and performance included in the President's Management Agenda, the Department of Labor proposes to implement common performance measures. These measures will be implemented in conjunction with other federal agencies offering employment and training programs including the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Veterans Affairs. The common measures will apply to WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs, the Labor Exchange program, the Trade program, the WIA Youth program, and the Job Corps. They include measures for employment, retention in employment, the rate of earnings increase and program efficiency. The targets for these indicators are estimates based on the newly proposed measures.

The Trade Act of 2002 reauthorized the program through fiscal year 2007, and amends and adds provisions to the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, many of which became effective on November 4, 2002. It expands eligibility to more worker groups, increases existing benefits available, and adds health care; increases timeliness for benefit receipt, training and rapid response assistance; legislates waivers; and establishes other TAA programs.

The Department's “youth portfolio” under the Workforce Investment Act includes State formula-funded grants and Job Corps. Both programs are designed to help low income youth acquire the education, skills, work experience, and support they need to transition to careers and a productive adulthood. These programs prepare young people for the 21^st Century Workforce by providing a comprehensive array of services that include preparing youth with the skills they need for successful employment; improving educational attainment; providing supportive services; and helping develop the potential of youth as citizens and leaders. Job Corps' full-time, residential education and training program will be even further enhanced under the new agreement between the Departments of Labor and Education which will offer a number of strategies to increase the number of Job Corps graduates who obtain their high school diplomas. This joint project will include developing a Job Corps distance learning/national high school system while maintaining strong content standards.

Faith-based and community organizations can be powerful catalysts in transforming people's lives. The Department is expanding opportunities for these grass-roots groups to receive grants and other resources to carry out their mission of bringing hope and opportunity to individuals and improving our communities. Many grants are specifically designed to link the service expertise of faith and community-based organizations with the One-Stop Career System. The grants are a central component of President George W. Bush's effort to ensure federal policy and programs are accessible for all qualified organizations to compete for government funds.

The Department will continue to improve its delivery of labor exchange services to America's veterans. Through a network of Disabled Veteran Outreach Programs (DVOP) and Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVER), intensive case management services will be provided to disabled veterans and others with significant barriers to employment. Additionally, the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) will implement and evaluate pilot projects to facilitate the employment of veterans in high-demand occupations, such as health care and teaching. Study recommendations will be utilized to respond to specific veterans' employment needs. VETS will also use an improved data collection system to assess success and provide accountability in VETS' grant programs.

To support the New Freedom Initiative, the Department will continue to work to reduce the unemployment rate of Americans with disabilities currently at 14.1 percent (nearly triple the unemployment rate of citizens without disabilities) to allow these citizens to achieve more productive and meaningful work lives. The Office of Disability Employment Policy will develop and evaluate effective employment, training, and employment support service strategies through pilot and research projects.  These evidence-based strategies will be disseminated to the workforce development system to assist adults and youth with disabilities to move successfully into meaningful, long-term career opportunities. Replication of effective practices throughout the job training and vocational rehabilitation community will further promote an integrated approach to adopt the most effective practices and expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

The Women's Bureau supports the outcome goal of increasing employment, earnings and assistance by advocating the employment, training and retention of women to address identified worker shortages, especially in the areas of nursing and the placement of military spouses, older workers and workers with disabilities.

The FY 2004 outcome and performance goals for this strategic goal follow. Detailed information on every performance goal, including indicator, data source, baseline and explanatory comments, can be found in Appendix A.

Means and Strategies

Operating Agencies: ETA, ODEP, VETS

Sustained Efforts in FY 2004

• In Program Year 2004, the Department expects the programs for adults and dislocated workers to begin the fifth year of operation under a reauthorized Workforce Investment Act. The Department expects these programs to be streamlined in the reauthorization process. As the U.S economy changes, it will become ever more critical that the workforce investment system find a way to integrate every available worker into the workforce to enable the continued competitiveness of U.S. businesses and to ensure that no worker is left behind. To further support the principle of no worker left behind, the Department will propose a transition process assuring that Welfare-to-Work participants easily and seamlessly transfer into the workforce investment One-Stop system environment as WtW Formula and Competitive Grants come to a close. Both WIA and TANF Reauthorization present the opportunity for statutory technical adjustments (based upon the lessons learned over the past six years of workforce and welfare system partnership) to facilitate coordination, flexibility of funds, and service sequencing. (Goal 1.1A)
• The Department will work to meet the goal of universal access to the One-Stop system by: 1) supporting outreach to groups of adult workers through community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, organized labor, and other entities, enlisting their assistance in assessment and referral of individuals to local One-Stop Career Centers; and 2) expanding access to services through enhanced use of Internet, telephone and other technologies to provide a broad spectrum of access points not dependent on a single method or medium. (1.1A and 1.1F)
• The Department will focus particular effort on individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP), helping One-Stop systems develop their capacity to work with this population. ETA will gather available workforce investment system tools, procedures, curricula, books, and strategies (categorized into core, intensive and training categories) already translated into other languages (with emphasis on Spanish and Asian languages) and post them as downloadable items on a Web site accessible to States and One-Stop Career Centers nationwide. Other technical assistance materials regarding LEP (such as a focused Guidebook) will also be produced and distributed. (1.1A, 1.1B and 1.1F)
• DOL will continue services to adults and dislocated workers who are likely to exhaust Unemployment Insurance benefits as identified by the Worker Profiling and Re-employment Services component of the workforce system by improving the assessment of claimants' needs and providing appropriate Wagner-Peyser Act and Workforce Investment Act Title I re-employment services (e.g., job search workshops, counseling, referrals to suitable openings) and other needed assistance. (1.1A and 1.1F)
• To ensure that performance results drive the management and funding of workforce investment system programs, ETA will fully implement the Performance Enhancement Project (PEP). The project entails a four-part (State, ETA Regional Office, ETA National Office, expert private sector consultants) analysis of the performance of each State that has failed one or more of its negotiated performance standards. The analysis results in the design of a customized technical assistance strategy targeted for a specific State. This customized plan is developed from a menu of assistance topics and methodologies. The delivery methodologies include training, one-on-one assistance, written materials and research. Effectiveness of this approach will be measured by successful performance in the subsequent year. With implementation of the common measure for federal job training and employment programs, the project will focus exclusively on those. (1.1A and 1.1F)
• In partnership with Regional Offices, ETA will initiate a grant review program and develop an OMB approved review tool that focuses on the One-Stop delivery system=s universal access and labor exchange functions, and their relationship to more intensive One-Stop services. The goal of this strategy will be to assist state workforce agencies and workforce investment boards in identifying service delivery strengths and improvement opportunities for increasing job seeker entry to employment. (1.1B)
• The Department has created a Business Relations Group to lead the workforce investment system's transition to a demand driven system and to institutionalize this shift at the Federal, State and local level. The Department will work with States and our One-Stop partners to increase the number of businesses engaged in and using the public workforce system to meet their human resource needs using the following strategies: (1) increasing outreach and targeted communication strategies through employer organizations and business liaisons within the State workforce boards; (2) utilizing special initiatives such as Partnerships for Jobs that broker the connection between large and multi-State employers to the workforce system; (3) improving system capacity for working with business; and (4) fostering a better understanding of business human resource needs and how businesses function, and tailoring strategies to meet those needs. (1.1A, 1.1B, 1.1F and 1.1G)
• In order to increase positive employment outcomes for both employers and job seekers, DOL will work with States to produce and deliver quality workforce information products and services to job seekers and employers that effectively facilitate the labor exchange process. (1.1B)
• DOL will continue to review existing research from the registered apprenticeship system, engage current stakeholders and gather input to identify new industries and occupations for the development of apprenticeship programs. (1.1C)
• DOL will continue an education and outreach campaign to promote the development of new apprenticeship programs in the industries in the High Growth Job Training Initiative. (1.1C)
• DOL will continue to initiate new and evaluate ongoing pilot and research projects to identify effective practices that: (1) encourage employers to hire people with disabilities, and (2) support and strengthen the capacity of the workforce development system to provide appropriate and effective employment, training, and employment support services. Specific projects include the Employer Assistance Referral Network, customized employment, Olmstead community programs, High School/High Tech, WIA youth services, the Job Accommodation Network, and development of youth leadership opportunities. Proven effective practices resulting from these and other projects will be replicated throughout the workforce development system. This will be accomplished through partnerships internal and external to the Department and in keeping with the Secretary of Labor's Delegation of Authority and Assignment of Responsibility to the Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy. (1.1D)
• DOL will improve services to veterans within the workforce development system by implementing: 1) pilot projects undertaken in cooperation with employers, State workforce agencies, and educational institutions to place job-ready transitioning service members into career-oriented jobs in industries with known labor shortages, such as retail sales and health care; 2) revised roles and responsibilities with greater flexibility for the States to assign grant-funded State veterans employment representatives, particularly for case managers who serve disabled and other veterans with barriers to employment to locations with larger disabled veterans populations.  (1.1E)
• DOL will utilize recommendations from a study of unemployed veterans service needs, currently underway, to improve the Department's understanding of the characteristics and service needs of the veteran population that uses the Public Labor Exchange, as well as those who do not, so that DOL can better meet the employment and training needs of all veterans. (1.1E)
• The Department will develop tools and mechanisms to improve the ability of faith-based and community-based organizations to participate as service providers, and will remove policy and other barriers to such participation. The Department will explore options for performance outcome measures that accurately reflect the service delivery contributions of faith- and community-based organizations. (1.1A)
• The Department will continue to promote on-the-job-training and customized employer training as a viable means to addressing the current labor shortages being experienced by companies.   (1.1A, 1.1F, and 1.1G)
• To support the creation of an Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) program for workers 50 and over which was passed as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Reform Act of 2002, ETA will emphasize the need for a coordinated approach to assisting jobseekers. Greater emphasis must be placed on the need for all relevant parts of the workforce system to work together in the development of reemployment plans that maximize older worker's skills and abilities. This requirement places greater emphasis on the various rapid response strategies and potential models used throughout the workforce system. (1.1G)
• The Department will continue to conduct onsite monitoring visits to determine the effectiveness of services and benefits provided to trade-affected workers. (1.1G)
• The Department will complete its design and implementation of a reengineered business model for processing all trade petitions received from or on behalf of trade impacted workers within the statutory 40-day timeframe.  This will result in the timely delivery of needed services that put trade affected workers back to work as quickly as possible while they still have a strong attachment to the labor force.  (1.1G)

Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2004:

• The Department will propose in WIA reauthorization, the elimination of the current WIA requirement that outcome data for all students be provided in order for vendor placement onto Eligible Training Provider (ETP) rosters used by States and One-Stop Career Centers. This will eliminate coordination problems driven by differing interpretations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and will result in a greater number of educational institutions (with basic academic foundation capabilities) being added to workforce investment system ETP lists from which customers select the workforce preparation or retraining of their choice. (1.1A and 1.1F)
• DOL will research areas of labor shortage research to identify and develop new partnerships involving apprenticeship training in a minimum of five-targeted industries. (1.1C)
• DOL will continue pilot projects focusing on job development and placement in three States to assist transitioning service members and their spouses. Two pilots address jobs in the health care field. The third pilot will explore the feasibility of military spouses being able to transfer seniority and benefits from store to store in a large retail chain as the military member transfers from base to base. (1.1E)
• The Department will implement a funding formula to provide states with planning estimates in advance of the fiscal year.  This will permit states to plan and manage resources in a more effective and efficient manner.  The formula will incentivize states to maximize the number of TAA participants who receive training during the fiscal year with the expectation of rapid reemployment and improved performance outcomes.  (1.1G)
• ETA will pursue full integration of the Trade Act programs into the One-Stop system and the WIA programs by assisting states and local boards to overcome barriers which hinder service delivery to trade-affected workers as a means of increasing the numbers of TAA participants co-enrolled in the broader dislocated worker program.  DOL will develop a marketing strategy for disseminating promising practices for use by States and local boards.  Regional forums will be held with top level administrators from all relevant program areas throughout the workforce investment system to convey these objectives.  (1.1G)
• The Department will place emphasis on the need for improved case assessment and management (e.g., job search workshops, counseling, resume writing, referrals to suitable employment, remedial training, etc.) in an effort to expedite trade-affected workers return to suitable long-term employment. Additionally, states are being encouraged to use best possible outcomes as the main criteria for approving training.  (1.1G)
• The Department will work with states to undertake and complete data validation of all outcomes data to assure that information reported is accurate and timely.  Findings provided as a result of the validation exercise will be used to establish program effectiveness, quality of services provided, and technical assistance strategies, as necessary. (1.1G)
• The Department will institute management improvements designed to reduce the average processing time from over 100 days to less than 40 days.  This will encompass timely institution of petitions, prompt investigations and determinations, and expeditious notification of petitioners and state agencies regarding petition decisions.  (1.1G)

Cross-Cutting Programs and Issues

DOL in partnership with HHS, ED, and HUD has developed a working group to focus on common measures for federal employment and training programs. The measures include entered employment, retention, earnings increase and efficiency. These changes will enable the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training to better measure and justify the program's impact, value, and benefits to Congress and the public.

The Department will continue to collaborate with other Federal agencies, including Commerce, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury and the Small Business Administration, as well as state and local governments, in programs for economic development and community adjustment assistance in areas affected by worker dislocations, including trade-impacted areas. These government entities work with the Community Adjustment and Investment Program and the North American Development Bank, created by the implementing legislation for the North American Free Trade Agreement, to increase business investment opportunities and employment opportunities for dislocated workers. DOL will also work across One-Stop partner programs to identify and eliminate disincentives for co-enrolling individuals in multiple programs, in order to improve program integration and outcomes for jobseekers.

Means and Strategies

Operating Agencies: ETA

Sustained Efforts in FY 2004:

• In order to increase the attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent, placement in advanced training, and employment opportunities with career paths, DOL will continue to provide guidance for programs serving youth to focus on the provision of strong academic and skills training and enhanced placement and transitional services for program graduates. Such placement and transitional services will include child care, transportation, and housing support, as well as counseling from career transition services providers and other workforce development partners. (1.2A)

• DOL Federal and State staff will jointly determine the effectiveness of local youth programs. These staff will complete 50 site visits by June 30, 2004, to local areas, providing technical assistance, guidance and identifying best practices. Local area directors and youth council chairs will receive a report of findings and recommendations. (1.2A)
• DOL will issue its annual program guidance to States and local areas implementing comprehensive youth services under Workforce Investment Act. The 2004 program emphasis will include a focus on designing programs that address literacy and numeracy skill deficiencies and on developing program strategies that integrate Workforce Investment Act youth services with other existing education and skill training providers within the community. (1.2A)
• DOL's regions will conduct at least one youth conference or other technical assistance event that focuses on providing local communities and youth councils with strategies to build strong youth investment systems that promote attainment of diplomas/General Education Diplomas or advanced training leading to career opportunities. (1.2A)
• DOL will continue the national best practices strategy to promote educational and skills training achievement for younger youth. The National Office, assisted by the regions, will maintain a web-base database of best practices and strategies. (1.2A)
• DOL will continue to establish and refine clear, measurable benchmarks of program success through input from State and local officials and by monitoring participant outcomes in such areas as academic achievement, placement and retention in employment and further education after program completion. (1.2A)
• The Department will develop tools and mechanisms to improve the ability of faith-based and community-based organizations to participate as service providers, and will remove policy and other barriers to such participation. The Department will explore options for performance outcome measures that accurately reflect the service delivery contributions of faith- and community-based organizations. (1.2A)

Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2004:

• While in this last year of authorization under the Workforce Investment Act, DOL will place continued emphasis on improving the quality of services in order to equip our youth with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to effectively meet the changing needs of business and the new economy as well as a focus on the reauthorization of The Workforce Investment Act. Because Program Year 2003 is the last year of authorization, DOL plans to analyze the experiences of State and local areas in the effective delivery of high quality, comprehensive youth services and assess how well these services met the challenge of preparing our most at-risk youth for post-secondary education and careers. Our goal is to determine the potential areas for improvement and issues that could be addressed through the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. (1.2A)
• DOL will provide technical assistance and program guidance to assist State and local areas make the program changes required under a reauthorized WIA. The emphasis will be on continuity of service and maintaining high levels of quality of services to youth during this transition year. Our goal is to maintain service and participation levels in Program Year 2004. (1.2A)
• DOL will develop informational materials to assist local areas in more effectively engaging business in the operation of youth programs and in hiring those youth who have completed Workforce Investment Act youth programs. (1.2A)
• DOL is dedicated to the success of its students both during and after their experience in the program. Strategies to help students achieve success will continue to be implemented through a more comprehensive and effective training, placement, and career transition support system as part of Job Corps' Career Development Services System (CDSS) program enhancement initiative. DOL will continue to emphasize the attainment of academic and vocational credentials along with high quality placements and wages that will lead to long-term attachment to the work force. (1.2B)
• DOL will enhance results by improving our strategies to meet external challenges that may impact the program's ability to achieve desired results. These factors may include economic conditions, changes in State and/or local requirements for achieving academic credentials, and availability of resources to implement initiatives. Strategies to accomplish program objectives include the following:
  • Enhance the mix and relevance of career offerings in Job Corps that meet local labor market demands, resulting in the modernization of Job Corps' training programs through input from Industry Councils, local employers and labor market information;
  • Identify and address the personal needs of students early-on and provide flexible scheduling of services and training tailored to each student's needs and career goals;
  • Expand opportunities for the attainment of high school diplomas by establishing new partnerships with local schools;
  • Use online high school courses to provide students with opportunities to complete their high school requirements while in Job Corps;
  • Improve staff capacity by providing Job Corps teachers with online resources, professional development planning, and training;
  • Continue to integrate academic skills into vocational curricula, based on industry standards, and to align vocational training cluster curricula with industry standards and certification programs;
  • Infuse advanced technologies into staff and student training, including the incorporation of information technology skills beginning in the first 60 days of a student's enrollment and continuing throughout the program;
  • Continue to forge partnerships that bring new employers and new community resources to students while expanding students' enrichment activities;
  • Enhance post-center services to better meet quality placement and employment retention needs of all Job Corps students;
  • Continue to place emphasis on performance in the competitive procurement process through performance-based service contracting as a means of enhancing program effectiveness;
  • Ensure that the Job Corps program remains a viable entity that will continually meet the evolving needs of the 21^st Century workforce by continuing to emphasize the core activities and services that achieve maximum benefits for students and taxpayers; and
  • Help ensure the efficient use of Job Corps funds by monitoring training slot capacity utilization at all Job Corps centers. (1.2B)

Cross-Cutting Programs and Issues

DOL will facilitate the involvement of faith-based organizations, as partners, to expand educational, cultural, recreational and career opportunities for youth.

DOL will work with the Department of Education and the Department of Defense's Education Activity to assist with the development of local partnerships to expand high school diploma attainment opportunities for Job Corps program participants.

DOL will disseminate the findings from its young offender demonstration programs as a way to improve services through the One-Stop system.

Means and Strategies

Operating Agency: BLS

Sustained Efforts in FY 2004:

• DOL will continue to carry out its mandate as the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal government in the field of labor economics. This includes producing impartial and objective essential economic data for the Nation in the areas of employment and unemployment, price change, compensation, safety and health, productivity, and economic growth. Business, labor, governments, the media, and the public rely on these measures to develop economic policy and make well-informed decisions.
• By utilizing technological advances, DOL will improve the operational processes used to develop economic data, specifically through the use of the BLS Statistical Program Model. The stages of the model are as follows: conceptualization, planning, design, development, implementation, validation, and administration.  
• The Department's BLS is a knowledge-based organization composed of information workers: individuals who must have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to gather, analyze, and disseminate statistical information relevant to policy makers and American citizens. The rapid development of information technology and new approaches and methods for data collection and analysis has changed and continues to change the nature of the work at BLS. As a result, BLS needs to ensure that it remains competitive with other organizations in terms of the salaries, benefits, training, challenging work, and other incentives it offers to its highly skilled workers.
• DOL will continue to improve and enhance its data collection and dissemination capabilities.  For example, to reduce respondent burden, BLS provides a variety of options for participating in BLS surveys.  The BLS Internet Data Collection Facility (IDCF), which can be shared across statistical program areas, provides a single, manageable, and secure architecture for Bureau surveys to use in collecting information over the Internet.  Work is underway in 2004 to expand the project for additional BLS programs.  To improve and enhance public access to its data, BLS will expand the functionality and availability of statistical data on the BLS website. In FY 2004, BLS will expand the use of map tools for additional programs.  With this tool, users can download maps showing unemployment rates by State, county, or metropolitan statistical area, for any month or year from 1990 forward. 
• To determine customer satisfaction with BLS statistical products and services, BLS will continue to participate in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey.  Participation in the ACSI allows BLS to know, understand, and anticipate customers' needs, expectations, and preferences as well as allows BLS to compare its services with other public and private organizations to discover best practices to improve customer service.
• BLS in its entirety was one of the Federal programs that the Administration assessed with the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). One recommendation was to maintain BLS' current successes in program monitoring and operations, which BLS will continue to do in FY 2004. 

Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2004:

• DOL will publish Quarterly Productivity and Costs Statistics, Producer Prices and Price Indexes (PPI), Occupational Employment Survey (OES), and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) data using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). NAICS replaces the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system and offers a new and more consistent approach to industrial classification that better reflects the modern economy. By 2004, eight BLS programs that produce industry-based statistics will be using NAICS. 
• DOL will continue to increase service industry coverage in the PPI. With the service sector accounting for over 70 percent of marketed U.S. domestic production, this expanded coverage will provide decision-makers in the public and private sectors more comprehensive information on price trends for domestic service outputs.
• DOL will continue to expand industry coverage in productivity statistics by producing measures of labor productivity and unit labor costs for three additional service-producing industries. 
• DOL will continue work to maintain and improve responses for its statistical programs.  The Employment Cost Index program, for example, will increase its response rate by conducting activities, such as better monitoring and measuring of response rates to target problematic areas; building upon a national training curriculum whereby all field data collectors are trained on the best techniques and methods to use in approaching respondent contacts; and improving outreach efforts to better educate potential respondents about the value of BLS surveys.   
• As part of the continuing efforts to modernize the computing system for monthly processing of the PPI, the program will complete approximately one-third of the new pricing system components by 2004.  This new system will be based on a more secure, stable, and expandable computing platform. 

Cross-Cutting Programs and Issues

BLS, as a producer of economic statistics on the U.S. economy, must work in partnership with other Federal, State, and international statistical agencies. These organizations encounter common and sometimes overlapping issues that must be addressed in a coordinated manner for the benefit of the users of these data. Such coordination not only maximizes BLS performance, but also helps to improve the accuracy, efficiency, and relevancy of economic measures produced.

As a Federal statistical agency, BLS is a member of the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy, a committee of representatives from 15 agencies, which works to identify areas for collaboration. During FY 2004, the Council will enhance FedStats, a portal or "one-stop shopping" website for Federal statistics, and continue research and development efforts with its academic Digital Government partners in moving towards a National Statistical Knowledge Network.

Progress will continue on operationalizing the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002. The law provides for the sharing of business data among three Federal statistical agencies, that is, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Bureau of the Census.  Among the benefits, this will help to reduce respondent burden by ensuring that the duplication of data collection efforts is minimized.

As a member of the international statistical community, BLS also works with foreign statistical agencies and international organizations in efforts to enhance comparability of concepts and definitions. During FY 2004, BLS will participate in statistical working parties sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to address issues dealing with improving and standardizing the data on productivity and employment/unemployment used around the world.  BLS staff also will participate on working groups sponsored by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on topics such as metadata and statistical data editing.

4.2 DOL Strategic Goal 2 — A Secure Workforce

DOL is committed to protecting workers' hours, wages, and other working conditions; providing unemployment compensation and other benefits when workers are unable to work; and expanding, enhancing, and protecting workers' retirement plans, health care plans, and other benefits.

Department of Labor programs and agencies with the primary operational responsibility for achieving this strategic goal include the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA); the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC); the Employment and Training Administration's Unemployment Compensation programs; and, the Employment Standards Administration (ESA)'s Wage and Hour Division, Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. In addition, the Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, the Office of Inspector General, and the Appellate Boards provide indirect support to this strategic goal.

The performance goals in this section support the Department's commitment to the protection of the American workforce in the 21st Century. The goal of promoting compliance in typically low-wage industries, for example, reflects the Department's commitment to guaranteeing an honest day's pay for an honest day's work, which is especially critical for the most economically disadvantaged American workers. The Department has also established a goal to protect the economic safety and security of American workers and their workplaces by promoting the responsible stewardship of union funds.

A key objective of the Department's role in the administration and oversight of benefit programs for unemployed workers and for those who have suffered work-related injuries and illnesses is the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Additionally, DOL's goals to improve payment timeliness and assistance to unemployed and injured workers to return to the workplace represent the practical implementation of the Department's pledge to give hope to all individuals that they will not be left behind in the quest for the American dream.

The FY 2004 outcome and performance goals for this strategic goal follow. Detailed information on every performance goal, including indicator, data source, baseline and explanatory comments, can be found in Appendix A.

Means and Strategies

Operating Agencies: ESA

Sustained Efforts in FY 2004:

Improving Customer Service

• DOL will continue to employ streamlined procedures where necessary to ensure early: contact with complainants, development of case facts, identification of appropriate investigative tools, and identification of potential litigation cases. (2.1A)
• DOL will maintain complaint intake procedures to ensure the adequate screening of complaints, and DOL offices will conduct regular reviews of complaint inventories using established accountability measures and management reports to ensure that timeliness measures are being met. (2.1A)

Reducing Employer Recidivism

• DOL will provide compliance assistance on all applicable statutes administered by DOL during an investigation; secure agreements for future compliance and specific commitments for future compliance following a DOL intervention; and, obtain commitments for corporate-wide compliance by multi-establishment employers through formal and informal agreements following a history of DOL interventions. (2.1A)
• DOL will assess penalties, pursue litigation and prosecution, and publicize the consequences of non-compliant behavior as may be appropriate for willful and repeat violators. (2.1A)
• DOL will provide ongoing training to its investigative staff and conduct reviews according to established accountability measures to ensure that proper policies and procedures are followed during initial DOL interventions. (2.1A)

Increasing Compliance in Industries with Chronic Violations

• DOL will conduct a directed enforcement initiative of garment contractors to determine the percent of employees paid “on the payroll” for firms that have not received outreach and compare with those firms that have received outreach. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct face-to-face contacts with contractors in southern CA, providing them with compliance assistance and meet with known monitoring companies in southern CA to discuss and train staff in ways to detect and correct situations where workers are “off the payroll”. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct payroll audits of newly registered contractors and will ensure that contractors producing for manufacturers that are members of NYC-Apparel Industry Compliance Partnership (AICP) will participate in the AICP's training program. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct a payroll audit initiative which includes informing employers of obligations to pay employees “on the books” and possible follow-up investigations. DOL will also distribute employee rights card to employees during investigations and through employee advocacy organizations, community groups, community colleges and State licensing agencies. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct full investigations of overtime, minimum wage and child labor complaints in a timely manner with focus on obtaining long-term sustaining compliance. (This excludes last paycheck conciliations.) (2.1A)
• DOL will assess whether the Department is receiving multiple complaints against the same corporations and take appropriate intervention measures to ensure corporate-wide compliance, including being approached to participate in a compliance agreement program. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct compliance assistance highlighting problems common in residential care and nursing home and in geographic areas where violations appear more common. (2.1A)
• DOL will work with State licensing agencies to pilot the dissemination of compliance materials to newly licensed residential care facilities. (2.1A)
• DOL will develop and pilot a face-to-face consultation program for small and new residential group homes and will distribute industry-specific fact sheets on most common violations in the nursing home industry. (2.1A)
• DOL will provide compliance assistance training to nursing home corporations or associations entering into compliance assistance partnerships. (2.1A)
• DOL will contact employers with prior agricultural violations who agreed to future compliance and encourage them to enter compliance partnership agreements with an emphasis on housing, transportation and child labor compliance. (2.1A)
• DOL will plan initiatives in agricultural commodities or geographic areas with high violation rates and where housing is provided and transportation is provided and child labor is likely to be present or the use of farm labor contractors is prevalent. (2.1A)
• DOL will provide compliance assistance to farm labor contractors, growers and associations through mailings, outreach events, the internet and other means. DOL will develop a farm labor contractor non-technical bulletin and distribute plain language compliance assistance information to farm labor contractor applicants who register for initial certificates of registration. (2.1A)
• DOL will continue the operational development of the Technology for Excellent Customer Service (TECS) systems that will provide nationwide toll-free access to: 1) promptly identify and refer calls unrelated to DOL activities to the appropriate agency; 2) answer commonly asked questions quickly and accurately; and, 3) eventually accept employee complaints alleging violations and refer them electronically to the proper field office. (2.1A)
• DOL will implement an agreement with the Bureau of Census to scan and electronically enter wage payment data and encourage use of electronic survey data collection form. (2.1A)
• DOL will improve the speed and efficiency of the Automated Survey Data System and implement the new Wage Determination Generation System. (2.1A)

Advancing safeguards for union financial integrity and democracy

• DOL will investigate complaints concerning union officer elections, supervise remedial union officer elections, and conduct audits and civil and criminal investigations to enforce the LMRDA standards for union democracy and financial integrity. (2.1B)
• DOL will secure reports required from unions and others under the LMRDA and make them available for public disclosure, including public disclosure via the Internet using a searchable database of information from union financial reports (2.1B)
• DOL will continue to offer and conduct compliance assistance seminars throughout the country to explain the requirements of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). These seminars cover topics such as union reporting and record keeping, financial safeguards for union funds, elections of union officers, and training for union trustees on conducting audits in small unions. DOL will continue to advertise upcoming compliance assistance seminars on its website and to extend to interested organizations the opportunity to sponsor seminars in the future. (2.1B)
• DOL will foster liaison with international unions to promote voluntary compliance with LMRDA standards by affiliates and will provide compliance assistance to union officials. A program of compliance assistance contacts will be continued that targets unions scheduled to elect officers in FY 2004 whose previous elections were investigated by the Department. A program of contacts at the field office level to obtain timely reports by unions with receipts of more than $200,000 that were delinquent in the prior year will be continued. DOL will provide outreach to union members to promote the objectives of the LMRDA. DOL will also continue a program to advise new unions and new officers about their responsibilities under the LMRDA. (2.1B)

Significant New or Enhanced Efforts in FY 2004:

• DOL will develop and implement a wide variety of compliance assistance programs, including self-audit tools and incentive-based consultation programs in selected industries. (2.1A)
• DOL will explore and develop new strategic partnerships to facilitate the distribution of compliance assistance material including with States, community-based organizations, employer associations and others. (2.1A)
• DOL will conduct a statistically valid survey of agricultural compliance with the disclosure, wages, housing and transportation provisions of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Act, Fair Labor Standards Act and OSHA field sanitation standards. (2.1A)
• DOL plans to incorporate in the Internet-based public disclosure system, union trusteeship reports and reports filed by union officers and employees, and surety companies under the LMRDA. (2.1B)
• As resources permit, DOL will enhance efforts to advance union financial integrity by establishing a sustained, productive program of investigative audits. This would include a viable program to audit national/international unions under the agency's International Compliance Audit Program (I-CAP). (2.1B)
• New compliance assistance and union liaison initiatives are planned to support all aspects of the LMRDA program, particularly to assist union officials with new and planned LMRDA reporting changes. New compliance assistance materials will be developed to support planned electronic reporting initiatives. (2.1B)

Cross-Cutting Programs and Issues

The Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) serves a cross-cutting function by coordinating with ESA and other DOL enforcement agencies on customer/stakeholder feedback to resolve problems and improve agency operations.