APPENDIX A - OVERVIEW OF KEY DEPARTMENT OF
LABOR E-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
Initiative: GovBenefits.gov
Web site: http://www.govbenefits.gov
The Department is the managing partner for this PPI. GovBenefits.gov
provides citizens with access to information on all government benefit programs
and services through a single Internet Web site. By providing information on
their income, marital or employment status, family size, and other basic
matters (a process that usually takes between 5 and 15 minutes), citizens are
guided to a list of the benefits they may be eligible to receive. Program
descriptions and contact information are provided for each benefit program.
The initial release of GovBenefits.gov (April 2002) features an
easy-to-use online screening tool to help individuals or caseworkers determine
eligibility for a range of government programs. Benefit programs are regularly
added to the site, which now includes 200 programs, worth more than $1.3
trillion. The site averages 480,000 visitors each month.
The GovBenefits.gov initiative reduces the time that individuals must
spend trying to identify and access relevant information about relevant
government benefit programs. The sites long-term vision is to enable
individuals to actually apply for benefits online through a streamlined
application process.
Initiative: DOL National Call Center and Web Services Web
site: www.dol.gov and internal DOL
intranet
DOL has implemented a national call center that strategically aligns
with the USA Services PPI. The call center, which was launched in September
2001, is the first cabinet-level department-wide toll-free call center and now
receives more than 100,000 calls per month from citizens and businesses.
The vision for the call center is not just to provide a phone line but
to offer a coordinated customer relationship management (CRM) approach using
several media, or channels, including phone, fax, Web, e-mail,
regular mail, and in-person fieldwork. The call center is also a key component
of the Departments efforts to improve compliance assistance.
The Departments Web sites are playing an increasingly important
role in communication between DOL and the public and its employees. The
Department is now reorganizing the management of all DOL Web sites to improve
dissemination of information. The major goals of the management
reorganization include improving presentation and consistency of material to
improve customer access to information, improving content management to ensure
consistency with departmental policy, and improving technical management to
ensure consistency with departmental technical standards.
Initiative: PeoplePower
PeoplePower is the DOLs project to implement an integrated
human resources and payroll system using the PeopleSoft Federal Human Resources
Management System. When implementation is complete, non-integrated legacy
systems will be supplanted by a single integrated system that will provide
increased access to information and streamlined processes.
In Phase 1 (implemented in June 1998), PeoplePower became the DOL system
of record for human resources. Phase 2 added enhanced reporting capabilities
using an online analytical processing (OLAP) tool, incorporated budgeting into
the position management process, and implemented a training administration
module.
Phase 3 introduced WebPARs, DOLs electronic solution for accessing
core personnel information. This has replaced the paper SF-52 process and is
accessible online to managers, administrative personnel, budget officers, and
authorizers. Phase 4 will institute PeopleTime, a Web-based time and attendance
application, available to all DOL employees, for entering timesheet data.
PeopleTime can be used from any approved access point to the intranet and draws
data directly from, and uploads time and attendance information directly to,
PeoplePower. It will provide employees with more accurate timesheet processing
and up-to-date access to information.
Through use of PeoplePower, the Department is adopting a number of
government and industry best practices to provide improved services and greatly
enhanced information accessibility, bringing the power of information to
your fingertips.
Initiative: eProcurement
DOL is in the process of implementing an enterprise-wide eProcurement
system to align with the Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE) Presidential
Priority Initiative, led by the General Services Administration (GSA). The IAE
seeks to create a common Internet Web site to support a government-wide
acquisition marketplace that provides a set of extended capabilities, such as
eCatalogs and vendor databases, that can be managed as shared services by all
Federal agencies. The Web site would include vendor registration and
streamlined ordering, billing, and collections processes. The initiative will
reduce processing costs and timeframes, while improving managers ability
to plan and make decisions.
By implementing its eProcurement system, DOL will be able to apply
commercial best practices to performance of Department procurement activities.
Specifically, this system will enable DOL to leverage technology to standardize
and streamline procurement processes, lower purchasing and operating costs,
ensure reliable and accurate financial information, and improve customer
service.
Initiative: eGrants
DOL is one of several Federal agency partners in the eGrants PPI, led by
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). With its grant-making
sub-agencies, DOL is preparing to accept grant applications submitted through
the Federal grants storefront and is creating the capability to automate grants
review and management workflow. When this capability is implemented, all
grant-making agencies at DOL will benefit from streamlined, more user-friendly
processes, reduced paperwork, and improved capabilities to monitor and evaluate
grant programs.
DOL has six agencies with granting authority. The Department is seeking
to establish a common electronic platform to improve the flow of grant data
throughout the six authorizing agencies and to enable full life-cycle online
management of the grants process. In the first phase of the eGrants initiative,
find and apply, grant applications are being examined to
consolidate the application data DOL needs to ensure that the eGrants
Storefront meets the Departments needs. Subsequently, DOL will update its
eGrant requirements to enable it to evaluate and select a solution that will
allow DOL and its agencies to fulfill the objectives of the eGrants Storefront
and E-Government.
Initiative: OASAMs Paper Check Conversion Process
The Department of Labor has transitioned from a bank lockbox system to a
Paper Check Conversion (PCC) process in handling all administrative checks
submitted to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and
Management (OASAM). Funds are debited from customer accounts and are deposited
in the U.S. Treasury within 24 hours after scanning. This speeds up the deposit
process and increases interest earned by the U. S. Government. Centralization
of the check handling process in the Chicago region is more efficient as one
Financial Management Specialist and one Accountant handle the entire process
rather than staff from 6 different regions. Reports are generated quarterly so
that the Department can now know what administrative checks are being received
by DOL agencies. The U.S. Treasury provides the software and the Federal
Reserve Bank provides the hardware. The system allows us to search for check
images for up to seven years, which allows us to avoid filing the original
checks.
Initiative: eLawsEmployment Laws Assistance for Workers and
Small Businesses Web site: http://www.dol.gov/elaws/
The eLaws Advisors are interactive tools that provide information about
Federal employment laws. Each Advisor simulates an interaction between the user
and an employment law expert. It asks questions and provides answers based on
the users responses.
Initiative: Employment and Standards Administration (ESA) Office of
Labor-Management StandardsLabor Organization Annual Report Web
site:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/olms/electronic-forms.htm#2
ESA now enables union officers in 14,000 labor unions across the country
to sign and submit their annual reports electronically. Union officers use a
digital signature and submit the report over the Internet.
Initiative: ESA Wage and Hour DivisionDavis-Bacon Wage
Survey Web site: http://www.dol.gov/esa/
ESA enables 37,500 construction contractors and other businesses to
provide wage data and other information electronically.
Initiative: Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) eLaws
Training Plan
MSHA enables the more than 5,000 mines and independent mine contractors
to electronically provide there required training plans. The MSHA Training Plan
Advisor provides background information and compliance assistance to better
train workers to improve mine safety. In August 2002, MSHAs Web site was
rated as one of the top Federal Web sites for the services it includes, help
features, ease of navigation, legitimacy, and accessibility. (The State of
Federal Websites: The Pursuit of Excellence; The PricewaterhouseCoopers
Endowment for the Business of Government, August 2002)
Initiative: ETA Foreign Labor CertificationLabor Condition
Application
The Employment Training Administration (ETA) has implemented a labor
condition application (LCA) online system to enable the 50,000 employers who
intend to temporarily hire alien workers to file their LCAs electronically.
Within minutes of submission, the system automatically notifies the employer
whether its LCA is certified or denied. The system also provides information
about next steps employers must take once the Department has granted the
certification.
Initiative: BLSReport on Employment, Payroll, and Hours
Web site: http://www.bls.gov/sae/
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) now enables more than 350,000
businesses to use a form to provide detailed industry data on the employment,
hours, and earnings of workers on non-farm payrolls. States then electronically
transmit the sample data to BLS each month. This electronic process has reduced
the burden of survey collection by more than 88,000 hours.
Initiative: OSHAOnline Rulemaking
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Online
Technical Information Retrieval System (TIRS) has been in existence since 1983.
This system is fully Web enabled, so that the public can access the docket, as
well as provide comments and attach documents in support of their comments. The
public also has access to comments. This initiative is consistent with, and is
coordinating with, the Online Rulemaking Presidential Priority E-Government
Initiative.
OSHA maintains a database containing online rulemaking information;
historic OSHA standards and information; OSHA committee activity; state plan
and consultation activity; National Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and
variance applications; information collection requests (ICR); and an OSHA card
catalog and index of records for technical books, studies, and reports.
E-Government Scorecard
The Department has developed an internal E-Government scorecard to
measure performance of DOL agencies on their progress on E-Government. The
categories for evaluation on the scorecard are
- Mission Alignment - measuring alignment with Federal and departmental
strategic plans, including the Presidents Management Agenda
- Architecture Compliance - measuring compliance with the Federal and
departmental enterprise architectures
- Security Compliance - measuring compliance with the various security
statutes and regulations including the Federal Information Security Management
Act (FISMA).
- Project Management - measuring compliance with the Departments
capital planning process, system development life-cycle guidance, and risk
analysis.
Agencies are rated in each of these four categories and also receive an
overall E-Government rating of green, yellow, or red. Because of the increased
emphasis on security, any red ratings in the security category automatically
translate into an overall red rating.
The Department is using the E-Government scorecard to help keep track of
agency progress on E-Government initiatives and to help contribute to
OMBs semiannual scoring of agency progress on the Presidents
Management Agenda. The DOL E-Government scorecard template is provided on the
following page.
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