DOL FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan

Background

The DOL Strategic Plan describes general and long-term goals the Department aims to achieve, 

what actions we will take to realize those goals, and how DOL will deal with challenges and risks 

that may hinder achieving results. Production and publication of the plan is required by the 

Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010. Federal agency strategic plans 

are updated at least every four years with the budget published in the year following the year in 

which the term of the President commences. 

The Performance Improvement Officer (PIO), a role delegated to the Assistant Secretary for 

Administration and Management, is responsible for the overall development of the strategic plan in 

cooperation with the Deputy Secretary, Agency heads, and Agency performance staff. The precise 

timing for these steps will vary according to availability and preferences of DOL incoming 

non-career leadership, but the Department must submit a Strategic Plan outline to OMB in 

June 2021, and a draft Plan to OMB in September 2021. At the career staff level, the production

of the Plan is led by OASAM’s Performance Management Center (PMC).

Why the Plan is Important

For DOL, the Strategic Plan serves three important purposes. First, it determines 

the structure of Department level annual performance planning and reporting on 

agency programs and initiatives. This structure makes it possible for us to tell a 

coherent story about how our agencies, with a broad range of mission and 

scope, work together to achieve common goals. Performance measures 

support strategies in agencies’ annual Operating Plans. Key measures are 

reported to Departmental leadership in Quarterly Operating Plan 

Reviews (QOPRs), and some are reported to OMB and the public in 

the Annual Performance Report. Each of these measures must be 

aligned with Departmental goals and objectives in the Strategic 

Plan. This alignment is managed via the Departmental E-Business 

Suite (DEBS), the system we use to produce the plan as well as 

our budgets, annual reports, and QOPRs. Staff at all levels have a common interest in DOL goal 

structures that are intuitive and easily mapped to agencies’ organization structures, budgets, and 

programs.

Second, it’s a statement of Administration-specific policy priorities. Words matter, and even with 

the same goal structure, goals and objectives will vary. DOL staff and many stakeholders will 

become quite familiar with the details of any management decisions, but the general public may not 

get beyond the headlines we provide in the form of goals and objectives. For this reason, item 3 in 

the Key Decisions (Table 1. below) is the most important piece of the strategic planning puzzle.

Finally, the Strategic Plan will describe the Chief Evaluation Office’s efforts to build a portfolio of 

evidence – what works, for whom and under what circumstances, and how to improve results –

through program evaluation, program performance management, data analytics, and statistical 

reports. The DOL plan has always included a section on evidence, but the Foundations for 

Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 added specific requirements that DOL incorporate a 

Learning Agenda and a Capacity Assessment. The Learning Agenda highlights plans to answer our 

priority questions about what strategies are most effective. The Capacity Assessment is an analysis 

of our readiness to pursue the Learning Agenda and other evidence-building activities; it includes 

the coverage, quality, methods, effectiveness, and independence of statistics, evaluation, research, 

and analysis activities.
Timeline/Key Dates

Below is a high-level overview of key steps in the drafting and submission process.

Key Decisions

A draft outline of the plan is due to OMB on June 4, 2021. To meet this milestone, PMC will need 

initial decisions on all items below by March 26. This allows three weeks to write a draft plan, 

one week for ASAM/PIO clearance, two weeks for agency (ExecSec) clearance, and four weeks for 

OSEC clearance.

Table 1. Key Decisions

Issue Considerations

1. Mission and Vision statements • Are changes needed?

2. Structure (Strategic Goals, 

Objectives, and Performance 

Goals)

• Purposes served by selections (e.g., communication, 

inspiration, and accountability)

• All major agencies and programs included

• Implications for production and utility of plans, reviews, 

and reports (e.g., intuitive organization) 

3. Strategic goal and objective 

statements

• Appropriate for purposes?

• Brief, clear, accurate (proper scope), and outcomeoriented

4. Agency Priority Goals for FY22-

23

• Which APGs reflect this Administration’s priorities? 

• Would the APG designation yield benefits such as 

helping us focus on a few key measures and milestones?

Agencies involved

The following agencies have or will have measures under one or more of the strategic objectives in 

the current plan and are expected to play roles in the updated plan:

• Adjudicatory Boards (ARB, BRB) 

• Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

• Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
• Employment and Training Administration (ETA)

• Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

• Office of Disability Employment Programs (ODEP)

• Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)

• Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)

• Office of the Assistant Secretary of Administration and Management (OASAM)

• Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP)

• Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)

• Office of the Solicitor (SOL)

• Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP)

• Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS)

• Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

• Women’s Bureau (WB)