Reports

General Services Administration OIG

Audit of GSA’s Response to COVID-19: PBS Faces Challenges to Ensure Water Quality in GSA-Controlled Facilities

Audit | 7/22/2024

1 - Open

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by defining roles and responsibilities for maintaining water quality in GSA-controlled facilities.

2 - Open

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring that: water quality is maintained through consistent policies and practices nationwide; deviations to PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy and the PBS water safety guidance are approved by PBS’s Central Office; and any water safety policies or guidance developed by regional offices do not contradict policies and guidance issued at the national level.

3 - Open

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring that PBS’s water safety activities are incorporated into O&M contracts, recorded in PBS’s National Computerized Maintenance Management System, and overseen by PBS personnel.

4 - Open

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by incorporating PBS’s water safety oversight responsibilities into quality assurance surveillance plans for O&M contracts to ensure contractor compliance with water safety activities.

5 - Open

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring that PBS personnel and O&M contractors have access to tenant spaces so flushing can be performed.

6 - Open

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by amending O&M and other contracts to ensure that energy efficiency and water conservation requirements do not conflict with PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy and the PBS water safety guidance.

7 - Open

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring that water is tested in GSA’s child care centers as required by PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy.

8 - Open

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by ensuring water quality test results—especially those above EPA action levels—are communicated timely to building tenants, GSA child care center operators, and parents and guardians of affected children.

9 - Open

We recommend that the PBS Commissioner provide appropriate oversight to ensure water is safe to occupants in its buildings by amending and implementing PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy to: include reduced occupancy or decreased water usage as additional criteria for lead, copper, Legionella bacteria, and other contaminant testing; ensure requirements in PBS’s Drinking Water Quality Management policy, its companion Desk Guide for Drinking Water Quality Management, and the PBS water safety guidance are incorporated into the amended policy, unless there are safety reasons why such requirements cannot or should not be incorporated; and formalize its requirement to complete additional testing at child care centers that close for extended periods of time.

Department of Homeland Security OIG

FEMA's Emergency Non-Congregate Sheltering Interim Policy Provided Greater Flexibility for Emergency Sheltering During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Emergency Non-Congregate Sheltering (NCS) Interim Policy 104-009-18 (Interim Policy) provided an adequate and effective framework during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the Interim Policy waived the existing pre-approval requirement, allowing for faster and increased NCS implementation to segregate individuals and families and limit spread of the disease. The Interim Policy also included program details and requirements for determining eligible work and costs for NCS in response to federally declared disasters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Labor OIG

COVID-19: ETA's Oversight of Short-Time Compensation Did Not Detect $126.9 Million in Questioned Costs

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 6/26/2024

Department of Labor OIG

The U.S. Department of Labor Did Not Meet the Requirements for Compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act for FY 2023

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Labor OIG

BLS Could Do More to Identify Data Limitations and Increase Transparency

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 10/26/2023

Department of Labor OIG

COVID-19: MSHA Did Not Complete or Accurately Report Mandatory Inspections

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 10/17/2023

1 - Closed

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health report transparently each year on the number of idle mine visits (E28) and attempted inspections (E27) used to eliminate mandatory inspections each fiscal year.

10 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health revise business rules used in MSHA reports for the mandatory inspections program to align with the Mine Act and MSHA policy, or update MSHA policy accordingly and consider raising the number of E28 idle mine visits and E27 denial of entry attempts used in MSHA reports to eliminate an inspection requirement.

11 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health improve the design and execution of MSHA’s internal control system for the mandatory inspections program to align with the GAO Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, specifically by identifying key risks through a programmatic risk assessment and collecting MSHA workforce concerns to verify or improve the integrity of the program.

2 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health update MSHA policies to: (1) define a schedule for verifying mine statuses; (2) specify when visual verifications (e.g., E28 idle mine visits) are necessary; (3) limit deviations from the mine status criteria to defined exceptional situations; (4) define how “primary mine type” changes apply during calculation of inspection requirements; (5) define timeliness metrics for certification of E01 inspections; (6) require mandatory inspections start and end in the same fiscal year; and (7) define how to calculate the mandatory inspection completion rate annually.

3 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health redesign monitoring processes to check Part 50 data reporting for mines on a quarterly basis, and verify timely certification of mandatory inspections and accuracy of activity codes and inspection dates.

4 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health update supporting tools based on revisions to the mine status criteria.

5 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health develop a process to verify if: (1) mines in “temporarily idle” status for extended periods need a change to “abandoned” status and (2) mines with underground openings are being timely sealed when their “primary mine type” is not listed as “underground.”

6 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health verify all underground coal mines in abandoned status for more than 90 days are either sealed (and its status updated in MSHA’s system), in the process of sealing and are issued a violation for non-compliance with the regulation, or has a remark in MSHA’s system indicating why it will not be sealed. This may include verifying the mine was identified for future reclamation in the Abandoned Mine Lands program inventory.

7 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health communicate to staff on: (1) the current version of mine status criteria, (2) MSHA reports and tools available for the mandatory inspection program, and (3) leadership’s expectations on districts correcting activity codes and when Part 50 data should be available to districts (including follow-up and violations for operators not reporting timely).

8 - Closed

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Add a system control to verify the “primary mine type” field is populated.

9 - Open

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health update policy or procedures to: (1) clearly define when an inspection starts and ends and (2) ensure the inspection dates for an E01 mandatory inspection include any inspection work done on other events (e.g., E16 spot inspection) to make the E01 inspection an “entire mine” inspection adhering to requirements in the Mine Act.

Department of Labor OIG

COVID-19: ETA Needs a Plan to Reconcile and Return to the U.S. Treasury Nearly $5 Billion Unused by States for a Temporary Unemployment Insurance Program

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/28/2023

1 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training work with Oregon, Louisiana, Delaware, and Mississippi to ensure the appropriate return of approximately $105.1 million in TFFF reimbursements for first-week regular UI compensation paid that were associated with ineligible weeks.

2 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training establish a deadline by which states are required to perform a timely review of past drawdowns and provide evidence that drawdowns were for reimbursement of eligible first-week regular UI compensation paid by the state for claim weeks that fell within the TFFF program period.

3 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training reassess the eligibility of all states with waiting week provisions according to their state laws to ensure that the waiting week was not in effect when states accessed TFFF funds prior to December 31, 2020.

4 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training ensure that any state drawdowns of the remaining almost $5 billion ($4,948,811,006) in TFFF funds are only for the reimbursement of first-week regular UI compensation paid by the state that fall within the TFFF program period (March 27, 2020, through September 6, 2021).

5 - Closed

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training establish a deadline for states to reconcile and close out TFFF accounts so ETA can facilitate deobligation of the funding.

6 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training establish written procedures and deadlines for the timely return of funding for TFFF and future similar programs and consult with OMB and Treasury officials to execute the proper return of unused funds that remain within states’ accounts.

7 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training capture lessons learned from the TFFF program and use the information to develop effective internal control procedures to ensure states meet program requirements, including eligibility, and have sufficient infrastructure in place to pay claimants’ UI benefits without delay for similar temporary emergency UI programs that may be established in the future.

8 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training capture lessons learned from the TFFF program and use the information to develop and implement controls to ensure the methodology and procedures are documented and maintained for estimating allotments and subsequent adjustments for similar temporary emergency UI programs that may be established in the future.

Department of Labor OIG

COVID-19: The Employment and Training Administration Needs to Improve Oversight of Grants Awarded in New Jersey

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/28/2023

1 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training: Develop and implement risk tolerance for the amount of participants being served under the WIOA Adult, Youth, and Dislocated Workers program.

2 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training: Regularly monitor Bergen Community College’s performance and provide the necessary assistance to ensure $7.2 million in remaining funds are used as intended by the completion of the one-year extension period

3 - Closed

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training: Develop and implement guidance to specifically identify the high risk associated with low enrollment levels in combination with the high burn rate of grant funds .

4 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training: Resolve the $265,040 in questioned costs associated with ineligible participants and ineligible payments

5 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training: Establish and implement a plan to improve monitoring activities to ensure grantees and sub-recipients are properly documenting eligibility.

6 - Closed

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training: Establish and implement a plan to increase the level of technical assistance and monitoring for grantees and sub-recipients to ensure they properly administer contracts and reimburse on the job training costs.

7 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training: Resolve the $6.9 million in questioned costs associated with unaccounted expenditures and assist the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development in expediting the closure of corrective action related to its accounting system.

Department of Labor OIG

OSHA Needs to Do More to Address High Injury Rates of Warehouse Workers

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/27/2023

1 - Open

We recommend the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health update the criteria for the number of establishments to be included in the Site-Specific Targeting programs’ universes to better reflect industry growth and the number of eligible establishments nationwide.

2 - Open

We recommend the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health to develop specific, measurable inspection goals for the Site Specific Targeting program, including a baseline for the number of inspections in each Site-Specific Targeting category, and periodically monitor progress toward those goals.

3 - Open

We recommend the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health develop a more effective enforcement strategy to improve employer Form 300A compliance.

4 - Open

We recommend the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health assess Form 300A data categories and gather more specific supporting information about injuries to better identify the count and type of injuries reported, such as musculoskeletal disorders.

5 - Open

We recommend the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health develop improved Form 300A data analyses to better identify trends among industries and establishments.

6 - Open

We recommend the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health develop specific measurable inspection goals for the warehousing National Emphasis Program, including a baseline for the number of inspections to complete and periodically monitor progress toward those goals. Ensure the goals contain metrics that demonstrate the outcomes of the program.

7 - Closed

We recommend the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health issue specific training to address the training components of the warehouse National Emphasis Program.

Department of Labor OIG

COVID-19 - ETA Can Improve its Oversight to Ensure Integrity over CARES Act UI Programs

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Other | 9/22/2023

Date Range

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State/Local Agency

State (State and Local Reports)

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Management Challenges

Any Recommendations

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Reports

Audit of GSA’s Response to COVID-19: PBS Faces Challenges to Ensure Water Quality in GSA-Controlled Facilities

FEMA's Emergency Non-Congregate Sheltering Interim Policy Provided Greater Flexibility for Emergency Sheltering During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19: ETA's Oversight of Short-Time Compensation Did Not Detect $126.9 Million in Questioned Costs

The U.S. Department of Labor Did Not Meet the Requirements for Compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act for FY 2023

BLS Could Do More to Identify Data Limitations and Increase Transparency

COVID-19: MSHA Did Not Complete or Accurately Report Mandatory Inspections

COVID-19: ETA Needs a Plan to Reconcile and Return to the U.S. Treasury Nearly $5 Billion Unused by States for a Temporary Unemployment Insurance Program

COVID-19: The Employment and Training Administration Needs to Improve Oversight of Grants Awarded in New Jersey

OSHA Needs to Do More to Address High Injury Rates of Warehouse Workers

COVID-19 - ETA Can Improve its Oversight to Ensure Integrity over CARES Act UI Programs

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