A for modernization: Labor Department excels on IT scorecard

Technology is shaping the future of work, and the Department of Labor is harnessing IT innovation to improve the lives of America's workers and promote economic growth. Our efforts have been recognized with top marks on the latest IT scorecard from Congress.

How did we score?

The Department of Labor achieved an overall "A" on the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) 18.0 Scorecard, an improvement from a previous "B." This is the second time we've received a top grade. The FITARA scorecard, released twice a year, provides a snapshot of the IT strategies of the 24 largest government agencies. A congressional subcommittee, with input from the Government Accountability Office, evaluated agencies across six categories and tracked four others. The Department of Labor exceeded the average score in nearly all categories, including:

Cybersecurity:

The department's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has continuously worked to enhance our cybersecurity posture, as mandated by the Federal Information Security Modernization Act. OCIO is deploying automation tools and emerging technologies to better detect and mitigate cyber threats.

We are also integrating a zero trust architecture to better protect resources from unauthorized access. Zero trust operates on a "never trust, always verify" principle before any user or device can access the department's data or networks. This effort is supported by a $15.2 million investment from the Technology Modernization Fund.

CIO Investment Evaluation:

This category measures IT investments by risk and is determined by the percentage of major IT investments the Chief Information Officer has evaluated in the current and prior fiscal years. The Department of Labor scored 100%.

• OCIO carefully reviews which technologies no longer serve the department or its mission, determining which systems need to be replaced, modernized or developed. If a major IT investment is rated as high risk for four consecutive quarters, the CIO must review and address the causes. Currently, none of the department's IT investments are considered high risk.

Modernizing Government Technology:

The department also scored 100% in this category, based on the Modernizing Government Technology Act, which authorizes agencies to establish a Working Capital Fund (WCF). WCFs enable the department to reinvest appropriated funds into IT services supporting our agency missions.

The Department of Labor is one of only three agencies approved by Congress to have an IT-specific WCF. This includes flexible spending of at least three years, with our CIO in charge of IT decision-making. We allocate at least 25% of our budget to development, modernization, and enhancement, which allows for steady reinvestment into technology updates.

What's next?

We are proud of the progress we've made, but we recognize there is still more work to do. As we take an incremental approach to modernizing IT effectively, we will continue to use resources wisely to protect the data, networks and systems that help us deliver on our mission to serve America's workforce.

Lisa Glufling is the director of IT governance at the U.S. Department of Labor. Follow OCIO on LinkedIn. Are you interested in joining the OCIO Team? View available positions and apply today!

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