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May 17, 2008    DOL Home > CIO > Privacy Impact Assessments

Workload Management Systems (WMS)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY REPORT

INTRODUCTION TO THE PIA

Purpose

DOL is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information contained within its information systems. DOL must at times collect, use, analyze, and store PII from its employees and customers. DOL remains vigilant in protecting all its information technology resources, but this is especially true of those systems containing PII. Ideally, the PIA should be performed during the development phase of a system life cycle. A PIA should also be conducted at any time when the system is significantly modified, or the sensitivity of the data contained within the system is changed.

The Solicitor's Office (SOL) has assessed its Workload Management Systems (WMS) and evaluated privacy vulnerabilities and risks, and their implications on this information system. This assessment enables SOL to ensure that it has complied with all relevant privacy policies, regulations, procedures, and guidance, both internal and external to DOL.

Scope

The Workload Management System is a collection of workload systems used to manage resources in the Office of the Solicitor. The WMS contains in-house developed databases that tracks all significant legal activities referred by DOL client program agencies to the various components of the Solicitor's Office. Legal activities include case work (trial and appeals litigation) as well as other legal workload matters (legal opinion and advice, legislative reviews, and regulation and standards reviews). Data collected through the workload systems are used to analyze the volume, diversity, trends, and impact of the workload in the SOL divisions and field offices. These systems provide information needed to manage SOL resources, to monitor performance, and to provide SOL's client agencies (DOL program offices) with updated information on the work being done in their respective program areas.

The information contained in these systems is descriptive in nature. They do not contain actual legal documents (briefs, evidence, transcripts, etc) or legal evidence (medical and payroll records). These systems have the same business objective, risk and associated security controls. The WMS is a sensitive system because it contains limited personally identifiable information subject to the Privacy Act.

The Workload Management Systems include:

  • Solicitor's Office Legal Activity Reporting (SOLAR) system is a legal activity tracking system. It tracks all significant legal matters referred to the various components of the Solicitor's Office (SOL).
  • Time Distribution (TD) system is a time tracking system. Time is recorded by attorneys and paralegals against activity categories on a task basis.
  • SOL's Freedom of Information Appeals Tracking system (FOIA) records the request and tracks the status and disposition of the FOIA appeal.
  • The Wage and Hour Reports Database (W&H) tracks information about selected Wage and Hour litigation.
  • The Legislative Project Tracking System (LPTS) records and reports the status of activity on workload items generated by requests from Congress, the White House, OMB (Office of Management and Budget), and other agencies.

Approach

This assessment was completed by the development contractor and reviewed by the SOL Security Officer, SOL IT Manager and the Program Manager.

Results and Summary

The Workload Management Systems contain personally identifying information. Based on this assessment SOL has determined that the WMS have adequate controls in place to meet minimal compliance with federal privacy requirements and that all risks have been minimized.





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