On March 27, 2023, the Data Liberation Project (in collaboration with Marc DaCosta) sent the Department of Labor a request for two categories of records:
- All “file plans,” which describe the kinds of records a government agency holds and how/where they’re stored.
- All “electronic information system listings,” a similar concept but specific to databases.
On June 15, 2023, the DOL sent us a set of files, accompanied by a determination letter regarding the request.
In all, after un-zipping the files, there appear to be 425 documents. By format: 236 Microsoft Word files, 99 Excel files, 70 PDF files, 13 .msg files, and 7 .rtf files. (Note: Some of the files are duplicates or near-duplicates of one another.)
The Data Liberation Project is making the files available to all. You can access them in two ways:
- As a folder on Google Drive, available to download in bulk
- As a project on DocumentCloud, where you can search across all records (excluding the 13
.msgfiles)
To help organize the files, the Data Liberation Project has also created a spreadsheet listing them, indicating their:
- Directory
- Filename
- Extension (e.g.,
.xlsx) - Size (in kilobytes)
- Subagency for which the file was created
- Category of record (file plan, electronic information listing, etc.)
- Brief notes from the Data Liberation Project, clarifying the file’s purpose/contents
The most recent files appear to have been created in late 2019 / early 2020. “DOL has not created any new files plans or EIS listings since those dates,” according to the Department of Labor’s FOIA coordinator for this request, in follow-up correspondence with the Data Liberation Project.
Most of the files are specific to a subagency (such as the Wage and Hour Division), sub-subagency, or field office. A few files, however, appear to be DOL-wide. The two most notable are these:
DRAFT of 2015 EIS Review.xls, which lists and describes hundreds of DOL electronic information systems, including investigation case management systems, price-tracking databases, and survey files.2018 EIS Reivew 2018_Complete.xlsx, a similar file that appears to be more recent but possibly includes fewer systems.