On February 14, 2025 the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) posted in the OFLC Announcements page a notice informing stakeholders that on March 20, 2025 it will begin deleting records older than five years from the record's final determination date as recorded in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system. The notices advises stakeholders that "If you have case records in FLAG older than five years from the final determination date that you would like to retain, please ensure that they are downloaded no later than March 20, 2025." OFLC says that this is being done to align its record retention activities "with regulatory requirements established by the National Archives and Records Administration."
The notice reads:
February 14, 2025: Notice to Stakeholders regarding aligning record retention activities with regulatory requirements established by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is providing notice that the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) will be aligning record retention activities with regulatory requirements established by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) (36 CFR 1220.2), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the approved Record Control Schedule DAA-0369-2022-0001. OFLC is providing public notice regarding its implementation of the approved Record Control Schedule which requires the deletion of records within Foreign Labor Access Gateway (FLAG) that are older than five (5) years from the final determination date.
Programs Affected
The following OFLC programs will be impacted by this implementation:
- Prevailing Wage Determinations (PWD)
- Permanent Labor Certification Applications (PERM)
- Temporary Labor Certification Applications (H-2A, H-2B, CW-1 visas)
- Temporary Labor Condition Applications (H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visas)
Deletion Schedule
Implementation of the approved Record Control Schedule will begin on and after Thursday, March 20, 2025. Deletions of eligible case records will be based on the final determination date recorded in the FLAG System of each case. For example, cases with a final determination date of March 21, 2020, will be deleted on March 21, 2025.
Stakeholder Action Required
If you have case records in FLAG older than five years from the final determination date that you would like to retain, please ensure that they are downloaded no later than March 20, 2025.