flag.dol.gov (FLAG) is the official digital channel between US employers and the Department of Labor — the sole federal platform to apply for foreign labor certifications.
I led UX design — infancy through launch.
US Dept of Labor
Overview
Client
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
Contractor
Booz Allen Hamilton
Contract Length
12-month base period (+ option years awarded)
Scope
A cloud-based replacement for the legacy iCERT System — covering all temporary foreign labor certification programs. Funded in part by a $3.5M Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) award.
The Team
Agile in practice — daily standups, time-boxed sprints, and a cadence that gave every workstream a voice:
Requirements
UX/UI
Dev
QA
Scrum Master
PM
Informed Decisions
A few key truths shaped the work — some recognized early, some earned through the process:
So we focused on usability — mapping questions to the right inputs, showing only what's relevant, and front-loading branching decisions. The experience was still ours to shape.
Lawyers hired by US employers to handle filings. Deep familiarity with the forms. That familiarity justified a learning curve if it meant faster workflows.
Instead of building six forms, we built one form generator. Every enhancement after — file uploads, digital signatures, autofills — shipped once and available platform-wide.
The form generator forced component-based thinking. Form controls, navigation patterns, tables, modals — all designed as reusable elements. The system scaled because the components did.
Clean logic, clear labels, input constraints, inline validation — if the form UX was right, most errors would solve themselves.
The Product
A custom-built case management system. Interconnected with the Department of State and USCIS. Built on USWDS. Secured by Login.gov. Launched 2019. Still here.
01 · Public
Before sign-in. Info and entry point.
02 · Platform
After sign-in. Where your work lives.
03 · Form
Multi-step overlay. Designed to complete.
Impact
The base contract included option years. They were awarded.
Booz Allen won a follow-on contract for PERM — built on FLAG, not alongside it.
Components built for FLAG were rolled into DOL OneWeb and made available across the department.
FLAG was nominated for the FedScoop 50 Innovation of the Year award (2020).
Year one, by the numbers:
600,000+
certifications issued
67%
reduction in manual review
(platform-wide)
(platform-wide)
97%
H-1B applications
cleared without manual review
cleared without manual review