U.S. Department of Labor

Department of Labor
Secretary:	Vincent Micone (acting)
Year created:	1913
Official website:	DOL.gov

The Department of Labor (DoL) is a United States executive department formed in 1913 to help workers, job seekers, and retirees by creating standards for occupational safety, wages, hours, and benefits and by compiling economic statistics.^[1]

The acting secretary of labor is Vincent Micone. President Donald Trump (R) nominated Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as secretary of labor in his second presidential administration. Click here to learn more about her confirmation process.

History

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, originally part of the Department of the Interior, began collecting data in 1884. In 1913, President William Howard Taft created the Labor Department in 1913, which absorbed the BLS. On President Taft's last day in office, he signed the Organics Act, officially creating the U.S. Department of Labor as an executive department of the United States.^[1] President Woodrow Wilson then appointed the first secretary, William B. Wilson, to head the department.

The following is a list of notable events throughout the history of the Department of Labor:^[1]

• 1915: U.S. Employment Service formed, placing immigrants into jobs
• 1916: Office of Workers' Compensation Programs formed, providing benefits to those injured or made ill due to poor working conditions
• 1930: Bureau of Labor statistics begins recording unemployment numbers
• 1935: National Labor Relations Board is formed, codifying unfair labor practices and protecting collective bargaining rights
• 1935: Social Security Board is formed, paying benefits to retirees and disabled and unemployed workers from payroll taxes
• 1938: Fair Labor Standards Act is passed, codifying the 40-hour work week and paid overtime guidelines
• 1959: Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act is passed to combat corruption due to the rumored presence of organized crime in unions
• 1962: Manpower Development and Training Act is passed, forming the first federal job training program
• 1963: Equal Pay Act of 1963 is passed, establishing equal pay for the same jobs done by men and women
• 1964: Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex or national orientation
• 1970: Occupational Safety and Health Administration is formed, mandating safe and healthy working conditions
• 1977: Mine Safety and Health Administration is formed, mandating regular mine inspections and enforcing employment standards in the mining industry
• 1990: Americans with Disabilities Act is passed, prohibiting discrimination against those with mental, physical or emotional disabilities and creating guidelines for accessibility

Mission

The official department mission statement is as follows:

Leadership

Note: Votes marked "N/A" represent voice votes or unrecorded votes. Missing votes will be filled as they are researched.

Organization

Click here to view the DOL organizational chart.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms United States Department of Labor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

• R. Alexander Acosta

External links

• Official Department of Labor website
• Department of Labor on Facebook
• Department of Labor on Twitter
• Department of Labor Youtube channel

Footnotes

v • e U.S. Executive Branch
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Glossary	Appointment confirmation process • United States Constitution • Electoral College • Deferred action • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) • Deferred Action for Parents of U.S. Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) • Impeachment of federal officials • Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) • P5+1 and E3+3 • Trade adjustment assistance (TAA) • Trade promotion authority (TPA)

v • e The Administrative State
Main	The Administrative State Project main page • Administrative State Project Index • Glossary of administrative state terms • Quotes about the administrative state • Administrative state • Rulemaking • Deference • Adjudication • Nondelegation doctrine • Ballotpedia's administrative state legislation tracker
Reporting	Changes to the Federal Register • Completed OIRA review of federal administrative agency rules • Federal agency rules repealed under the Congressional Review Act • Historical additions to the Federal Register, 1936-2016
Laws	Administrative Procedure Act • Antiquities Act • Civil Service Reform Act • Clayton Antitrust Act • Communications Act of 1934 • Congressional Review Act • Electronic Freedom of Information Act • Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 • Federal Housekeeping Statute • Federal Reserve Act • Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 • Freedom of Information Act • Government in the Sunshine Act • Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 • Information Quality Act • Interstate Commerce Act • National Labor Relations Act • Paperwork Reduction Act • Pendleton Act • Privacy Act of 1974 • Regulatory Flexibility Act • REINS Act • REINS Act (Wisconsin) • Securities Act of 1933 • Securities Exchange Act of 1934 • Sherman Antitrust Act • Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act • Truth in Regulating Act • Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Cases	Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner • A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States • Association of Data Processing Service Organizations v. Camp • Auer v. Robbins • Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v. Standard Oil Company of California • Field v. Clark • Food and Drug Administration v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation • Humphrey's Executor v. United States • Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) v. Chadha • J.W. Hampton Jr. & Company v. United States • Lucia v. SEC • Marshall v. Barlow's • Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency • Mistretta v. United States • National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v. Sebelius • National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning Company • National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. • Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan • Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corporation • Skidmore v. Swift & Co. • United States v. Lopez • United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co. • Universal Camera Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board • Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Wayman v. Southard • Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service • Whitman v. American Trucking Associations • Wickard v. Filburn • Wiener v. United States
Terms	Adjudication (administrative state) • Administrative judge • Administrative law • Administrative law judge • Administrative state • Arbitrary-or-capricious test • Auer deference • Barrier to entry • Bootleggers and Baptists • Chevron deference (doctrine) • Civil servant • Civil service • Code of Federal Regulations • Codify (administrative state) • Comment period • Compliance costs • Congressional Record • Coordination (administrative state) • Deference (administrative state) • Direct and indirect costs (administrative state) • Enabling statute • Ex parte communication (administrative state) • Executive agency • Federal law • Federal Register • Federalism • Final rule • Formal rulemaking • Formalism (law) • Functionalism (law) • Guidance (administrative state) • Hybrid rulemaking • Incorporation by reference • Independent federal agency • Informal rulemaking • Joint resolution of disapproval (administrative state) • Major rule • Negotiated rulemaking • Nondelegation doctrine • OIRA prompt letter • Organic statute • Pragmatism (law) • Precautionary principle • Promulgate • Proposed rule • Publication rulemaking • Regulatory budget • Regulatory capture • Regulatory dark matter • Regulatory impact analysis • Regulatory policy officer • Regulatory reform officer • Regulatory review • Rent seeking • Retrospective regulatory review • Risk assessment (administrative state) • Rulemaking • Separation of powers • Significant regulatory action • Skidmore deference • Statutory authority • Substantive law and procedural law • Sue and settle • Sunset provision • Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions • United States Code • United States Statutes at Large
Bibliography	"Administrative Law - The 20th Century Bequeaths an 'Illegitimate Exotic' in Full and Terrifying Flower" by Stephen P. Dresch (2000) "Confronting the Administrative Threat" by Philip Hamburger and Tony Mills (2017) "Constitutionalism after the New Deal" by Cass R. Sunstein (1987) Federalist No. 23 by Alexander Hamilton (1787) "From Administrative State to Constitutional Government" by Joseph Postell (2012) "Interring the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2002) "Rulemaking as Legislating" by Kathryn Watts (2015) "The Checks & Balances of the Regulatory State" by Paul R. Verkuil (2016) "The Myth of the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Keith E. Whittington and Jason Iuliano (2017) "The Progressive Origins of the Administrative State: Wilson, Goodnow, and Landis" by Ronald J. Pestritto (2007) "The Rise and Rise of the Administrative State" by Gary Lawson (1994) "The Study of Administration" by Woodrow Wilson (1887) "The Threat to Liberty" by Steven F. Hayward (2017) "Why the Modern Administrative State Is Inconsistent with the Rule of Law" by Richard A. Epstein (2008)
Agencies	Administrative Conference of the United States • United States Civil Service Commission • U.S. Government Accountability Office • U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs • U.S. Office of Management and Budget