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Department of Labor

What is the Department of Labor?

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The United States Department of Labor was established in 1913 by President William Taft to protect the rights of the workforce. The department was established "to foster, promote and develop the welfare of working people, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment." The Department of Labor helps workers by providing minimum standards for wages, workplace safety and protection of retirement benefits. They also help enforce rules that pertain to the American Disabilities Act and other federal employment laws and regulations.

The US Department of Labor offers many brochures and provides links to valuable information for both employers and employees. They also offer links to other websites where you can find pertinent information regarding labor laws including minimum wages, rights of employees as they pertain to disability and rights regarding unemployment compensation.

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Resources Available

Depending on what you are searching for, the Department of Labor offers a number of resources. They include (but are not limited to)

For those who are unemployed the Department of Labor offers publications that cover disability, job and training information, layoff resources, retirement and health benefit resources, as well as others;

For employers, the Department of Labor offers numerous publications that include (but are not necessarily limited to) DOL compliance, safety and health information, disability information, information on training, dealing with the "return to work" qualifcations, wages and hours, veterans and OSHA requirements;

For those who are employed, the Department of Labor provides helpful publications that are designed to make sure that you know your rights. These publicatins cover topics such as wages and work hours, safety standards, your retirement and health benefits, as well as other helpful brochures.

Links to Interesting Information

If you are interested in learning more about the Department of Labor there is a wealth of interesting information that you can review including:

Department of Labor Historical Pages

Hall of the Secretaries of Labor: Portraits and Biographies

A Department of Labor Timeline

Wirtz Labor Library

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Quick Facts about the Department of Labor

The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States

Hilda Solis is the current Secretary of Labor (as of 08/09/2010)

The Department of Labor administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws

There are four divisions:

Administrative Review Board (ARB) - Handles requests regarding child labor laws, discrimination laws, whistleblower laws;

Benefits Review Board (BRB) - They mainly are there for the protection of mine workers, longshoremen and other similar occupations

Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) - Help to ensure that fair wages are paid and that workers are protected from unfair labor practices across the globe;

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) - An informational divsion of the DOL that tracks new jobless claims, wage amounts and other factors that impact overall employment;

Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships (CFBNP) - Ensures that those who live in disadantaged areas have the resources needed to find well paying jobs.

Contacting the Department of Labor

By Phone:
National Toll-Free Contact Center. Live assistance is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time by calling, 1-866-4-USA-DOL (1-866-487-2365), TTY: 1-877-889-5627.
Phone Numbers by Topic. Search for a Departmental phone number based on the topic of your question.

By E-Mail:
General Questions
Technical Questions. E-mail our Webmaster if you are having an accessibility problem, difficulty navigating our site, want to report a broken link, or have some other technical question.