"In Focus" items are up-to-the-minute news about the Secretary of
Labor's efforts to strengthen the workforce and the business community.
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December 23, 2003
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao: "I just
returned from a weeklong trip to West Africa to see firsthand what the Labor
Department is doing to help the most vulnerable children in Ghana, Benin and
the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In each of these countries, I visited
DOL-funded programs that were rehabilitating child soldiers or educating
trafficked children who had been exploited for abusive labor. I also launched
an in-country HIV-AIDS workplace education project in Ghana.
At every
stop along the way, I was impressed by the spirit and bravery of the children I
met, many of whom had seen the worst life has to offer. But through the
dedicated efforts of U.S. government officials, including our Bureau of
International Labor Affairs staff, and humanitarian relief organizations these
children are reclaiming their lives — one step at a time.
This visit
— my first bi-lateral trip since becoming Secretary of Labor —
underscored once again the many blessings we have to be thankful for this
holiday season. Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a very happy
holiday!"
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December 12, 2003
Secretary Chao and Small Business
Administration Administrator Hector V. Barreto signed a Strategic Alliance
Memorandum (SAM) designed to help people with disabilities pursue small
business ownership and to increase their employment opportunities in small
businesses on Thursday, December 11, at DOL.
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December 3, 2003
Secretary Chao hosted a meeting of the
President's Council on the 21st Century Workforce on Tuesday, December 2, at
the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. The Council was formed by President
George W. Bush to bring the diverse perspectives and expertise of labor unions,
academia, business, and goverment together to report on the problems and
challenges facing America's workforce in the 21st Century.
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November 26, 2003
"We have so much to be grateful for
— the beauty, abundance, opportunity and freedoms that our great country
offers. And the resolve, courage and compassion displayed by so many of our
fellow Americans as they defend freedom and build democracy around the world."
— Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao |
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November 18, 2003
Secretary Chao released the Department of
Labor’s annual enforcement statistics on Tuesday, November 18. These
statistics show that the Department’s innovative and effective approach to
protecting workers is yielding record-breaking results. American workers are
safer and are receiving more back wages — including overtime pay —
than in the past.
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November 14, 2003
Secretary Chao was joined by Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi at the Department of Labor’s
“Salute to Veterans and Their Families” ceremony. At the ceremony,
Secretary Chao announced that the Department of Labor is adopting the District
of Columbia National Guard. The theme of this year’s ceremony is
“Veterans and their families: A legacy of service and sacrifice.”
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November 13, 2003
Secretary Chao met Monday, November 10, with
workers, employers, and educators at New Hampshire Community Technical College
in Manchester to discuss the strengthening economy and how the Department's new
High Growth Job Training Initiative can help prepare workers for careers in
growing, well-paying industries.
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November 10, 2003
"On
Veterans' Day, November 11th, we honor this very special group of Americans who
have put their lives on the line to preserve the liberty and freedoms that we
cherish. We are truly blessed that in our lifetimes, brave Americans have
answered the call to defend freedom by fighting in World War I, World War II,
Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf War, Somalia,
Kosovo, and most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq." — Secretary of Labor
Elaine L. Chao
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November 5, 2003
On Tuesday,
November 4, Secretary Chao announced a
National Emergency Grant totaling $1 million to create approximately 77
temporary jobs to assist in continued clean up and recovery efforts following
damage caused by Hurricane Isabel in Washington, D.C. Chao made the
announcement at a news conference with Washington Mayor Anthony A.
Williams.
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November 4, 2003
Secretary Chao gave the keynote address at a
luncheon celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Chinese Section of the Library
of Congress on Friday, October 31. The Library of Congress has the largest
collection of Chinese literature outside China.
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October 28, 2003
Secretary Chao and three new senior women
officials in Iraq's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs toured the
Minneapolis, Minnesota Workforce Center on Monday, October 27. Over the past
week, DOL hosted Sawsan Mahdi Al-Dawad, Fatin Ouda Al-Saeda and Evelyn Michael
Rasho for a series of meetings, briefings, and tours of American job-placement
and job-training sites. The three Iraqi women met with Secretary Chao and a
variety of Labor Department officials, congressional leaders, and community
leaders, all as part of a fact finding mission on job creation and job training
that could be applicable in Iraq, which will ultimately lead to a more stable
and secure region.
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October 21, 2003
Secretary Chao welcomed the newly appointed
key officials in Iraq’s new Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on
October 20 for an eight day fact-finding trip on how to bring added stability
to Iraq through job creation and job training.
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October 20, 2003
Secretary Chao awarded the Secretary of Labor's
annual New Freedom Initiative (NFI) Award to five businesses, four
organizations, and one individual on October 16. The NFI Award recognizes
exemplary and innovative public-private partnership efforts in furthering the
employment objectives of the President's New Freedom Initiative — a
comprehensive program to promote the full participation of people with
disabilities in all areas of society by increasing access to assistive and
universally designed technologies, expanding educational and employment
opportunities, and promoting increased access into daily community life.
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October 14, 2003
Secretary Chao joined Department of Housing
and Urban Development Secretary
Mel
Martinez in awarding $13.5 million in grants, cooperative agreements, and
technical assistance to end chronic homelessness through employment and
housing.
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October 9, 2003
Secretary Chao spoke October 7 at a courthouse
news conference following the guilty plea by former Washington Teachers’
Union President Barbara Bullock. Bullock's plea followed an investigation by
the U.S. Department of Labor and other agencies of financial wrongdoing
involving millions of dollars in union funds.
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October 7, 2003
Secretary Chao hosted the 15th Labor Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremony on October 1, honoring Steve Young, former National
President of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP); Paul Hall, former President
of the Seafarers International Union; and Milton Hershey, founder of Hershey
Foods Corporation.
"The Labor Hall of Fame is a monument to the honor of
those who worked industriously for the benefit of the American worker. They
have made lasting contributions to the quality of life, not only to American
workers but for the world, as well," said Chao.
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September 26, 2003
Secretary Chao met with Grammy award winner and
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Ricky Martin Thursday at DOL to discuss a campaign
against Latin American and Caribbean child exploitation. |
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September 22, 2003
On
September 22-25, Secretary Chao, in
partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S.
Small Business Administration, and non-profit organizations, will host the
first-ever Opportunities Conference. This economic development conference will
welcome small business owners, community leaders, and non-profit organizations
that serve the Asian Pacific and Hispanic American communities, the two fastest
growing segments of the 21st Century workforce.
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September 10, 2003
New York
construction workers who helped in the rescue, recovery, and clean-up efforts
at Ground Zero are the focus of the new documentary, "Up From Zero," which
premiered at a special showing hosted by Secretary
Chao at the National Museum of American History on September 9. Secretary
Chao was joined by International Union of Operating Engineers General President
Frank Hanley and American History Museum’s Associate Director of
Curatorial Affairs James Gardner in hosting the special preview of the one-hour
film featuring original footage and personal interviews with construction
workers who risked their lives at the World Trade Center site.
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September 5, 2003
Secretary Chao honored four unions for 100 years
of service to American workers as part of the Department of Labor’s Labor
Day celebrations on Friday, September 5. The International Brotherhood of
Teamsters (IBT), the Laborers' International Union of North America, the
National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCA) and the International
Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers were added to the
U.S. Department of Labor’s
Century of Service Honor
Roll of American Labor Organizations.
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August 29, 2003
In the past
year, the administration has made tremendous strides in improving the health,
safety, and pension security of America’s working men and women.
We are very focused on
strengthening the economic recovery so that everyone who wants to work can find
a job. Even in this challenging and changing economy, there are still many
opportunities for training and jobs.
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August 15, 2003
President
George W. Bush walks with his economic advisors at his ranch in Crawford,
Texas. Pictured are (L-R): Director of the Office of Management and Budget Josh
Bolten, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy Stephen Friedman,
Secretary of Commerce Don Evans, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, President
Bush and Secretary of the Treasury John Snow. |
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August 1, 2003
Secretary
Chao, Treasury Secretary John W. Snow and Commerce Secretary Don Evans visited
Wisconsin and Minnesota on their "Jobs & Growth Tour" July 29 and 30 to
discuss the state of the economy and the recently enacted jobs and growth plan,
as well as other efforts by President Bush to create jobs, strengthen the
economic recovery and increase workers’ standards of living.
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July 14, 2003
Secretary
of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Secretary Chao signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on July 11, at a ceremony at the Pentagon to promote
cooperative efforts between the Departments to improve the quality of life of
servicemembers and their families, and to contribute to the quality of the
American labor force.
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July 10, 2003
Secretary Chao opened the Workforce Innovations
2003 conference on Tuesday, July 8 in Washington, DC. "The publicly-funded
Workforce Development System is one of America's best kept secrets and we don't
want it to stay that way," Secretary Chao said. "It is a $15 billion annual
investment by American taxpayers to help unemployed and displaced workers
access skills training so these workers can find new job opportunities."
Workforce Innovations 2003 is co-sponsored by the Department of Labor's
Employment and Training Administration
(ETA) and the National Association of Workforce Boards.
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July 1, 2003
Secretary Chao was joined by U.S. Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi on June 30 to announce
$17.5 million in grants to
train and employ homeless veterans for good jobs. The grants were awarded under
the Department of Labor's Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program (HVRP).
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June 26, 2003
On Thursday
June 26, Secretary Chao announced that DOL
filed suit against Enron Corporation, former chief executive officers Kenneth
L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former board of directors, and the former
administrative committee for Enron's retirement plans for failing to prudently
protect Enron workers' retirement assets invested in the stock of Enron.
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June 20, 2003
On Tuesday, June 17,
Secretary Chao accompanied President Bush on
his visit to Northern Virginia Community College to meet with workers involved
in employment training and to discuss President Bush's plan to strengthen
economic growth and create new jobs. |
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June 18, 2003
Secretary
Chao participated in a roundtable with members of the Nashville community
including small business employers in Tennessee. Secretary Chao heard about the
difficulties small business owners face in obtaining access to affordable,
quality health insurance for their employees and families. U.S. Rep. Lincoln
Davis (D-Tenn.) and U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), sponsors of
Association Health Plans (AHPs) legislation, joined the Secretary at the
roundtable. |
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June 11,
2003
Secretary Chao highlighted U.S.
programs to help child laborers — particularly child soldiers — and
President Bush’s commitment to people imperiled by AIDS
in her remarks to the
91st session of the International Labor Conference in Geneva,
Switzerland. Chao pointed out that these efforts
meet the challenge laid out in
the International Labor Organization (ILO) Director-General’s report,
Working Out of Poverty. |
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June 3,
2003
Secretary Chao traveled to New
York City on May 29 to join New York Gov. George Pataki as he proclaimed May as
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. While in New York City, Secretary Chao
also spoke to the
annual Forbes Executive Women's Forum. |
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May 7, 2003
U.S. and foreign officials gathered in Washington for a conference at the
invitation of Secretary Chao to take action to
eliminate the use of child soldiers and to rehabilitate those caught in such
forced recruitment. Chao announced a $13 million initiative to support programs
to counter the problem and to help former child soliders rebuild their
lives.
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April 22, 2003
Secretary
Chao and U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) participated in a roundtable
with Maine small businesses in Portland, Maine, on April 22. The Secretary and
Senator heard about the difficulties small business owners face in obtaining
affordable, quality health insurance for their employees and their
families. |
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April 15, 2003
Secretary
Chao promoted the positive impact President George W. Bush’s
Jobs
and Economic Growth Plan will have on millions of Illinois workers, small
business owners, families, and seniors in a "Tax Day" speech to the City Club
of Chicago on April 15. |
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April 3, 2003
Secretary Chao spoke to 2,000 businesswomen from
the Mid-Atlantic region at the Conference on Women Entrepreneurship in the 21st
Century in Philadelphia on April 3. Noting small business women’s critical
importance as drivers of our nation’s economic growth, Secretary Chao
said: "Women-owned businesses are growing at twice the rate of all U.S. firms,
employing over nine million workers and generating over $1 trillion in revenue.
You are the engine of America’s economic growth."
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April 2, 2003
Secretary
Chao addressed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on April 2. Chao spoke about
the Department's plans for this year, including enhanced efforts to provide
effective compliance assistance to help America's
employers understand the various employment laws and regulations the Department
administers. She also introduced two new compliance assistance tools, the
FirstStep Employment Law Advisor and the
Employment Law Guide. |
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March 27,
2003
The Department of Labor today published a proposal to modernize its
50-year-old regulations defining exemptions from the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA) for "white-collar" employees, a measure that will help small businesses
grow and guarantee overtime pay for 1.3 million more low-wage workers.
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March 24, 2003
Kicking off Women’s History Month
on March 4, Secretary Chao and Small Business
Administrator Hector Barreto unveiled
www.women-21.gov, a new Web site that
recognizes the ever increasing role of women small business owners in the
American economy as a major source of job creation. |
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March 13, 2003
Secretary Chao
addressed the
Annual Legislative Conference of the United States Hispanic Chamber of
Conference on March 13. Chao spoke of value of
President
Bush’s jobs and growth package to small businesses. If passed, the
jobs
and growth package will create 1.4 milllion new jobs and pump $52 billion
into the economy by the end of next year. |
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March 6, 2003
Secretary Chao joined Senators Olympia
Snowe (R-ME), Kit Bond (R-MO) and Jim Talent (R-MO) at a
press conference Thursday to
introduce legislation on Association Health
Plans (AHPs). Chao told Senate lawmakers that DOL is prepared to administer
the health reforms that will provide millions of small business owners and
their employees with access to quality, affordable health care. |
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February 28,
2003
Secretary
Chao Addresses State Work Force Leaders
Secretary Chao
addressed the Winter Policy
Forum of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies in
Washington, D.C., on February 27. At the forum, Chao explained the benefits of
President
George W. Bush’s
Jobs
& Growth Package and discussed the reauthorization of the Workforce
Investment Act, which expires later this year. |
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February 25, 2003
Secretary of Labor Announces $3.8
Million for Dislocated Workers in Missouri
Secretary Chao announced during her visit to
St. Louis on February 21 $3.8
million in aid for dislocated Missouri workers. In a meeting with small
business owners, Secretary Chao participated in a roundtable
discussion on President Bush's Economic Growth and Recovery Plan as well as
legislation to create Association Health
Plans (AHPs), both of which would help Missouri’s businesses to create
new jobs. |
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February 19,
2003
DOL
E-Government Strategic Plan Debut
Secretary Chao electronically signed into action
the Department of Labor E-Government Strategic Plan on February 19. Chao was
joined by Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida and Mark Forman of the Office of
Management and Budget.
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February 12, 2003
Promoting Job Growth and Improving Worker Training
Secretary Chao
testified
Wednesday before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce where
she urged members to quickly enact
President
Bush’s Job Growth package and adopt the Administration’s approach
to reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. |
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February 7, 2003
Know Your Family & Medical Leave Rights
The Family and Medical
Leave Act, the law that provides up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave annually
for family and medical reasons, was enacted
10 years ago on Wednesday.
Secretary Chao said of the Family and Medical Leave Act: "Perhaps now more than
ever, when balancing work and home life is increasingly difficult, it is
vitally important for employees and employers to understand their rights and
obligations under the law."
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January 10, 2003
Secretary Chao Announces Information Military Reservists and Their
Families Need to Know about Employee Benefits
"Military reservists
should have confidence that while they are serving their country in active
duty, their job pension and health benefits will continue for their families.
That is why we have developed information to familiarize reservists and family
members with the federal law that protects these benefits,” says Secretary
Chao.
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January 7, 2003
President Bush’s Growth & Jobs Plan Will Help Unemployed Americans
Find Work
"President George W.
Bush’s Growth & Jobs Plan recognizes the importance of the Department
of Labor in helping the unemployed on two fronts, providing both short-term
benefits and long-term opportunity," announced Secretary Chao.
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