Office of Compliance Assistance Policy Fact Sheet

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recognizes its obligation to respond to the ever-increasing complexities of employment laws and the difficulties businesses face in understanding them. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao launched the Compliance Assistance Initiative to help America’s employers and employees better understand how to comply with the federal employment laws and regulations DOL administers. DOL believes compliance assistance is the most effective way to protect the wages, health benefits, retirement security, safety and health of America’s workforce.

As part of the Initiative, Secretary Chao created the Office of Compliance Assistance Policy (OCA) and named Barbara Bingham as its director. This office raises awareness of the laws and regulations DOL enforces and where people can go for help in complying with them. The office is also working with other DOL agencies to help coordinate and leverage their various outreach efforts to better serve the regulated community.

Increased compliance assistance efforts do not replace, or in any way detract from, strong enforcement of DOL’s laws and regulations. Rather, compliance assistance complements enforcement. This initiative aims to facilitate voluntary compliance and reduce the number of violations, thereby allowing DOL to focus its enforcement resources on the relatively small percentage of employers who ignore their responsibilities. OCA promotes the availability of DOL’s easy-to-use tools, which are designed to help the public understand and comply with DOL’s laws and regulations, including:

• The elaws Advisors (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) are interactive e-tools that provide information on DOL’s federal employment laws. At www.dol.gov/elaws, there are numerous Advisors available on topics including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), child labor rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), reemployment rights for National Guard and Reservists on active duty, retirement savings, and various safety and health standards.

• DOL’s Toll-Free Help Line (1-866-4-USA-DOL) provides timely and accurate responses to customer inquiries, and fulfills print and publication requests. The Help Line offers live operator assistance in English and Spanish with additional service in more than 140 languages.

• The Employment Law Guide, which describes DOL’s major statutes and regulations in plain language, targets employers needing introductory information to develop wage, benefit, safety and health, and nondiscrimination policies. It is available for free in print and online, in both English and Spanish. A free copy can be obtained by calling 1-866-4-USA-DOL or by visiting www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/.

• There, the public can access a wide range of information and resources about DOL's rules and regulations any time, day or night. Users can also subscribe to receive e-mail updates when new compliance assistance tools or resources become available by visiting www.dol.gov/compliance/CA_subscribe.htm.