Question: What is the Employment Standards Administration?

Answer: The Employment Standards Administration (ESA), the largest agency within the U.S. Department of Labor, enforces and administers laws governing legally-mandated wages and working conditions, including child labor, minimum wages, overtime and family and medical leave; equal employment opportunity in businesses with federal contracts and subcontracts; workers' compensation for certain employees injured on their jobs; internal union democracy and financial integrity, and union elections, which protect the rights of union members; and other laws and regulations governing employment standards and practices.

ESA and its four component programs -- the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Office of Labor-Management Standards, the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs and the Wage and Hour Division -- have closely monitored and enforced laws protecting the wage, hours, equal employment opportunity, working conditions and injury compensation of workers. While each program has an established identity of its own, all work together to support, protect and defend the rights of American workers under these labor laws.

Related Links:
ESA Home Page