Legal Status
Labor Department
The Department of Labor (DOL) was created by act of March 4, 1913 (29 U.S.C. 551). A Bureau of Labor was first created by Congress by act of June 24, 1884, in the Interior Department. The Bureau of Labor later became independent as a Department of Labor without executive rank by act of June 13, 1888. It again returned to bureau status in the Department of Commerce and Labor, which was created by act of February 14, 1903 (15 U.S.C. 1501; 29 U.S.C. 1 note).
The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States, by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. In carrying out this mission, the Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws including those that guarantee workers' rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support.
- Agency URL:
- http://www.dol.gov/
- Sub-agencies:
- Disability Employment Policy Office
- Employee Benefits Security Administration
- Employees Compensation Appeals Board
- Employment and Training Administration
- Employment Standards Administration
- Federal Contract Compliance Programs Office
- Labor Statistics Bureau
- Labor-Management Standards Office
- Mine Safety and Health Administration
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
- Veterans Employment and Training Service
- Wage and Hour Division
- Workers Compensation Programs Office
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Occupational Exposure to Beryllium
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending its existing standards for occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds. OSHA has determined that employees exposed to beryllium at the previous permissible exposure limits face a significant risk of material impairment to their health. The evidence in the record...
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Exposure of Underground Miners to Diesel Exhaust
In response to requests from the public, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is reopening the proposed rulemaking record for public comment on the Agency's request for information on Exposure of Underground Miners to Diesel Exhaust.
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Proximity Detection Systems for Mobile Machines in Underground Mines
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is reopening the rulemaking record and requesting additional comments on the Agency's proposed rule on Proximity Detection Systems for Mobile Machines in Underground Mines which was published in the Federal Register on September 2, 2015. The proposed rule would require underground coal mine...
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Claims Procedure for Plans Providing Disability Benefits
This document contains a final regulation revising the claims procedure regulations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) for employee benefit plans providing disability benefits. The final rule revises and strengthens the current rules primarily by adopting certain procedural protections and safeguards for disability...
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Apprenticeship Programs; Equal Employment Opportunity
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL or Department) is issuing this rule to modernize the equal employment opportunity regulations that implement the National Apprenticeship Act of 1937. The existing regulations prohibit discrimination in registered apprenticeship on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, and sex, and require that...
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Department of Labor Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2017
The U.S. Department of Labor (Department) is publishing this final rule to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced in its regulations, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation...
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Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Claim for Reimbursement of Benefit Payments and Claims Expense Under the War Hazards Compensation Act
The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ``Claim for Reimbursement of Benefit Payments and Claims Expense Under the War Hazards Compensation Act,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in...
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Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Notice of Law Enforcement Officer's Injury or Occupational Disease and Notice of Law Enforcement Officer's Death
The Department of Labor is submitting the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ``Notice of Law Enforcement Officer's Injury or Occupational Disease and Notice of Law Enforcement Officer's Death,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for...
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Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Disability Employment Initiative Evaluation
The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) proposal titled, ``Disability Employment Initiative Evaluation,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995...
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Exposure of Underground Miners to Diesel Exhaust
In response to requests from the public, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is reopening the proposed rulemaking record for public comment on the Agency's request for information on Exposure of Underground Miners to Diesel Exhaust.
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Updating Regulations Issued Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Service Contract Act, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Employee Polygraph Protection Act, and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act
In this final rule, the Department of Labor (DOL or Department) revises regulations issued pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA), the Service Contract Act (SCA), Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Employee Polygraph Protection Act...
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Proximity Detection Systems for Mobile Machines in Underground Mines
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is reopening the rulemaking record and requesting additional comments on the Agency's proposed rule on Proximity Detection Systems for Mobile Machines in Underground Mines which was published in the Federal Register on September 2, 2015. The proposed rule would require underground coal mine...
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Occupational Exposure to Beryllium
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending its existing standards for occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds. OSHA has determined that employees exposed to beryllium at the previous permissible exposure limits face a significant risk of material impairment to their health. The evidence in the record...