Created in 1913 when it split from the Department of Commerce and Labor, the department administers federal labor law and the social safety net for workers. It runs OSHA, the Wage and Hour Division, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the unemployment-insurance and workers'-compensation systems.
Open the interactive page for DOL →Created byOrganic Act of the Department of Labor, Mar. 4, 1913 (ch. 141, 37 Stat. 736)
Head appointed29 U.S.C. § 551: there shall be a Secretary of Labor, appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. No fixed term (PAS)
Removal standardno statutory removal protection — removable at will
Funded underDepartments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; Federal Unemployment Tax Act collections (26 U.S.C. § 3301)
Congressional oversightHouse Committee on Education and the Workforce · Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Inspector generalLabor OIG (PAS IG under the IG Act, 5 U.S.C. § 403(a))
Judicial reviewAPA § 702 review; OSHA citations reviewed by the independent OSHRC and the courts of appeals (29 U.S.C. § 660); Benefits Review Board appeals
Vote for President and Senate; file a workplace-safety complaint with OSHA at osha.gov; file an unpaid-wage complaint with the Wage and Hour Division; comment on proposed rules at regulations.gov; appeal a benefits denial to a DOL administrative law judge.
NNSA · OSHA · BLS · DOE · full org map