The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemployment benefits, reemployment services, and occasionally, economic statistics. It is headed by the secretary of labor, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established the agency under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 29, 1970. OSHA's mission is to "assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance." The agency is also charged with enforcing a variety of whistleblower statutes and regulations. OSHA's workplace safety inspections have been shown to reduce injury rates and injury costs without adverse effects on employment, sales, credit ratings, or firm survival.
Executive Order 11246 was an executive order of the Article II branch of the U.S. Federal government, in place from 1965 to 2025, specifying non-discriminatory practices and affirmative action in federal government hiring and employment.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. OFCCP is responsible for ensuring that employers doing business with the federal government comply with the laws and regulations requiring nondiscrimination. This mission is based on the underlying principle that employment opportunities generated by Federal dollars should be available to all Americans on an equitable and fair basis.
The Revised Philadelphia Plan, often called the Philadelphia Plan, required government contractors in Philadelphia to hire minority workers, under the authority of Executive Order 11246. Declared illegal in 1968, a revised version was successfully defended by the Nixon administration and its allies in Congress against those who saw it as an illegal quota program. US Department of Labor Assistant Secretary for Wage and Labor Standards Arthur Fletcher implemented the plan in 1969 based on an earlier plan developed in 1967 by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance and the Philadelphia Federal Executive Board. The plan required federal contractors to meet certain goals for the hiring of minority employees by specific dates in order to combat institutionalized discrimination on the part of specific skilled building trades unions. The plan was quickly extended to other cities.
Equal employment opportunity is equal opportunity to attain or maintain employment in a company, organization, or other institution. Examples of legislation to foster it or to protect it from eroding include the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to assist in the protection of United States employees from discrimination. The law was the first federal law designed to protect most US employees from employment discrimination based on that employee's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor responsible for administering, regulating and enforcing the provisions of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). At the time of its name change in February 2003, EBSA was known as the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA). Prior to January 1986, PWBA was known as the Pension and Welfare Benefits Program. Originally the Program was established as an Office within the Labor Management Services Administration reporting the then Assistant Secretary Paul Fasser and his successors from 1974 through 1986.
Executive Order 10925, signed by President John F. Kennedy on March 6, 1961, required government contractors, except in special circumstances, to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin". It established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (PCEEO), which was chaired by then Vice President Lyndon Johnson. Vice Chair and Secretary of Labor Arthur Goldberg was responsible for the "general supervision and direction" of the Committee's operations. Ten other senior executive appointees also sat on the Committee.
Executive Order 11478, signed by U.S. President Richard M. Nixon on August 8, 1969, prohibited discrimination in the competitive service of the federal civilian workforce on certain grounds. The order was later amended to cover additional protected classes.
The New York State Department of Labor is the department of the New York state government that enforces labor law and administers unemployment benefits.
The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights was created through the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) which applied workplace protection laws to approximately 30,000 employees of the legislative branch nationwide and established the Office of Compliance to administer and ensure the integrity of the Act through its programs of dispute resolution, education, and enforcement. The OCWR educates members of Congress, employing offices and employees, and the visiting public on their rights and responsibilities under workplace and accessibility laws. The OCWR also advises Congress on needed changes and amendments to the CAA; and the OCWR's General Counsel has independent investigatory and enforcement authority for certain violations of the CAA.
The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) is the law enforcement arm of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is made up of attorneys, special agents, scientists and other employees.
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the United States Department of Labor is the federal office responsible for enforcing federal labor laws. The Division was formed with the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The Wage and Hour mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD protects over 144 million workers in more than 9.8 million establishments throughout the United States and its territories. The Wage and Hour Division enforces over 13 laws, most notably the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. In FY18, WHD recovered $304,000,000 in back wages for over 240,000 workers and followed up FY19, with a record-breaking $322,000,000 for over 300,000 workers.
Human resource management in public administration concerns human resource management as it applies specifically to the field of public administration. It is considered to be an in-house structure that ensures unbiased treatment, ethical standards, and promotes a value-based system.
Executive Order 11375, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on October 13, 1967, banned discrimination on the basis of sex in hiring and employment in both the United States federal workforce and on the part of government contractors.
The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) is an agency within the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. FHEO is responsible for administering and enforcing federal fair housing laws and establishing policies that make sure all Americans have equal access to the housing of their choice.
Bernice Resnick Sandler was an American women's rights activist. She is best known for being instrumental in the creation of Title IX, a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972, in conjunction with representatives Edith Green and Patsy Mink and Senator Birch Bayh in the 1970s. She has been called "the Godmother of Title IX" by The New York Times. Sandler wrote extensively about sexual and peer harassment towards women on campus, coining the phrase "the chilly campus climate".
Victoria Ann Lipnic is an American lawyer and public figure. She served in multiple senior United States government positions. She was Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), nominated to two terms by President Barack Obama, 2010 – 2020.) She served as Chair (Acting) of the EEOC under President Donald J. Trump from 2017 – 2019. Prior to her appointments to the EEOC, she was Assistant Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush. The United States Senate confirmed her unanimously to each of these positions.
The Wichita Civil Rights Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (CREEOC) - also known as the Wichita Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or Wichita Civil Rights / EEO Commission - was an agency of the government of the City of Wichita, Kansas, active in the 1970s and 1980s, led by a volunteer board of civic leaders, appointed to oversee the operations of the Wichita Civil Rights / EEO Office, to investigate and review cases of alleged unlawful discrimination, monitor the implementation of the city's equal opportunity policies, and promote civil rights and equal employment opportunity for all populations in the City of Wichita.
Executive Order "Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity", is an executive order signed by Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, on January 21, 2025. The executive order instructs federal departments not to issue contracts to private organizations that enforce diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) frameworks. The order does not affect state or lower jurisdiction level DEIA related government contracting practices. It specifically prevents affirmative action from being implemented by government contractors. The order also revoked certain parts of the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) order that was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, as well as other orders, in terms of federal contracting jobs. The order also requests federal agencies to start an investigation on 9 publicly traded companies.
