United States Department of Labor

United States
Department of Labor
Seal of the Department of Labor
Seal of the Department of Labor
Agency overview
Formed March 4, 1913
Employees 17,347 (2004)
Annual Budget $59.7 billion (2004)
Agency Executives Elaine L. Chao, Secretary
 
Howard M. Radzely, Deputy Secretary
Website
www.dol.gov

The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The department is headed by the United States Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao[1].

Contents

History

The U.S. Congress first established a Bureau of Labor in 1888 under the Department of the Interior. Later, the Bureau of Labor became an independent Department of Labor but lacked executive rank. It became a bureau again within the Department of Commerce and Labor, which was established February 14, 1903. President William Howard Taft signed on March 4, 1913 the bill establishing the Department of Labor as a Cabinet-level Department.

President Lyndon Johnson asked Congress to consider the idea of reuniting Commerce and Labor. He argued that the two departments had similar goals and that they would have more efficient channels of communication in a single department. However, Congress never acted on it.

Operating units

Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Other organizational units within the Department:

Related legislation

See also

External links

References

  1. as per http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/cabinet.html