September 7, 2018
Major Functions of the U.S. Department of Labor
Creation of the Department of Labor
Functions of DOL
The Department of Labor (DOL) was created in 1913 by
The DOL entities that carry out the agency’s wide-ranging
“An Act to create a Department of Labor” (P.L. 62-426). Its
activities fall primarily into four main functional areas:
purpose was “to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of
worker protection, income support, workforce development
the wage earners of the United States, to improve their
and training, and labor statistics and research.
working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for
profitable employment.” P.L. 62-426 initially authorized a
Worker Protection
new mediation service and four pre-existing bureaus.
DOL administers a range of programs to provide worker
Numerous laws since 1913 have added program and
protection services that ensure worker safety, adherence to
enforcement responsibilities to DOL such that it is now
wage and overtime laws, and contract compliance.
comprised of multiple entities that provide services related
The Wage and Hour Division enforces various federal labor
to worker protection, income support, workforce
standards, including those authorized by the following acts:
development, and labor statistics. DOL administers and
enforces more than 180 federal laws.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA; P.L. 75-
718) is the primary federal law that sets minimum wage
The Scope of DOL’s Activities
rates and overtime pay requirements for about 130
DOL is responsible for program administration as well as
million workers (more than 80% of wage and salary
enforcement and compliance activities. This involves not
earners).
only administering financial resources but also the
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA; P.L. 103-3)
regulatory coverage of the numerous statutes that DOL
guarantees qualifying employees unpaid, job-protected
administers and enforces. Unlike many federal agencies,
leave for certain family and medical reasons. Generally,
DOL is not primarily a grant-making organization. While
private employers with at least 50 workers and public
some of DOL’s resources support grants, the majority of its
agencies are covered by the FMLA.
scope is reflected through enforcement and compliance
activities. The extent of these activities is far-reaching.
The Davis-Bacon Act (P.L. 74-403), the McNamara-
O’Hara Service Contract Act
Broadly speaking, DOL administers programs, standards,
(P.L. 89-286), and the
and protections that have the following four foci:
Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (P.L. 74-846),
provide contract standards, notably prevailing wage
Worker Protection: DOL administers federal laws that
requirements, for workers on certain federal contracts
establish standards related to wages (e.g., minimum wage
for construction, services, and manufacturing.
levels, overtime pay), certain types of leave, and
The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker
occupational safety affecting large shares of the private and
Protection Act (MSPA; P.L. 97-470) provides wage,
public sector workforce. DOL also administers targeted
housing, and transportation standards for migrant and
protections, applicable to workers in certain occupations
seasonal agricultural workers.
(e.g., miners, agricultural workers).
Labor standards provisions in the Immigration and
Income Support: DOL oversees the administration of
Nationality Act (INA; P.L. 99-603). The WHD
programs providing income support to individuals during
administers and enforces these provisions for certain
periods of unemployment and administers programs
classes of nonimmigrant workers, such as those under H
providing income support to individuals suffering work-
visa classes.
related injuries. These programs cover much of the
workforce. Additionally, DOL provides oversight of, and in
The Office of Labor-Management Standards provides other
some cases pays benefits for participants in, insured private
forms of worker protection by administering the Labor-
defined-benefit pension plans.
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959
(LMRDA; P.L. 86-257) and related laws requiring
Workforce Development and Training: DOL provides
disclosure and financial reporting for labor unions and
grants to states to provide broadly available training and
employers.
related services to prepare individuals for work and assist
them in securing employment. DOL also administers
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
workforce development programs services for targeted
primarily administers and enforces the Occupational Safety
populations (e.g., veterans and trade-affected workers).
and Health Act (OSH Act; P.L. 91-596), which provides
health and safety standards for workplaces and authorizes
Labor Statistics and Research: DOL conducts research,
DOL to provide assistance and sanctions to enforce
analysis, and data gathering on the nation’s labor market,
compliance.
working conditions, and prices in the economy.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration administers the
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (MSH Act;
P.L. 91-173) and the Mine Improvement and New
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Major Functions of the U.S. Department of Labor
Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act; P.L. 109-
Workforce Development and Training
236), both of which provide safety and health standards for
Workforce development programs provide a combination of
occupations in the mining industry.
education and training services to prepare individuals for
work and to help them improve their prospects in the labor
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
market. These services may include job search assistance,
enforces federal contractors’ compliance with
career counseling, occupational skill training, classroom
nondiscrimination requirements under three federal
training, or on-the-job training.
authorities: Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112), and the Vietnam
The Employment and Training Administration provides
Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (P.L.
workforce development activities through programs
93-508).
including those authorized by the following acts:
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification is responsible for
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
implementing parts of the INA related to certifying labor
(WIOA; P.L. 113-128) is the primary federal workforce
for employment-based immigration. Specifically, it
development legislation. It authorizes several programs
determines if there would be an adverse impact on similar
and provides universal access to a range of workforce
U.S. workers if a labor certification were granted.
development activities. In addition, WIOA establishes
the One-Stop system, through which several other
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs monitors and
workforce and related DOL and non-DOL programs are
enforces the labor provisions of several laws related to U.S.
coordinated.
trade agreements and trade preference programs, reports on
child labor and human trafficking, and represents U.S.
The Wagner-Peyser Act (WPA; P.L. 73-30) authorizes
interests on labor issues at multilateral institutions (e.g., G-
the Employment Service, which provides universally
7, International Labor Organization).
accessible labor exchange services (i.e., matching
employers and workers) and conducts the work tests for
Income Support
state unemployment compensation systems.
DOL administers income security programs, including the
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA; Title
Federal-State Unemployment Compensation (UC) program
II of P.L. 93-618) provides funding for retraining and
(Title III of the Social Security Act, P.L. 74-271), certain
income support to eligible workers who have been
provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security
dislocated due to trade-related causes.
Act (ERISA; P.L. 93-406), and various workers’
The Community Service Employment for Older
compensation programs.
Americans (CSEOA; Title V of P.L. 114-144) program
The UC system is a joint federal-state program that
funds part-time, paid community service positions for
provides income support through benefit payments to
low-income individuals age 55 and over.
qualifying individuals who have become unemployed. Its
framework is established in federal law, while most of the
The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service
benefit payments are funded by state unemployment taxes.
administers several programs to provide employment
DOL provides administrative grants to states and enforces
services specifically for veterans, such as the Jobs for
compliance of federal laws at the state level. The UC
Veterans State Grants program (P.L. 107-288), which funds
program covers approximately 140 million workers.
specialists in One-Stop centers to help veterans find
employment. It also administers the Uniformed Services
Through the Employee Benefits Security Administration,
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (P.L. 103-353)
DOL ensures compliance with ERISA—which includes
and the Veterans’ Preference program (P.L. 105-339).
recovering losses to employee benefit plans resulting from
violations of ERISA—and audits the federal Thrift Savings
Labor Statistics and Research
Plan (TSP). Relatedly, the Pension Benefit Guaranty
DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects, analyzes,
Corporation (PBGC), which is a federal corporation
and disseminates data on the labor market, working
established under ERISA, pays benefits to participants in
conditions, and prices in the economy. BLS, created in
private-sector defined-benefit pensions whose companies or
1884 as part of the Department of the Interior, was
plans are unable to pay benefits. Although PBGC’s
transferred to DOL when it was created in 1913. BLS
operations are financed by insurance premiums from
produces monthly data on economic indicators, such as the
participating pension plans, its insurance premiums are set
unemployment rate, wage and employment levels, and price
by congressional action and its board is chaired by the
indices. It also produces analytical reports and supplemental
Secretary of Labor.
surveys of various labor market indicators. Many of these
The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
indicators are used in other federal programs to allot
administers four federal statutes that provide benefits for
funding or make cost-of-living adjustments.
certain employees injured on the job: the Federal
Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA
In addition, the Women’s Bureau and the Office of
; P.L. 93-416), the
Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
Disability Employment Policy conduct research and
develop policies to improve labor market outcomes for
(LHWCA; P.L. 69-803), the Black Lung Benefits Act
women and individuals with disabilities, respectively.
(BLBA; P.L. 92-303), and the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act
David H. Bradley, dbradley@crs.loc.gov, 7-7352
(EEOICPA; P.L. 106-398).
IF10975
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