Updated December 1, 2022
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 (about 85% of wage and salary earners).
enforcement and compliance activities. This involves not
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA; P.L. 103-3)
only administering financial resources but also the
guarantees qualifying employees unpaid, job-protected
regulatory coverage of the numerous statutes that DOL
leave for certain family and medical reasons. Generally,
administers and enforces. Unlike many federal agencies,
private employers with at least 50 workers and public
DOL is not primarily a grant-making organization. While
agencies are covered by the FMLA.
some of DOL’s resources support grants, the majority of its
scope is projected through enforcement and compliance
The Davis-Bacon Act (P.L. 74-403), the McNamara-
O’Hara Service Contract Act
activities. The extent of these activities is far-reaching.
(P.L. 89-286), and the
Broadly speaking, DOL administers programs, standards,
Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (P.L. 74-846),
and protections that have the following four foci:
provide contract standards, notably prevailing wage
requirements, for workers on certain federal contracts
Worker Protection: DOL administers federal laws that
for construction, services, and manufacturing. The
establish standards related to wages (e.g., minimum wage
WHD also enforces wage standards established through
levels, overtime pay), certain types of leave, and
presidential Executive Orders.
occupational safety affecting large shares of the private and
The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker
public sector workforce. DOL also administers targeted
Protection Act (MSPA; P.L. 97-470) provides wage,
protections, applicable to workers in certain occupations
housing, and transportation standards for migrant and
(e.g., miners, agricultural workers).
seasonal agricultural workers.
Income Support: DOL oversees the administration of
Labor standards provisions in the Immigration and
programs providing income support to individuals during
Nationality Act (INA; P.L. 99-603). The WHD
periods of unemployment and administers programs
administers and enforces these provisions for certain
providing income support to individuals suffering work-
classes of nonimmigrant workers (e.g., H 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. Federal statutes that govern private-sector labor
related services to prepare individuals for work and assist
relations are enforced by non-DOL agencies (e.g., the
them in securing employment. DOL also administers
National Labor Relations Board).
workforce development programs services for targeted
populations (e.g., veterans and trade-affected workers).
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
primarily administers and enforces the Occupational Safety
Labor Statistics and Research: DOL conducts research,
and Health Act (OSH Act; P.L. 91-596), which provides
analysis, and data gathering on the nation’s labor market,
health and safety standards for workplaces and authorizes
working conditions, and prices in the economy.
DOL to sanction employers to enforce compliance.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration administers the
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (MSH Act;
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Major Functions of the U.S. Department of Labor
P.L. 91-173) and the Mine Improvement and New
Workforce Development and Training
Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act; P.L. 109-
Workforce development programs provide a combination of
236), both of which provide safety and health standards for
education and training services to prepare individuals for
occupations in the mining industry.
work and to help them improve their prospects in the labor
market. These services may include job search assistance,
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
career counseling, occupational skill training, classroom
enforces federal contractors’ compliance with
training, or on-the-job training.
nondiscrimination requirements under three federal
authorities: Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the
The Employment and Training Administration provides
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112), and the Vietnam
workforce development activities through programs
Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (P.L.
including those authorized by the following acts:
93-508).
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification is responsible for
(WIOA; P.L. 113-128) is the primary federal workforce
implementing parts of the INA related to certifying labor
development legislation. It authorizes several programs
for employment-based immigration. Specifically, it
and provides universal access to a range of workforce
determines if there would be an adverse impact on similar
development activities. WIOA establishes the One-Stop
U.S. workers if a labor certification were granted.
system, through which several other workforce and
related DOL and non-DOL programs are coordinated.
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs monitors and
enforces the labor provisions of several laws related to U.S.
The Wagner-Peyser Act (WPA; P.L. 73-30) authorizes
trade agreements and trade preference programs, reports on
the Employment Service, which provides universally
child labor and human trafficking, and represents U.S.
accessible labor exchange services (i.e., matching
interests on labor issues at multilateral institutions (e.g., G-
employers and workers) and conducts the work tests for
7, International Labor Organization).
state unemployment compensation systems.
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA; Title
Income Support
II of P.L. 93-618) provides funding for retraining and
DOL administers income security programs, including the
income support to eligible workers who have been
Federal-State Unemployment Compensation (UC) program
dislocated due to trade-related causes.
(Title III of the Social Security Act, P.L. 74-271), certain
The Community Service Employment for Older
provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Americans (CSEOA; Title V of P.L. 114-144) program
Act (ERISA; P.L. 93-406), and various workers’
funds part-time, paid community service positions for
compensation programs.
low-income individuals age 55 and over.
The UC system is a joint federal-state program that
provides income support through benefit payments to
The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service
qualifying individuals who have become unemployed. Its
administers several programs to provide employment
framework is established in federal law, while most of the
services specifically for veterans, such as the Jobs for
benefit payments are funded by state unemployment taxes.
Veterans State Grants program (P.L. 107-288), which funds
DOL provides administrative grants to states and enforces
specialists in One-Stop centers to help veterans find
compliance of federal laws at the state level. The UC
employment. It also administers the Uniformed Services
program covers approximately 140 million workers.
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (P.L. 103-353)
and the Veterans’ Preference program (P.L. 105-339).
Through the Employee Benefits Security Administration,
DOL ensures compliance with ERISA—which includes
Labor Statistics and Research
recovering losses to employee benefit plans resulting from
DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects, analyzes,
violations of ERISA—and audits the federal Thrift Savings
and disseminates data on the labor market, working
Plan (TSP). Relatedly, the Pension Benefit Guaranty
conditions, and prices in the economy. BLS, created in
Corporation (PBGC), which is a federal corporation
1884 as part of the Department of the Interior, was
established under ERISA, pays benefits to participants in
transferred to DOL when it was created in 1913. BLS
private-sector defined-benefit pensions whose companies or
produces monthly data on economic indicators, such as the
plans are unable to pay benefits. Although PBGC’s
unemployment rate, wage and employment levels, and price
operations are financed by insurance premiums from
indices. It also produces analytical reports and supplemental
participating pension plans, its insurance premiums are set
surveys of various labor market indicators. Many of these
by congressional action and its board is chaired by the
indicators are used in other federal programs to allot
Secretary of Labor.
funding or make cost-of-living adjustments.
The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs
In addition, the Women’s Bureau and the Office of
administers four federal statutes that provide benefits for
Disability Employment Policy conduct research and
certain employees injured on the job: the Federal
Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA
develop policies to improve labor market outcomes for
; P.L. 93-416), the
women and individuals with disabilities, respectively.
Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
(LHWCA; P.L. 69-803), the Black Lung Benefits Act
David H. Bradley, Specialist in Labor Economics
(BLBA; P.L. 92-303), and the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act
IF10975
(EEOICPA; P.L. 106-398).
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Major Functions of the U.S. Department of Labor
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10975 · VERSION 4 · UPDATED