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United States Department of Labor

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Dept. of Labor
Seal of the Department of Labor
Established: March 4, 1913
Activated: March 5, 1913
Secretary: Elaine L. Chao
Deputy Secretary: Steven J. Law
Budget: .7 billion (2004)
Employees: 17,347 (2004)
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.

History

In the words of the organic act, the Department's purpose is "to foster, promote and develop the welfare of working people, to improve their working conditions, and to enhance their opportunities for profitable employment."

The U.S. Congress first established a Bureau of Labor in 1884 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 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

Other organizational units within the Department:

Related legislation

External links

 


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