All Federal Register documents from the Labor Department
U.S. Department of Labor (including multiple agencies)
Benefits Review Board (BRB)
The Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board was created in 1972, by Congress, to review and issue decisions on appeals of worker's compensation claims arising under the Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act and the Black Lung Benefits amendments to the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.
Disability Employment Policy Office (ODEP)
The Office of Disability Employment (ODEP) is a sub-cabinet level policy agency within the Department of Labor authorized by Congress in the Department of Labor's FY 2001 appropriation. ODEP provides national leadership on disability employment policy by developing and influencing the use of evidence-based disability employment policies and practices, building collaborative partnerships, and delivering authoritative and credible data on employment of people with disabilities. With the ultimate goal of increasing the number of people with disabilities who work, either as employees or entrepreneurs, ODEP provides policy analysis, technical assistance, development of innovative practices and strategies, and education and outreach to employers, employees, and the disability community. Related to these efforts, ODEP also conducts a variety of employment-related programs and initiatives.
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) promotes and protects the pension, health, and other benefits of the over 150 million participants and beneficiaries in over 6 million private sector employee benefit plans. In administering its responsibilities, EBSA assists workers in understanding their rights and protecting their benefits; facilitates compliance by plan sponsors, plan officials, service providers, and other members of the regulated community; encourages the growth of employment-based benefits; and deters and corrects violations of the relevant statutes. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is enforced through 15 EBSA field offices nationwide and the national office in Washington, DC.
Employees Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB)
Employees' Compensation Appeals Board The Board is a three-member quasi-judicial body appointed by the Secretary which has been delegated exclusive jurisdiction by Congress to hear and make final decisions on workers' compensation appeals of Federal employees from determinations of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (Office) arising under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act. The Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (Board) was created by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1946 (60 Stat. 1095). The Board is independent of the Office, and its jurisdiction is strictly appellate and extends to questions of fact and law. The Board's decisions are not reviewable and are binding upon the Office.
Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) was originally established as the Manpower Administration, a subagency of the Department of Labor by General Order No. 63 on August 25, 1954. Renamed Employment and Training Administration by Secretarial Order 14-75 of November12, 1975 ETA fulfills responsibilities assigned to the Secretary of Labor that relate to employment services, job training, and unemployment insurance. Component offices and services administer a Federal/State employment security system; fund and oversee programs to provide work experience and training for groups having difficulty entering or returning to the work force; formulate and promote apprenticeship standards and programs; and conduct continuing programs of research development, and evaluation.
Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
The Employment Standards Administration (ESA), originally designated the Workplace Standards Administration, was established as a subagency within the Department of Labor, effective April 28, 1971, by Secretary's Order 13-71, May 4, 1971. The role of ESA was to administer Federal employment standards programs in areas of minimum wage and overtime, nondiscrimination and affirmative action, and workers' compensation. Supervises the activities of the Wage and Hour Division, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. Prior to 1978, ESA also administered, through the Women's Bureau, programs directed at improving employment conditions of working women. ESA was eliminated in 2009, leaving its four component agencies to function as independent agencies.
Labor Statistics Bureau (BLS)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was originally established under the Department of the Interior as the Bureau of Labor under the Bureau of Labor Act (23 Stat. 60) of June 27, 1884. After several reorganizations and transfers, the agency was renamed the Bureau of Labor Statistics and transferred to the Department of Labor in 1913. The BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, business, and labor. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the Department of Labor. BLS data must satisfy a number of criteria, including relevance to current social and economic issues, timeliness in reflecting today’s rapidly changing economic conditions, accuracy and consistently high statistical quality, and impartiality in both subject matter and presentation.
Labor-Management Standards Office (OLMS)
The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) can trace its origin back to the passage of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA) on September 14, 1959. LMRDA was enacted by Congress to ensure certain basic standards of democracy and fiscal responsibility in labor organizations representing employees in private industry. The organization's original name was the Bureau of Labor-Management Reports (BLMR). It was re-named the Labor-Management Services Administration (LMSA) in 1963. At one time or another LMSA had responsibilities which included pension and welfare plans, Federal labor relations, veterans reemployment rights, and an anti-racketeering/organized crime strike force. Through reorganizations and the creation of new agencies through legislation, these functions were subsequently transferred to other Federal agencies. With the passage of the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) in 1978, the federal labor relations program was transferred to the newly created Federal Labor Relations Authority. However, the Standard of Conduct provisions of the CSRA which regulate internal affairs of federal-sector unions remained in LMSA. In 1980, the Foreign Service Act (FSA) was passed and unions representing employees of the Department of State and U.S. Information Agency (USIA) became subject to Standards of Conduct requirements. The agency became known as OLMS in 1984. In 1992, OLMS became part of the Employment Standards Administration (ESA). In 1993, OLMS was transferred to the newly created Office of the American Workplace (OAW). In 1996, OAW ceased to exist and OLMS was transferred back to ESA. In 2009, ESA was eliminated and OLMS became an independent agency reporting directly to the Secretary of Labor.
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is responsible for safety and health in the Nation's mines. MSHA develops and promulgates mandatory safety and health standards, ensures compliance with such standards, assesses civil penalties for violations, and investigates accidents. It cooperates with and provides assistance to the States in the development of effective State mine safety and health programs; improves and expands training programs in cooperation with the States and the mining industry; and contributes to the improvement and expansion of mine safety and health research and development. All of these activities are aimed at preventing and reducing mine accidents and occupational diseases in the mining industry.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). By concentrating on four areas: (1) firm enforcement of workplace safety and health rules; (2) swift promulgation of strong, protective health and safety standards; (3) increased outreach and help for workers and their employers in their efforts to eliminate and control workplace hazards; and (4) partnership with the States that are running their own OSHA-approved programs. OSHA sets and enforces workplace safety and health standards and assists employers in complying with those standards.
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) administers and enforces three equal opportunity mandates: Executive Order 11246, as amended; section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended, 38 U.S.C. 4212. These mandates prohibit Federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or veteran status. They also require Federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative steps to ensure equal opportunity in their employment processes. OFCCP also shares responsibility with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission in enforcing Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS)
The Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) was established in 1974 as an office under the Employment and Training Administration to focus specifically on the education and training of veterans. In 1984 VETS was reestablished as an independent agency and is one of several government units (including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Small Business Bureau) addressing and executing improvement of employment, training and other work-force issues and scenarios for veterans. VETS works to secure the greatest number of employment opportunities possible for veterans, which it realizes through a variety of avenues and financial plans and policies, for veterans and those who hire them,
Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
The Wage and Hour Division is responsible for planning, directing, and administering programs dealing with a variety of Federal labor legislation. These programs are designed to protect low-wage incomes; safeguard the health and welfare of workers by discouraging excessively long work hours; safeguard the health and well-being of minors; prevent curtailment of employment and earnings for students, trainees, and handicapped workers; minimize losses of income and job rights caused by indebtedness; and direct a program of farm labor contractor registration designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of migrant and seasonal agricultural workers.
Workers' Compensation Programs Office (OWCP)
The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs administers four major disability compensation programs which provide wage replacement benefits, medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation and other benefits to certain workers or their dependents who experience work-related injury or occupational disease. The program areas are: Division of Federal Employees' Compensation. The Federal Employees' Compensation Act provides workers' compensation coverage to federal and postal workers around the world for employment-related injuries and occupational diseases. Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation. The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) provides compensation and medical benefits to employees of the Department of Energy (DOE), its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors, and employees of DOE designated Atomic Weapons Employers (AWE) and Beryllium Vendors who became ill as a result of work performed in the production and testing of nuclear weapons. Uranium miners, millers and ore transporters (or their eligible survivors) under Section 5 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) administered by the Department of Justice may also be eligible for benefits under the EEOICPA under both Part B and Part E. Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation. Under the provisions of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act and its extensions (including the Defense Base Act) the Office provide information, technical and compliance assistance, support, and informal dispute resolution services to workers, employers, and insurers, and ensures that benefits are promptly and properly paid to minimize the impact of employment injuries and deaths on employees and their families. Division of Coal Mine Workers' Compensation. The Black Lung Benefits Act provides benefits to coal miners who are totally disabled by black lung disease, and to their eligible survivors. Benefits include monthly compensation for disabled miners and survivors of miners whose deaths are attributable to black lung, and medical coverage for disabled miners' lung disease.