Updated on May 29.
The Department of Labor (DOL) is a federal agency entrusted with protecting workers, job seekers and retirees. The department’s role impacts everyone who has an employer, either currently or in the past.
The DOL was created in 1913 and is currently led by Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
DOGE seized DOL information, 20% of employees left
In February, President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), then led by billionaire Elon Musk — an unelected official who was never confirmed as an appointee of Trump — trained their sights on the Department of Labor. Here’s what went down.
- DOGE employees gained access to DOL systems and data, including sensitive information. Its actions were immediately challenged by multiple lawsuits.
- Some 20% of DOL employees voluntarily left their positions — about 3,000 workers.
Since its start, DOGE spent most of its time firing federal employees and probing multiple federal departments and agencies. Its actions resulted in Musk and associates accessing sensitive Treasury Department data; taking over the office of personnel management; shuttering the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); and dismantling the Department of Education.
Meet MoneyNerd, your weekly news decoder
So much news. So little time. NerdWallet's new weekly newsletter makes sense of the headlines that affect your wallet.
What does the Labor Department do?
The mission of the Labor Department is “to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.”
The department wears many hats, but a few of its primary functions include:
- Enforcing labor laws.
- Compiling employment data.
- Supporting workforce development.
- Managing funding and guidelines for state unemployment insurance programs
- Promoting workers’ rights, including fair working conditions.
- Providing disaster recovery assistance.
- Compliance assistance for employers.
- Maintaining the Job Corps, a residential career training program.
The Labor Department is an umbrella for a long list of other offices and bureaus including:
- Administrative Review Board (ARB)
- Benefits Review Board (BRB)
- Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
- Centers for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives (CFOI)
- Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
- Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB)
- Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
- Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ)
- Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA)
- Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
- Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
- Office of Inspector General (OIG)
- Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
- Office of Public Liaison (OPL)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP)
- Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)
- Office of the Solicitor (SOL)
- Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)
- Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOMBD)
- Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
- Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS)
- Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
- Women's Bureau (WB)
What laws does the Labor Department enforce?
Some of the key labor laws the DOL enforces include:
- Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets standards for private and public employment including wages, overtime pay and child labor.
- Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical and family care reasons.
- Occupational Safety and Health Act, which protects workers from unsafe and unhealthy working conditions and is administered by OSHA.
- Workers’ compensations acts including those related to longshore and harbor workers; Department of Energy employees; coal miners; and federal employees.
- Affordable Care Act provisions related to employer health care coverage.
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN Act), which requires employers to provide notice prior to large layoffs.
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which regulates private pension plans and benefits.
- Immigration and Nationality Act provisions applying to visa programs.
Additional labor laws that the DOL enforces are listed here.
How to file a complaint with the Labor Department
Multiple divisions under the Labor Department, collects and investigates confidential complaints from workers.
To file a complaint you’ll typically need to gather personal and work information including your name and contact information; the company you work or worked for and its location, contact information and manager or owner; the work you did; your payment and records of hours worked.
- Wage and hour complaint: Contact: 1-866-487-9243 or submit a concern online. Learn more.
- Employee benefit plan complaint and questions: Call (1-866) 444-3272 or message the EBSA. You can visit or contact the local office nearest you. Learn more.
- Safety and health complaint: Call or visit your local OSHA office. You can also submit a complaint online. Learn more.
Here are some other complaint filing options and how to file a discrimination complaint with your state.
How to contact the Labor Department
The Department of Labor National Contact Center supports all of the DOL’s initiatives and programs. It offers a variety of options for communication.
Website: dol.gov.
Submit questions/comments here.
FAQ page here.
Contacting by phone:
- Main phone number: 1-866-4-USA-DOL (866-487-2365).
- Additional toll-free phone numbers and email addresses for offices, boards and bureaus that fall under the oversight of the DOL.
- Phone numbers by topic area.
Mailing address: Find specific agency names and office numbers
U.S. Department of Labor
Agency name
Office number
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210
Additional resources:
- worker.gov for more information on rights and protection in the workplace.
- employer.gov for more information for employers about compliance with labor laws.
- Job Corps training.
- Filing for unemployment insurance.
(Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images News via Getty Images)
