Career Advice

COVID-19 upended our lives and changed the way millions of Americans work. One of the most dramatic employment changes during the pandemic was the significant increase in employees working from home: 42% of employed workers worked from home in 2020, nearly double the percentage working from home in 2019. Yet while remote work was widely adopted across different sectors and

When it comes to retirement in America, there is good news and bad news. On June 2, the Trustees of the Social Security trust fund issued their annual report on the state of this key safety net. The report found that, in part due to faster growth in employment, earnings and economic growth than expected, and the passage of the

Growing up in a mining community in southern West Virginia, I know all too well when miners are unnecessarily exposed to occupational hazards, they often experience irreversible health problems, pain, suffering and even death. From the moment I became assistant secretary, one of my priorities has been to ensure that miners’ health is considered as important as miners’ safety. That is

VETS’ Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program long-standing grantee, Harbor Care, is on a mission to end veteran housing insecurity in New Hampshire. With four dedicated veteran first housing complexes throughout the state, Harbor Care is New Hampshire’s largest provider of integrated housing and support for veterans experiencing homelessness. We recently spoke with former client, Army veteran Wade Thompson, to see how

En español A “creuseur,” or digger, descends into a tunnel at the cobalt mine in Kawama, Democratic Republic of the Congo. June 8, 2016. Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post/Getty Images Before products like cell phones or baby formula show up on store shelves, countless workers are engaged in their production. Far from the eyes of inspectors and shoppers, too

Growing the Workforce Through our Re-employment Services and Eligibility Assessments Program Each September during National Workforce Development Month, we highlight the importance of equipping Americans with the education, training and skills they need to advance their careers. One way the U.S. Department of Labor supports these efforts is through strategies to enhance Unemployment Insurance programs, which are vital to protecting

A coal company terminal in West Virginia. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed into law by President Biden on Aug. 16, helps to secure federal Black Lung benefits for miners with black lung disease and their families. Generations of coal miners who sacrificed so much to power our country can rest assured that their benefits are not in jeopardy.

En español The agricultural sector remains one of the most dangerous with hundreds of fatalities occurring each year, many related to transportation related incidents. As the fall harvest ramps up across the country, and more farmworkers travel to and from work, we want everyone to know these fatalities are unacceptable, and the Wage and Hour Division is working hard to

Logan is gaining the skills for a cybersecurity career as an apprentice with McLeod Information Systems in Charleston, South Carolina. Demand for cybersecurity workers is skyrocketing: From April 2021 to April 2022, U.S. employers shared 714,548 job postings for cybersecurity job roles, and cybersecurity jobs increased by 43% in the last 12-month period compared with an approximately 18% increase in

In an earlier blog post, I reminded everyone that there was an “M” in the LMRDA (the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act) for a reason. The statute requires reporting by employers and labor relations consultants, not just unions. We often refer to the reports filed by employers (Form LM-10) and labor relations consultants (Forms LM-20 and LM-21) as “Persuader Reports,”