Career Advice

The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for ensuring that over 148 million workers across the country are getting paid for the work they do every day to keep our economy moving forward. Enforcing the minimum wage and making sure workers get time and a half after 40 hours a week are fundamental protections

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a devastating toll on the lives and livelihood of millions of Americans. As workers have lost their jobs, experienced a reduction in hours or struggled to find full-time employment, many are enduring yet another crisis: the potential of losing or being unable to afford health insurance. Thankfully, there is a program in place to help

Today was the first time I got to dive intotheemployment situationreport from the Bureau of Labor Statisticsas your secretary oflabor — aka my first“JobsDay.”And the report includedsomegoodnews:We added 916,000 new jobs, the unemployment rate dropped slightly, andwe saw significant job growth across most sectors of the economy. But as Itoldreporters and stakeholdersacross the country, westill have a long way to goand

The March employment situation report brought some welcome news, with 916,000 new jobs, including gains in leisure and hospitality and public and private education, industries in which women are overrepresented. The unemployment rate dropped slightly, from 6.2 to 6.0%. As always, there’s a lot to take in from the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, so here are five key takeaways

This was my first week on the job as secretary of labor. Since I was sworn in by Vice President Harris on Tuesday, I’ve been humbled by the warm welcome I’ve received and inspired by this department and community’s commitment to supporting America’s workers. Here are a few highlights from my first week as your secretary: Calling attention to

This yearMarch 24 is Equal Pay Day, a symbol for the number of extra days, on average, women have to work to catch up to what men were paid the year before. Across the Department of Labor, we used this day to call attention to the factors contributing to the gender wage gap and to commit to strategies for eliminating it.Here

On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company on the top floors of the Asch Building, near Washington Square Park in New York City. Many of the workers were women, some as young as 14, and most were immigrants. The fire spread quickly, and workers who rushed to the exits found they had been locked

The interior of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory following the deadly fire. 110 years ago today, in a garment factory in lower Manhattan, New York, 600 women tirelessly sewed blouses as they worked in overcrowded spaces lined with long tables and sewing machines. These employees – many of whom were young female immigrants – were working a typical long 12-hour shift

En español Yesterday, as I was sworn in as the 29th secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, I thought about my mother and father, who emigrated from Ireland in the 1950s. They both worked hard, but our American Dream did not take shape until my father joined the Laborers Union Local 223 in Boston. The union was our way

March 24is Equal Pay Day, a symbolicday thatrepresentsthe number of extra days women, on average, must work to earn what men, on average, earned the year before. And formothers and many women of color, this date fallsmuchlaterin the year. Many systemic issuesare at the root oflower wages for working women – not justgenderdiscrimination, butalsoracialdiscrimination, the devaluation of “women’s”work, the absence of supports