Career Advice

A Wider Lens: 2023 Enforcement Results When I started as director of the Office of Labor-Management Standards almost three years ago, my vision for the agency included “[e]xpanding the scope of our public reporting functions, to improve transparency and the public’s understanding of OLMS data and other data that reflects on the forces that shape the American workplace.” In pursuit

I am DOL: Verlencia Somuah Serves Workers With Disabilities In our “I Am DOL” series, we’re highlighting employees who work in a wide range of roles at the Department of Labor but who all share a passion for public service. Verlencia Somuah, a policy advisor in the Office of Disability Employment Policy, serves on a team that manages the Employer

Employee or Independent Contractor? A Guide to the New Rule The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting employees’ rights across America. To do so effectively, we must help businesses and workers understand how to differentiate employees from independent contractors who are in business for themselves.  Today, the Department of Labor published a final rule, Employee or Independent Contractor

5 ways ARPA investments are modernizing the unemployment insurance system Unemployment insurance benefits supported over 53 million workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the impacts of job loss, returning an estimated $880 billion to the economy, and softening what could have been a massive labor market crisis. But the pandemic exposed shortcomings in the unemployment insurance program. State agencies struggled

A New Year – A Great Time to Focus on Your Financial Future En español   Happy New Year! As we welcome another year, it’s a great time to focus on your financial future. Whether you’re beginning your career or have been working for many years, now is the perfect time to learn about your retirement options (or refresh your

A Year of Innovation Supporting America’s Workers   The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has been hard at work over the past year, dedicated to serving America’s workforce through technology – in ways both seen and unseen. As 2023 comes to a close, we want to share some of the Department of Labor projects we supported. Serving Workers

Our Year Advancing Labor Rights In New York City, I joined President Biden and Brazilian President Lula for the launch of the U.S.-Brazil Partnership for Workers’ Rights. Back in D.C., we released the 2022 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. ILAB also launched a new interactive web format for Comply Chain, an eight-step guide to equipping businesses of

A Labor-Management Partnership Helping Educators Thrive As the proud daughter of a first-grade teacher, I can attest that educators work countless hours outside of the school day. My mother wrote lesson plans and graded papers every evening between making dinner and helping me with my homework. Weekends were not off limits either. She often used that time to ensure the

New Frontiers for Empowering Workers and Business Today, a record number of workers are raising their voice on the job: over the last two years, workers have filed thousands of petitions to vote to form a new union in their workplace and public support for unions is higher than almost any point in the last 60 years. It’s no surprise

American Job Centers: The Path to Veteran Employment Starts Here Jen Gollnick, an Army National Guard veteran, found herself in a challenging position in early 2023. After being laid off, she faced the decision of finding another job or starting her own company.   Gollnick sought help from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and  they connected her with U.S.