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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

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 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

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

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,public demand forinformation aboutthe Department of Labor’s critical serviceshasskyrocketed. With modernized infrastructure already in place,ourOffice of the Chief Information Officer swiftly responded to meet thenew technologychallenges.OCIO provided agiledepartment-widetechnical supportfor27 agenciesto ensure uninterrupted delivery and continuity of services to Americanworkers, retirees and job seekers. Fortunately,our departmentwas ahead of the curve in preparingourworkforce and infrastructure for

ODEP Senior Policy Advisor Nadia Mossburg (right, with Watson, her service dog) talk with Illinois State Sen. Laura Fine at the Women in Government Annual Conference in October 2018. Much of our policy work in the Office of Disability Employment Policy focuses on state and local governments, where the rubber meets the road in terms of workforce solutions. Our unique

It’s been a year since leaders across the United States, in order to slow the spread of this deadly virus, started asking people to stay home and limit their contact with others. Over the past year, the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has overseen the implementation of new unemployment insurance programs and expansions of existing programs to help