United States Department of Labor - wikipedia United States Department of Labor U.S. Department that regulates the workers ' rights and labor markets United States Department of Labor Seal of the U.S. Department of Labor Flag of the U.S. Department of Labor The Frances Perkins Building, which serves as the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Labor Agency overview Formed March 4, 1913 ; 105 years ago ( 1913 - 03 - 04 ) Headquarters Frances Perkins Building 200 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, D.C., U.S. 38 ° 53 ′ 33.13 '' N 77 ° 0 ′ 51.94 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 38.8925361 ° N 77.0144278 ° W ﻿ / 38.8925361 ; - 77.0144278 Coordinates : 38 ° 53 ′ 33.13 '' N 77 ° 0 ′ 51.94 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 38.8925361 ° N 77.0144278 ° W ﻿ / 38.8925361 ; - 77.0144278 Employees 17,450 ( 2014 ) Annual budget $12.1 billion ( FY 2012 ) Agency executives Alexander Acosta, Secretary Patrick Pizzella, Deputy Secretary Website www.dol.gov The United States Department of Labor ( DOL ) is a cabinet - level department of the U.S. federal government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, reemployment services, and some economic statistics ; many U.S. states also have such departments. The department is headed by the U.S. Secretary of Labor. The purpose of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the wellbeing 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. In carrying out this mission, the Department of Labor administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws and thousands of federal regulations. These mandates and the regulations that implement them cover many workplace activities for about 10 million employers and 125 million workers. The department 's headquarters is housed in the Frances Perkins Building, named in honor of Frances Perkins, the Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945. Contents 1 History 2 Freedom of Information Act processing performance 3 Agencies, boards, offices, programs, library and corporation of the department 3.1 Other 4 Related legislation 5 See also 6 Notes and references 7 Bibliography 8 External links History The former flag of the U.S. Department of Labor, used from 1914 to 1960. In 1884 the U.S. Congress first established a Bureau of Labor Statistics with the Bureau of Labor Act, to collect information about labor and employment. This bureau was under the Department of the Interior. The Bureau started collecting economic data in 1884, and published their first report in 1886. Later, the Bureau of Labor became an independent Department of Labor, but lacked executive rank. In February 1903, it became a bureau again when the Department of Commerce and Labor was established. United States President William Howard Taft signed the March 4, 1913 bill ( the last day of his presidency ), establishing the Department of Labor as a cabinet - level department. William B. Wilson was appointed as the first Secretary of Labor on March 5, 1913, by President Wilson. In October 1919, Secretary Wilson chaired the first meeting of the International Labour Organization even though the U.S. was not yet a member. In September 1916, the Federal Employees ' Compensation Act introduced benefits to workers who are injured or contract illnesses in the workplace. The act established an agency responsible for federal workers ' compensation, which was transferred to the Labor Department in the 1940s and has become known as the Office of Workers ' Compensation Programs. Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet member, was appointed to be Secretary of Labor by President Roosevelt on March 4, 1933. Perkins served for 12 years, and became the longest - serving Secretary of Labor. During the John F. Kennedy Administration, planning was undertaken to consolidate most of the department 's offices, then scattered around more than 20 locations. in the mid ‐ 1960s construction on the `` New Labor Building '' began and finished in 1975. In 1980 it was named in honor of Frances Perkins. President Lyndon Johnson asked Congress to consider the idea of reuniting Commerce and Labor. He argued that the two departments had similar goals and that they would have more efficient channels of communication in a single department. However, Congress never acted on it. In the 1970s, following the civil rights movement, the Labor Department under Secretary George P. Shultz made a concerted effort to promote racial diversity in unions. In 1978, the Department of Labor created the Philip Arnow Award, intended to recognize outstanding career employees such as the eponymous Philip Arnow. During 2010 a local of the American Federation of Government Employees stated their unhappiness that a longstanding flextime program reduced under the George W. Bush administration had not been restored under the Obama administration. Department officials said the program was modern and fair and that it was part of ongoing contract negotiations with the local. In August 2010, the Partnership for Public Service ranked the Department of Labor 23rd out of 31 large agencies in its annual `` Best Places to Work in the Federal Government '' list. In December 2010, then - Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was named the Chair of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, of which Labor has been a member since its beginnings in 1987. In July 2011, the department was rocked by the resignation of Ray Jefferson, Assistant Secretary for VETS, in a contracting scandal. In March 2013, the department began commemorating its centennial. In July 2013, Tom Perez was appointed as Secretary of Labor. According to remarks by Perez at his swearing - in ceremony, `` Boiled down to its essence, the Department of Labor is the department of opportunity. '' Freedom of information Act processing performance In the latest Center for Effective Government analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive the most Freedom of Information Act ( United States ) ( FOIA ) requests, published in 2015 ( using 2012 and 2013 data, the most recent years available ), the Labor Department earned a D by scoring 63 out of a possible 100 points, i.e. did not earn a satisfactory overall grade. Agencies, boards, offices, programs, library and corporation of the department Administrative Review Board ( ARB ) Benefits Review Board ( BRB ) Bureau of International Labor Affairs ( ILAB ) Bureau of Labor Statistics ( BLS ) Center for Faith - Based and Neighborhood Partnerships ( CFBNP ) Employee Benefits Security Administration ( EBSA ) Employees ' Compensation Appeals Board ( ECAB ) Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program ( EEOMBD ) Employment and Training Administration ( ETA ) Mine Safety and Health Administration ( MSHA ) Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ( OFCCP ) Office of Inspector General ( OIG ) Office of Labor - Management Standards ( OLMS ) Office of Workers ' Compensation Programs ( OWCP ) Veterans ' Employment and Training Service ( VETS ) Wage and Hour Division ( WHD ) Women 's Bureau ( WB ) Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation PBGC Office of the Inspector General Office of Administrative Law Judges ( OALJ ) Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs ( OCIA ) 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 Chief Information Officer ( OCIO ) Office of Disability Employment Policy ( ODEP ) Office of Public Engagement ( OPE ) Office of the Solicitor ( SOL ) Office of the Secretary ( OSEC ) Other Wirtz Labor Library Job Corps Related legislation 1926 : Railway Labor Act 1949 : Fair Labor Standards Amendment PL 81 - 393 1953 : Small Business Act PL 83 - 163 1954 : Internal Revenue Code PL 83 - 591 1955 : Fair Labor Standards Amendment PL 84 - 381 1958 : Small Business Administration extension PL 85 - 536 1961 : Fair Labor Standards Amendment PL 87 - 30 1961 : Area Redevelopment Act PL 87 - 27 1962 : Manpower Development and Training Act PL 87 - 415 1962 : Public Welfare Amendments PL 87 - 543 1963 : Amendments to National Defense Education Act PL 88 - 210 1964 : Economic Opportunity Act PL 88 - 452 1965 : Vocational Rehabilitation Act amended PL 89 - 333 1965 : Executive Order 11246 1965 : McNamara - O'Hara Service Contract Act 1966 : Fair Labor Standards Amendment PL 89 - 601 1970 : Occupational Safety and Health Act 1973 : Comprehensive Employment and Training Act PL 93 - 203 1973 : Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act PL 93 - 112 1974 : Fair Labor Standards Amendment PL 93 - 259 1974 : Vietnam Era Veterans ' Readjustment Assistance Act PL 92 - 540 1974 : Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( ERISA ) Pub. L. 93 - 406 1975 : Revenue Adjustment Act ( Earned Income Tax Credit ) PL 94 - 12, 164 1976 : Overhaul of vocational education programs PL 94 - 482 1976 : Social Security Act Amendments ( Aid to Day Care Centers ) PL 94 - 401 1977 : Fair Labor Standards Amendment PL 95 - 151 1977 : Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 1978 : Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act PL 95 - 523 1981 : Budget Reconciliation Act PL 97 - 35 1982 : Job Training Partnership Act PL 97 - 300 1983 : Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act PL 99 - 603 1988 : Family Support Act PL 100 - 485 1988 : Employee Polygraph Protection Act 1989 : Fair Labor Standards Amendment PL 101 - 157 1990 : Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act PL 101 - 508 1993 : Family and Medical Leave Act PL 103 - 3 1993 : Omnibus Budget Reconciliation and Bankruptcy Act PL 103 - 66 1996 : Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 PL 104 - 188 1996 : Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act PL 104 - 193 1996 : Veterans Employment Opportunities Act PL 105 - 339 1998 : Workforce Investment Act of 1998 2014 : Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act See also Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations Equal Employment Opportunity Commission National Labor Relations Board Occupational Information Network ( Holland Codes ) Ticket to Work USA.gov USAFacts Notes and references Jump up ^ `` Chapter 1 : Start - up of the Department and World War I, 1913 - 1921 ''. History of the Department of Labor. Retrieved February 4, 2013. Jump up ^ `` FY 2014 Department of Labor Budget in Brief '' ( PDF ). U.S. Department of Labor. U.S. federal government. 2014. Jump up ^ Weichelt, Bryan ; Yoder, Aaron ; Bendixsen, Casper ; Pilz, Matthew ; Minor, Gerald ; Keifer, Matthew ( 2018 - 07 - 03 ). `` Augmented Reality Farm MAPPER Development : Lessons Learned from an App Designed to Improve Rural Emergency Response ''. Journal of Agromedicine. 23 ( 3 ) : 284 -- 296. doi : 10.1080 / 1059924x. 2018.1470051. ISSN 1059 - 924X. Jump up ^ Bureau of Labor Statistics Jump up ^ Bls.gov Jump up ^ William Bauchop Wilson Jump up ^ Iga.ucdavis.edu Jump up ^ Bls.gov Jump up ^ Frum, David ( 2000 ). How We Got Here : The ' 70s. New York, New York : Basic Books. p. 243. ISBN 0 - 465 - 04195 - 7. Jump up ^ `` PER 00 - 00 - 001 - ADM 2.1 - Employee Recognition Program Occupational Safety and Health Administration ''. www.osha.gov. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 17. ^ Jump up to : Kamen, Al ( 2010 - 04 - 23 ). `` AFGE pushes for flextime at Labor Department ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010 - 04 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Best Places to Work > Overall Index Scores ''. Partnership for Public Service. 2010. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 01. Jump up ^ About USICH United States Interagency Council on Homelessness ( USICH ). Usich.gov ( 1987 - 07 - 22 ). Retrieved on 2013 - 08 - 12. Jump up ^ All.gov Jump up ^ `` Raymond Jefferson leaves Labor Department after ethics finding ''. The Washington Post. 2012 - 07 - 25. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 07. Jump up ^ `` McCaskill criticizes Labor Department contracting ' boondoggle ' : News ''. Stltoday.com. 2011 - 07 - 28. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 07. Jump up ^ United States Department of Labor. Dol.gov. Retrieved on 2013 - 08 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Remarks By Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, Swearing - In Ceremony ''. United States Department of Labor. 2013. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 08. Jump up ^ Making the Grade : Access to Information Scorecard 2015 March 2015, 80 pages, Center for Effective Government, retrieved 21 March 2016 Bibliography Lombardi, John ( 1942 ). Labor 's Voice in the Cabinet : A History of the Department of Labor from Its Origins to 1921. New York : Columbia University Press. External links Find more aboutUnited States Department of Laborat Wikipedia 's sister projects Media from Wikimedia Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Official website U.S. Department of Labor in the Federal Register Agencies under the United States Department of Labor Headquarters : Frances Perkins Building Alex Acosta, Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella, Deputy Secretary of Labor Deputy Secretary of Labor Administrative Review Board Benefits Review Board Bureau of International Labor Affairs Bureau of Labor Statistics Center for Faith - Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Employees ' Compensation Appeals Board Employee Benefits Security Administration Office of Administrative Law Judges Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Employment and Training Administration Mine Safety and Health Administration Occupational Safety and Health Administration Office of the Chief Financial Officer Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Office of Inspector General Office of Labor - Management Standards Office of Public Engagement Office of the Solicitor Office of Workers ' Compensation Programs Veterans ' Employment and Training Service Wage and Hour Division Women 's Bureau Federal executive departments of the United States of America Executive Departments Agriculture Commerce Defense Education Energy Health and Human Services Homeland Security Housing and Urban Development Interior Justice Labor State Transportation Treasury Veterans Affairs Former Air Force Army Commerce and Labor Health, Education, and Welfare Navy Post Office War Government of the United States portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_Department_of_Labor&oldid=865357917 '' Categories : 1913 establishments in Washington, D.C. Government agencies established in 1913 United States Department of Labor United States federal executive departments Hidden categories : Articles with short description Coordinates not on Wikidata All articles with vague or ambiguous time Vague or ambiguous time from July 2018 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2007 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 17 more Edit links This page was last edited on 23 October 2018, at 12 : 48 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: who is in charge of department of labor
Answer: Alexander Acosta, Secretary