United States Secretary of Labor - wikipedia United States Secretary of Labor Secretary of Labor of the United States Seal of the United States Department of Labor Flag of the Secretary of Labor Incumbent Alex Acosta since April 28, 2017 United States Department of Labor Style Mr. Secretary Member of Cabinet Reports to The President Seat Washington, D.C. Appointer The President with Senate advice and consent Term length No fixed term Constituting instrument 29 U.S.C. § 551 Precursor Secretary of Commerce and Labor Formation March 4, 1913 First holder William B. Wilson Succession Eleventh Deputy Deputy Secretary of Labor Salary Executive Schedule, level 1 Website www.dol.gov The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the U.S. Department of Labor, exercises control over the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business - person controversies. Formerly, there was a U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Labor, who led this department along with the U.S. Department of Commerce as one department. Since the two departments split in 1913, the Department of Commerce is now headed by a separate U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Alexander Acosta is the current U.S. Secretary of Labor since April 28, 2017. The former flag of the U.S. Secretary of Labor, used from 1915 to 1960. Contents 1 List of Secretaries of Labor 2 Living former Secretaries of Labor 3 Line of succession 3.1 Designated Secretarial Designee 4 See also 5 References 6 External links List of Secretaries of Labor Parties Democratic ( 12 ) Republican ( 15 ) No. Portrait Name State of Residence Took office Left office President ( s ) William B. Wilson Pennsylvania March 6, 1913 March 4, 1921 Woodrow Wilson James J. Davis Pennsylvania March 5, 1921 November 30, 1930 Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover William N. Doak Virginia December 9, 1930 March 4, 1933 Frances Perkins New York March 4, 1933 June 30, 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman 5 Lewis B. Schwellenbach Washington July 1, 1945 June 10, 1948 6 Maurice J. Tobin Massachusetts August 13, 1948 January 20, 1953 7 Martin P. Durkin Maryland January 21, 1953 September 10, 1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower 8 James P. Mitchell New Jersey October 9, 1953 January 20, 1961 9 Arthur Goldberg Illinois January 21, 1961 September 20, 1962 John F. Kennedy 10 W. Willard Wirtz Illinois September 25, 1962 January 20, 1969 Lyndon B. Johnson 11 George P. Shultz Illinois January 22, 1969 July 1, 1970 Richard Nixon 12 James D. Hodgson California July 2, 1970 February 1, 1973 13 Peter J. Brennan New York February 2, 1973 March 15, 1975 Gerald Ford 14 John T. Dunlop Massachusetts March 18, 1975 January 31, 1976 15 William Usery Jr. Georgia February 10, 1976 January 20, 1977 16 Ray Marshall Texas January 27, 1977 January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter 17 Raymond J. Donovan New Jersey February 4, 1981 March 15, 1985 Ronald Reagan 18 Bill Brock Tennessee April 29, 1985 October 31, 1987 19 Ann Dore McLaughlin District of Columbia December 17, 1987 January 20, 1989 20 Elizabeth Dole Kansas January 25, 1989 November 23, 1990 George H.W. Bush 21 Lynn M. Martin Illinois February 22, 1991 January 20, 1993 22 Robert Reich Massachusetts January 22, 1993 January 20, 1997 Bill Clinton 23 Alexis Herman Alabama May 1, 1997 January 20, 2001 24 Elaine Chao Kentucky January 29, 2001 January 20, 2009 George W. Bush -- Howard Radzely Pennsylvania January 20, 2009 February 2, 2009 Barack Obama -- Ed Hugler Pennsylvania February 2, 2009 February 24, 2009 25 Hilda Solis California February 24, 2009 January 22, 2013 -- Seth Harris New York January 22, 2013 July 23, 2013 26 Tom Perez Maryland July 23, 2013 January 20, 2017 -- Ed Hugler Pennsylvania January 20, 2017 April 27, 2017 Donald Trump 27 Alex Acosta Florida April 28, 2017 Incumbent Living former Secretaries of Labor As of April 2018, there are twelve living former Secretaries of Labor ( with all Secretaries that have served since 1977 still living ), the oldest being George P. Shultz ( served 1969 -- 1970, born 1920 ). The most recent Secretary of Labor to die was William Usery Jr. ( served 1976 -- 1977, born 1923 ), on December 10, 2016. Name Term of office Date of birth ( and age ) George P. Shultz 1969 -- 1970 ( 1920 - 12 - 13 ) December 13, 1920 ( age 97 ) Ray Marshall 1977 -- 1981 ( 1928 - 08 - 22 ) August 22, 1928 ( age 89 ) Raymond J. Donovan 1981 -- 1985 ( 1930 - 08 - 31 ) August 31, 1930 ( age 87 ) Bill Brock 1985 -- 1987 ( 1930 - 11 - 23 ) November 23, 1930 ( age 87 ) Ann Dore McLaughlin 1987 -- 1989 ( 1941 - 11 - 16 ) November 16, 1941 ( age 76 ) Elizabeth H. Dole 1989 -- 1990 ( 1936 - 07 - 29 ) July 29, 1936 ( age 81 ) Lynn Morley Martin 1991 -- 1993 ( 1939 - 12 - 26 ) December 26, 1939 ( age 78 ) Robert Reich 1993 -- 1997 ( 1946 - 06 - 24 ) June 24, 1946 ( age 71 ) Alexis Herman 1997 -- 2001 ( 1947 - 07 - 16 ) July 16, 1947 ( age 70 ) Elaine Chao 2001 -- 2009 ( 1953 - 03 - 26 ) March 26, 1953 ( age 65 ) Hilda Solis 2009 -- 2013 ( 1957 - 10 - 20 ) October 20, 1957 ( age 60 ) Thomas Perez 2013 -- 2017 ( 1961 - 10 - 07 ) October 7, 1961 ( age 56 ) Line of succession The line of succession for the Secretary of Labor is as follows : Deputy Secretary of Labor Solicitor of Labor Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management Assistant Secretary for Policy Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Chief Financial Officer Administrator, Wage and Hour Division Assistant Secretary for Veterans ' Employment and Training Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Deputy Solicitor of Labor ( First Assistant of the Solicitor of Labor ) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy ( First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Policy ) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs ( First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs ) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training ( First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training ) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy ( First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security ) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health ( First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health ) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health ( First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health ) Regional Solicitor -- Dallas Regional Administrator for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management -- Region VI / Dallas Designated Secretarial Designee If none of the above officials are available to serve as Acting Secretary of Labor, the Designated Secretarial Designee assumes interim operational control over the Department, except the Secretary 's non-delegable responsibilities. Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director of the Women 's Bureau Regional Administrator, Employment and Training Administration -- Dallas Regional Administration, Occupational Safety and Health Administration -- Dallas See also United States Deputy Secretary of Labor List of living former members of the United States Cabinet References Jump up ^ 3 U.S.C. § 19, Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President ; officers eligible to act Jump up ^ `` Order of Succession to the Secretary of Labor in Periods of Vacancy, Continuity of Executive Direction, Repositioning and Devolution of Departmental Governance, and Emergency Planning Under Circumstances of Extreme Disruption ''. Federal Register. 2017 - 01 - 19. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 02. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Secretaries of Labor. Official website Current U.S. order of precedence ( ceremonial ) Preceded by Wilbur Ross as Secretary of Commerce Order of Precedence of the United States as Secretary of Labor Succeeded by Alex Azar as Secretary of Health and Human Services Current U.S. presidential line of succession Preceded by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross 11th in line Succeeded by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar United States Secretaries of Labor Secretaries of Commerce and Labor Cortelyou Metcalf Straus Nagel Secretaries of Labor Wilson Davis Doak Perkins Schwellenbach Tobin Durkin Mitchell Goldberg Wirtz Shultz Hodgson Brennan Dunlop Usery Marshall Donovan Brock McLaughlin Dole Martin Reich Herman Chao Solis Perez Acosta 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 Leaders of the United States federal executive departments Current Agriculture Commerce Defense Education Energy Health and Human Services Homeland Security Housing and Urban Development Interior Justice Labor State Transportation Treasury Veterans Affairs Past Commerce and Labor Health, Education, and Welfare Navy Post Office War Presidential line of succession in the United States of America Vice President ( Mike Pence ) Speaker of the House of Representatives ( Paul Ryan ) President pro tempore of the Senate ( Orrin Hatch ) Secretary of State ( John Sullivan ) Secretary of the Treasury ( Steven Mnuchin ) Secretary of Defense ( Jim Mattis ) Attorney General ( Jeff Sessions ) Secretary of the Interior ( Ryan Zinke ) Secretary of Agriculture ( Sonny Perdue ) Secretary of Commerce ( Wilbur Ross ) Secretary of Labor ( Alex Acosta ) Secretary of Health and Human Services ( Alex Azar ) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development ( Ben Carson ) Secretary of Transportation ( Elaine Chao ) Secretary of Energy ( Rick Perry ) Secretary of Education ( Betsy DeVos ) Secretary of Veterans Affairs ( Robert Wilkie ) Secretary of Homeland Security ( Kirstjen Nielsen ) Jump up ^ Sullivan serves as the Acting Secretary of State, and is thus ineligible for the presidency. Mike Pompeo has been formally nominated for the position by Donald Trump. Jump up ^ Although Elaine Chao is the current Secretary of Transportation, she is not a natural - born citizen ( acquired U.S. citizenship by naturalization ) and thus ineligible for the presidency. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_Secretary_of_Labor&oldid=832941419 '' Categories : Lists of members of the Cabinet of the United States United States Secretaries of Labor Cabinet of the United States Talk Contents About Wikipedia فارسی Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Русский Simple English Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 28 March 2018, at 20 : 11. About Wikipedia

Question: who is the head of department of labor
Answer: Alexander Acosta