Coronavirus: External-Facing Activities

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Labor is focused on protecting the safety and 

health of American workers, assisting our state partners as they deliver traditional unemployment 

and expanded unemployment benefits, ensuring Americans know their rights to new paid sick leave 

and expanded family and medical leave, providing guidance and assistance to employers, and 

carrying out the mission of the Department.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

OSHA has used a number of strategies, including enforcement and compliance assistance to support 

the Administration’s response to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 disease).

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA has produced myriad guidance documents to address 

occupational exposure concerns. This guidance, which includes general guidance for Preparing 

Workplaces for COVID-19, guidance for specific industries, as well as Guidance on Returning to 

Work, provides employers and employees with recommendations on how to protect worker health 

and safety. These and other guidance documents are found on OSHA’s Coronavirus Safety and 

Health Topics Webpage. Using these materials, OSHA compliance assistance specialists have 

conducted outreach to thousands of employees across the country. 

Further, OSHA received funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act 

(CARES Act) l produce new guidance materials for various industry sectors and processes that will 

complement and accommodate the US government’s three phase approach to COVID operating 

status as “Opening Up America Again” is rolled out to businesses to better adjust safety measures to 

local conditions. 

To address COVID-19 enforcement issues, OSHA developed and implemented interim policies in an 

Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan and Enforcement Discretion Guidance. Wherever 

feasible, OSHA uses key OSHA standards for COVID-19 that include standards for personal 

protective equipment, respiratory protection, and recordkeeping. The agency is also using its 

authority under the General Duty Clause [section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act]. As it has in the past with 

other unique hazards, OSHA is treating COVID-19 inspections as “novel” and is requiring the 

regions to send their citations to the National Office for review prior to issuance, including by the 

Solicitor of Labor. OSHA has received a high volume of complaints and has conducted hundreds of 

inspections. OSHA has also received a high number of whistleblower complaints related to COVID19 in addition to the agency’s usual whistleblower intake workload, creating an increased backlog 

of investigations – the highest number in program history. As businesses reopen, OSHA expects to 

continue receiving high numbers of COVID-19-related enforcement and whistleblower complaints. 

Enforcement data and whistleblower data related to COVID-19 are updated daily and available on 

the agency’s website. OSHA also provides data on inspections with COVID-related citations. 

Several groups have petitioned OSHA to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for 

infectious diseases/COVID-19. In addition to petitioning the agency for an ETS, the AFL-CIO filed an 

emergency petition with the D. C. Circuit on June 11, 2020 for a writ of mandamus to compel OSHA 

to issue an ETS. The D.C. Circuit denied the petition. There has been discussion in Congress over 

including a provision in its COVID-19 relief bills to direct OSHA to issue an ETS. To date, such a 

provision has not been included. 
Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic remains a top priority for the Wage and Hour Division 

(WHD). As such, WHD’s response throughout this continuing crisis has been swift and 

comprehensive. WHD has simultaneously addressed the critical need to provide information to the 

American workforce about their rights and benefits available under the Families First Coronavirus 

Response Act (FFCRA), the need to enforce the new law to ensure workers get the protections they 

need and deserve, and the critical need to continue work in all of our traditional mission-driven 

program areas. Work under all WHD statutes, ensuring workers receive the wages they have 

earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field, becomes more important than ever 

when adverse conditions affect the workplace.

WHD staff adapted immediately to pandemic conditions, focusing on customer service and 

continuing to deliver WHD’s full complement of services, uninterrupted, to those we are here to 

protect. 

The agency has worked expeditiously since the FFCRA passed to provide guidance as broadly and 

as quickly as possible and to ensure that workers and employers have access to the information and 

tools they need to fully understand and avail themselves of the new law’s benefits.

Delivering Outreach

• WHD has conducted thousands of outreach events nationwide to educate workers and 

employers about the benefits and protections of the FFCRA. WHD conducts most of its 

outreach at the local level, presenting information directly to worker groups, local industry 

associations, chambers commerce, faith-based organizations, and consulates through 

virtual platforms. At the outset of the pandemic, staff immediately pivoted to virtual 

presentations, offering seamless continuation of WHD educational events when they were 

needed most. 

• WHD continues to be on the front lines providing paid sick leave and expanded family and 

medical leave information directly to the workers in need by providing compliance 

assistance information at COVID-19 testing sites and at food banks serving those 

impacted by the virus. Other circumstance-specific target locations include health care 

providers and religious institutions.

• The agency has also engaged in a far-reaching public awareness campaign to provide FFCRA 

information to workers and employers via public service announcements for both 

broadcast radio and television, in both English and Spanish, as well as through a variety of 

social media platforms, short educational videos, online tools, and other channels. 

• Not only has WHD’s development of guidance and compliance assistance materials been 

swift and comprehensive, it has been informed from the very beginning by stakeholder 

input nationwide. 

o On Friday, March 20, 2020, less than 48 hours after the legislation was passed, WHD 

hosted a “Virtual Town Hall,” during which the basic parameters of the new law 

were explained to the more than 1,500 participants. WHD convened this meeting to 

solicit input from stakeholders as to the best ways to produce and distribute clear 

guidance to the regulated community as quickly and as effectively as possible. 
o To solicit additional input, the Department hosted an “online dialogue” inviting 

workers and employers to weigh in digitally on the best ways that our developing 

guidance and compliance assistance materials could be designed and delivered to 

best help them. The dialogue saw tens of thousands of visitors and resulted in the 

suggestions of more than 1,000 ideas from stakeholders.

Delivering Guidance

• FFCRA became law on March 18, 2020. WHD posted initial guidance regarding the paid 

leave provisions in the days immediately after passage and leading up to the FFCRA’s 

effective date, and posted its Temporary Rule: Paid Leave under the Families First 

Coronavirus Response Act, promulgating regulations to implement the paid leave 

provisions of the FFCRA on the effective date, April 1, 2020. WHD met the very tight 

deadline prescribed in the law when it published these regulations implementing the new 

law, representing an unprecedented timeline in rulemaking, which typically takes months 

or years, not days, to accomplish.

• When the crisis began, the agency established a Coronavirus response web page very 

quickly, posting information there about the virus’s implications for workers and employers 

under both the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act nearly two 

weeks before the FFCRA was passed. Once President Trump signed the FFCRA into law, 

WHD immediately sprang into action to provide clear guidance on the new law, and to do so 

quickly.

Guidance includes:

• Fact Sheets for both workers and employers, in multiple languages, about their paid sick 

leave and expanded family and medical leave rights;

• An animated video describing FFCRA benefits and protections very clearly in plain 

language, which has been shared extensively via social media;

• A quick-guidance poster/infographic describing in plain language how much leave workers 

qualify for, and how much pay they may qualify for;

• Posters meeting the posting requirements for employers of all employees, including federal 

workers;

• Questions and Answers covering COVID-19 and the Fair Labor Standards Act; and COVID-19 

and the Family and Medical Leave Act; and

• Questions and Answers about FFCRA requirements, now totaling nearly 100 and 

continually updated. Each time we update this information we inform the public that 

additional information is available. 

Delivering Customer Service

With 61 million people eligible for paid leave, the level of stakeholder interest and engagement 

around FFCRA has been enormous. WHD’s other statutes also became increasingly important as 

workers faced questions about shutdowns, layoffs, and other COVID-related interruptions in the 

workplace. WHD staff have risen to the challenge.

• WHD staff immediately pivoted to telework status at the onset of the pandemic, ensuring 

that WHD services continued, uninterrupted, for those we are here to serve. Innovative, 
adaptive approaches to daily work ensured that investigations and outreach continued to 

move forward, and we continued to achieve results on both fronts. 

• WHD has received hundreds of thousands of calls from the public since the passage of the 

FFCRA. All of our compliance assistance materials invite and encourage both workers and 

employers to call our toll-free help line to speak, confidentially, to a trained Wage and Hour 

Division professional to have their questions answered. WHD’s “virtual call center” 

infrastructure allowed the vast majority of these calls (in some instances, more than 95

percent) to be answered live to provide the best possible customer service and the most 

thorough information and explanations. 

• WHD’s website, which typically sees traffic of around 500,000 visitors per week, spiked to 

more than 6 million visitors during one week of our response. We have now surpassed 43 

million views since the passage of FFCRA. 

• More efficient case handling – WHD is processing complaints under FFCRA via its newly 

developed electronic case file system; paperless files allow more expedient resolution and 

conclusion of WHD actions.

Delivering Enforcement

• Of the $15 million the Department received to implement the entirety of the Coronavirus 

Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the FFCRA, WHD received $2.5 million to 

support FFCRA enforcement. WHD has far surpassed that resource investment and has 

concluded thousands of compliance actions, finding millions in back wages for thousands of 

workers. 

• WHD’s investigative staff quickly adapted to changing conditions and found innovative 

ways to continue WHD’s non-COVID, core work, continuing to conduct investigations in 

every program area throughout the pandemic. Electronic transmission of records, remote 

interviews, and video conferencing tools have allowed work toward our mission to continue 

uninterrupted. When the economy shut down, WHD continued to ensure that wages made it 

into the hands of workers, and that employers struggling with challenges in the workplace 

did not face unfair competition by those who may be breaking the rules. 

Throughout the pandemic, rigorous enforcement and robust compliance assistance have continued 

under all of the statutes in WHD’s purview. The agency continues to provide guidance, answer 

questions for employees and employers, and get information out about rights to paid sick leave and 

expanded family and medical leave under FFCRA. Ongoing work to implement and educate the 

public about this unprecedented new entitlement ensures that workers are not forced to choose 

between their paychecks and public health during a global pandemic. When the American 

workforce needs it most, WHD continues to deliver.

Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

The Employee Benefits Security Administration has provided relief and guidance for employee 

benefit plans, participants and beneficiaries trying to cope with the many challenges posed by 

COVID-19. The agency’s efforts have included extending reporting deadlines and other timelines, 

providing enforcement relief, issuing model notices, and releasing COVID-related FAQs, including 

FAQs specifically designed to explain rights to coverage for COVID-19 testing. Since March, 2020, 
EBSA’s benefits advisors have also participated in over 2700 outreach events related to COVID19. Their efforts have included rapid response webinars and outreach events designed to help 

workers confronted with job loss. In addition, EBSA has held webcasts with the Social Security 

Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help workers navigate their 

way through these challenging times. EBSA is also conducting compliance assistance webcasts for 

employers sponsoring health and retirement plans.

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs

Federal Employees Program

Federal employees who contract COVID-19 while in the performance of their job duties are covered 

by the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act. The Federal Employees program implemented a 

policy on March 31, 2020 that recognized that jobs requiring direct and frequent in-person and 

close proximity interactions with the public (law enforcement, first responders, front line medical 

personnel, etc.) have a higher likelihood of infection related to employment. Those positions are 

considered “high risk” and the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) will accept that 

the exposure to COVID-19 was proximately caused by the nature of the employment. Someone in a 

position not designated “high risk” can still provide evidence that establishes the person contracted 

COVID-19 at work, but the program will likely need to inquire further in order to obtain evidence 

necessary to make the determination. The program dedicated two Medical Benefit Examiner units 

to developing and adjudicating COVID-19 claims and established a COVID-19 Task Force to help 

ensure claims examiners handle COVID-19 claims expeditiously in a fair and consistent manner. 

The Task Force includes high-level officials, such as the program’s Director and Policy Chief, and 

OWCP's Chief Medical Officer. 

The Federal Employees program also implemented temporary flexibilities to recognize the 

challenges claimants face in obtaining medical appointments due to social distancing mandates 

across the country. These flexibilities included extending deadlines for the submission of medical 

evidence, allowing routine medical appointments via telehealth, and encouraging programcontracted nurse and vocational rehabilitation counselors to provide services telephonically. 

Energy Workers Program

The Energy Workers program recognized the need to implement temporary procedures to allow for 

the use of telemedicine in place of nonemergency, routine medical appointments between 

physicians and our claimants, until pandemic restrictions are lifted and are no longer necessary. 

Physicians must follow the requirements of either state law or their licensing authorities when 

operating under these procedures. The program also allows for the use of telemedicine in place of 

face-to-face examinations for Home and Residential Health Care renewals and Durable Medical 

Equipment requests. These are temporary procedures for staff to apply until the effects of the 

pandemic have lessened. 

Black Lung Program

Many of the program’s approved medical providers who conduct pulmonary evaluations of coal 

miners who file claims for benefits have temporarily suspended or postponed appointments 

consistent with safety guidelines for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Black Lung program posted a 

special notice on its website that provides miners with information on provider selection, medical 

evaluation authorization, and appointment scheduling. The Black Lung program will allow miners 
to change or cancel diagnostic medical evaluations whenever necessary to protect the miner’s 

health. OWCP is also supporting any medical provider’s decision to suspend, reschedule, or cancel 

services to protect their coal miner patients. The Black Lung program implemented temporary 

procedures to allow for the use of telemedicine services in place of some in-person non-emergency, 

routine medical services, as well as a new policy temporarily allowing beneficiaries to receive up to 

a 90-day supply of covered medications, except for compounds and Schedule II drugs. Prescriptions 

were previously limited to a 30-day supply. In March 2020, the program automatically extended all 

claim-processing deadlines it could legally extend by 60 days and continues to approve additional 

extensions, as circumstances warrant, at a party’s request.

Longshore Program

The Longshore program instituted a fully paperless filing system that now allows stakeholders to 

upload all new injury claims via the program’s electronic claim and document submission portal. In 

addition, the program will accept certain types of electronic signatures from stakeholders on 

documents that require multiple signatures, like settlement agreements. These changes minimize 

disruption for stakeholders and expedite processes for dispute resolution and payments to injured 

workers.

Employment and Training Administration (ETA)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ETA has focused on assisting states as they deliver traditional and 

expanded unemployment, as well as providing states with guidance, technical assistance, flexibility, 

funding, and supporting the rapid reemployment of American workers to get America back to work. 

Pandemic Unemployment Insurance Benefits

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act 

and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (FFCRA), which provided additional 

flexibility and administrative funding for state unemployment insurance (UI) agencies to respond 

to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on ETA’s implementation of FFCRA, please see 

Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 13-20. 

On March 27, 2020, the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 

(CARES) Act, which expanded a states’ ability to provide UI for many workers impacted by the 

COVID-19 pandemic, including for workers not ordinarily eligible for unemployment benefits. 

Further, in August 2020, the President issued a memorandum authorizing the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) to make additional unemployment support payments, Lost Wages 

Assistance (LWA), available to workers.

The CARES Act contains the majority of the UI provisions that ETA has implemented in response to 

the pandemic. For an overview of the ETA CARES Act programs, please see UIPL No. 14-20. 

Generally, the CARES Act authorized the following UI programs:

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) providing temporary benefits to workers 

(including self-employed, independent contractors, and gig workers) who lost work for 

certain COVID-19 related reasons (generally providing up to 39 weeks of unemployment 

benefits). 

• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) allowing states to extend 

unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks available for weeks of unemployment for most 

individuals who exhausted all rights to regular unemployment compensation under state or 
federal law and are able to work, available for work, and actively seeking work as defined 

by state law. 

• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) providing an additional $600 per 

week to individuals collecting regular unemployment compensation.

For more information on the UI relief during the ongoing pandemic, go to: 

https://www.dol.gov/coronavirus/unemployment-insurance. For a list of UI COVID-19 related 

guidance, policies and resources that are helping states respond to the ongoing COVID-19 

pandemic, go to https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/coronavirus/.

COVID-19 National Dislocated Worker Grants

The CARES Act provided funding for National Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) to communities 

significantly impacted as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. The approved 

emergency applications collectively include disaster-relief cleanup, COVID-19 contact tracing, 

humanitarian assistance, and employment and training activities for those communities the 

applicants identified as being significantly impacted.

ETA has awarded COVID-19 DWGs to entities in almost every state, including state agencies, Indian 

tribal governments, and local workforce boards to provide additional resources to help address 

employment challenges related to economic recovery activities. These investments are enabling 

states to provide temporary disaster-relief employment to carry out clean-up and humanitarian 

assistance activities, including contact tracing activities, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The grants are also expanding state capacity to provide career and training services to dislocated 

workers, long-term unemployed individuals, and other eligible participants. For more information, 

go to https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/dislocated-workers/grants/covid-19.

COVID-19 Grantee Flexibilities and Assistance

ETA has developed a series of technical assistance resources and frequently asked questions (FAQs) 

to address grants management questions related to COVID-19 to help state and local workforce 

leaders, and other stakeholders and partners to assist the public workforce system during this 

ongoing crisis. For more details on the technical assistance FAQs, go to 

https://www.workforcegps.org/resources/2020/03/18/23/35/Coronavirus-COVID-19-

Resources.

COVID-19 and the WARN Act

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) was enacted on August 4, 

1988, to provide added protection for workers facing layoffs by requiring employers subject to the 

law to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs. 

Enforcement of the WARN Act is through the United States district courts. ETA’s role is limited to 

providing guidance and information to the public. 

In response to a large influx of inquiries regarding WARN Act compliance, ETA issued a series of 

FAQs answering the most common questions regarding COVID-related layoffs: 

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/Layoff/pdfs/WARN%20FAQ%20for%20COVID19.p

df
Job Corps Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC), Job Corps established a mandatory spring break for all Job Corps centers from 

March 16, 2020 through May 10, 2020. Subsequently, on May 11, 2020, Job Corps transitioned to 

distance learning and provided operators with guidance to plan and deploy distance-learning 

programs that facilitate academic instruction and knowledge-based coursework for career 

technical skills training.

Currently, most students are at their home of record or alternative residence, and only a few 

students who have no residence remain at certain centers. Job Corps continues to monitor the 

activities of state and local jurisdictions regarding school closures, shelter-in-place orders, as well 

as the most recent CDC guidelines.

Starting October 2020, Job Corps will begin the gradual process of transitioning from distance 

learning once centers are ready and it is safe to do so as determined by local officials. Job Corps has 

released guidance for centers to submit plans for resuming physical on-center operations that 

considers guidance from CDC and the Department’s Occupational Safety and Health administration, 

and other expert advice from Job Corps’ medical consultants, to safely return, house, educate, train, 

and support students at the centers. 

COVID-19 and TAA

ETA has reached out to its TAA program stakeholders and the public to explain the program 

eligibility of dislocated workers who lost their job during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The 

TAA program does not provide automatic eligibility for TAA based on global economic or 

environmental conditions. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impact is not a basis for TAA 

certification, workers of firms impacted by closure or work-stoppage may be eligible to apply for 

TAA if the worker group eligibility criteria are met.

ETA has released a factsheet that explains the steps to apply and obtain TAA benefits in response to 

the economic downturn resulting from the pandemic: 

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/tradeact/pdfs/COVID_TAA_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Return-to-Work and Reemployment 

The number of people who have filed UI claims since mid-March exceeds 50 million, all of whom 

need steady income as well as the other social and community benefits that employment provides. 

As in the past, low-income individuals and those with barriers to employment targeted by ETA’s 

employment programs are among the hardest hit by the current downturn. As state and local 

economies begin to reopen, the public workforce system can expect to see a surge in demand for 

education, employment and training programs.

ETA has actively encouraged states, local areas, and the public workforce system to implement 

return-to-work strategies, including: 

• Affording states maximum opportunities to connect job seekers and job creators, including 

reemployment efforts needed to recover from the COVID-19 national emergency impacts; 

• Advancing technology and enhancing digital participation to move more people into the 

labor force, even more critical within the COVID-19 pandemic context;
• Providing guidance and technical assistance to help states expeditiously administer 

pandemic-related unemployment benefits and connect unemployed individuals with 

resources and activities that support a swift return to suitable work;

• Addressing the disparate impact of the COVID-19 national emergency on disadvantaged 

groups of workers by helping them acquire skills and credentials, while maintaining a job 

through work-based learning; 

• Supporting businesses by encouraging states to implement and promote Short-Time 

Compensation (STC), a layoff aversion program where employers reduce hours worked by a 

group of employees and the affected employees receive a reduced weekly unemployment 

benefit amount; and 

• Enhancing business services, including layoff aversion strategies, and connecting businesses 

with properly skilled workers to meet their workforce needs and ease their return to work.

Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)

ILAB projects combat some of the most abusive labor practices, including the use of child labor, 

forced labor, and human trafficking; and promote trade partners’ compliance with the labor 

requirements of U.S. trade agreements and preference programs. These projects protect children 

and build the capacity of governments, employers, and workers to improve labor protections in the 

areas of freedom of association, collective bargaining, non-discrimination, and occupational health 

and safety, as well as promote apprenticeships and acceptable conditions of work. Currently, ILAB 

supports 60 active projects in 46 countries.

ILAB partners with 23 organizations that implement our international technical assistance 

projects. These implementing organizations (or grantees) are coping on a daily basis with the 

COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on vulnerable workers, children, and families. As they assess 

the pandemic impact, a number of grantees are already proposing and implementing targeted 

efforts to raise awareness of the danger posed by the virus and how it may be increasing 

vulnerability to exploitative labor.

Here are just a few examples of how ILAB project implementing partners in Latin America are 

having an impact in their communities:

• In Mexico, the World Vision-implemented Campos de Esperanza project is using leaflets, 

posters, and radio broadcasts to get the word out about the risks of COVID-19 to children 

and families working on sugar and coffee farms in remote communities, who in many cases 

lack access to basic news and information. They are also partnering with local authorities in 

Oaxaca and Veracruz to disseminate information about the impact of COVID-19 on children, 

families and communities, and how to access medical services beyond the areas where the 

project works. The project is working alongside communities to implement appropriate 

sanitation practices following recommendations from the World Health Organization and 

the Government of Mexico.

• In Colombia and Paraguay, Partners of the America is preparing to launch communications 

campaigns related to COVID-19. Through the Avanza and Palma Futuro projects in 

Colombia and the Okakuaa project in the Paraguayan Chaco region, Partners will use SMS 

texts and radio-based public service announcements to disseminate information on selfcare, identifying COVID-19 symptoms, and what to do if these symptoms are identified 

among workers. Additionally, the Okakuaa project will educate employers and workers in 

Paraguay about government assistance programs available to those impacted by the crisis.

• Also in Colombia, the Escuela Nacional Sindical, through Labor Law Enforcement Centers 

(LEC), will launch a communications campaign aimed at workers in the mining, palm oil, 
ports, cut flowers, and sugar sectors. The campaign will provide tips and responses to 

workers’ frequently asked questions and complaints that stem from COVID-19 issues, such 

as contracts being suspended or collective bargaining rights being violated. Additionally, 

the LECs are tracking and publicizing the main labor violations reported in these sectors 

that are the result of employer actions during the COVID-19 crisis. The LECs are offering 

virtual legal advice and assistance to workers with labor complaints, and promoting legal 

protocol models for use en masse by worker organizations or labor NGOs to help 

systematize the use of effective legal actions for workers.

ILAB is also gathering information from our grantees about the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable 

workers and their families. For example, researchers at the University of California - Berkeley, 

which is conducting an impact evaluation of awareness-raising campaigns targeting human 

trafficking, have modified their approach to use safe and socially responsible methods to collect 

additional information on the impact COVID-19 is having, in particular on the potential exploitation 

of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong. 

Finally, ILAB is working directly with governments, employers, and worker organizations to 

address the urgent needs of workers, employers, national governments, and buying partners in the 

ready-made garment sector. Through the Better Work program, the International Labor 

Organization and International Finance Corporation are engaged in mass circulation and display in 

workplaces of World Health Organization and ILO health and safety guidance in local languages in a 

simple and actionable form. They are also:

• providing technical advice to factories and brands facing unexpected compliance issues 

resulting from closures;

• coordinating information campaigns and training with WHO and national partners; and

• engaging international buyers, national and international constituents, and other 

institutions to explore opportunities to support and protect suppliers and their workers 

during the period of economic shutdown.

Requests for DOL COVID-19 Information

In order to stay ahead of the curve with COVID-19, DOL not only launched new high-impact IT 

solutions, but also ramped up existing IT resources and bandwidth to respond to unprecedented 

demand. As agency website visits surged for vital COVID-19 related public services, DOL.gov, 

BLS.gov, Benefits.gov, OSHA.gov, DOL’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) expanded site 

bandwidth for uninterrupted back-end support. Sixteen DOL agency websites received 

unprecedented page visits — 13 times the normal viewership. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) 

alone experienced 12 times the number of weekly page visits to its site. A sample of some of the 

agency websites experiencing surges in page visits include:

• DOL.gov seeing a 91 percent increase as people filed for workers’ compensation as a 

first responder

• BLS.gov seeing a 90 percent increase as people searched for statistics on unemployment 

job figures

• Benefits.gov seeing a 95 percent increase as people searched for guidance on continued 

medical coverage

• OSHA.gov seeing a 65 percent increase as people sought guidance on workplace safety 

and personal protective equipment