The Secretary of Labor is the Cabinet officer who runs the U.S. Department of Labor, an executive agency that administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws covering roughly 165 million workers and 11 million workplaces.1U.S. Department of Labor. Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor In practical terms, what the Secretary of Labor does is set and enforce the federal rules behind your paycheck, your workplace safety, your retirement plan, and how foreign workers enter the U.S. job market, while advising the President on employment and trade policy.
Where the Job Sits in Government
The Secretary is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and sits in the presidential line of succession that runs through the Cabinet in the order the departments were created.2U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Julie Su Presidential Succession Letter The role includes testifying before Congress, proposing labor legislation, and shaping executive actions on employment and working conditions.
Directly below is the Deputy Secretary of Labor, also a Senate-confirmed appointee. If the Secretary dies, resigns, or is removed, the Deputy takes over until a successor is confirmed; if the Secretary is absent or incapacitated, the Deputy fills in until they return.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 552 – Deputy Secretary; Appointment; Duties
The Secretary also oversees the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the government’s principal fact-finding agency for labor economics. BLS numbers on unemployment, inflation, wages, and productivity feed directly into White House policy and are used by businesses, researchers, and state governments.4United States Department of Labor. About the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Enforcing the Rules Behind Your Paycheck
The most visible piece of the job is directing enforcement of federal wage law. The Wage and Hour Division, under the Secretary, investigates employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour and requires overtime at one-and-a-half times an employee’s regular rate for hours over 40 in a week.5U.S. Department of Labor. Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act The federal floor has held at $7.25 since 2009. Many states and cities have set higher rates, running as high as roughly $17.95 per hour.
Child Labor
The same law lets the Secretary bar workers under 18 from occupations declared particularly hazardous, including explosives handling, mining, logging, power-driven woodworking and metalworking, meatpacking machinery, and work involving radioactive substances.6eCFR. Part 570 Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation The Wage and Hour Division investigates violations and the Secretary updates the hazardous-occupation list as industries change.
Family and Medical Leave
The Secretary also enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act, which gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for events like childbirth, adoption, or a serious health condition.7U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) Not every worker qualifies. You need 12 months on the job, at least 1,250 hours in the previous year, and a worksite where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles.8eCFR. 29 CFR 825.110 – Eligible Employee Employers who interfere with those rights or retaliate against workers who use leave can be investigated by the Wage and Hour Division.9U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA Frequently Asked Questions
Keeping Workplaces Safe
The Secretary has direct authority over the two federal agencies that police physical safety on the job: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. OSHA sets and enforces mandatory standards for most private-sector employers; MSHA does the same for underground and surface mining.10U.S. Department of Labor. Interagency Agreement Between the Mine Safety and Health Administration and OSHA Both conduct inspections, issue citations, and impose penalties, and the Secretary’s priorities directly shape how often inspections happen and how large the fines are.
The safety mandate goes well beyond hard hats. OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program administers protections under 22 federal statutes, covering workers who report violations in areas including aviation safety, nuclear energy, environmental contamination, consumer product safety, financial fraud under Sarbanes-Oxley, and pipeline safety.11Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Whistleblower Protection Programs When an employer retaliates against a worker for reporting a hazard or covered violation, the Secretary’s office investigates and can order remedies including reinstatement and back pay.
Protecting Retirement and Health Benefits
The Secretary directs the Employee Benefits Security Administration, which enforces the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. ERISA reaches millions of private retirement and health plans holding trillions of dollars in assets.12U.S. Department of Labor. Enforcement Manual – Section: Description of EBSA Plan managers are fiduciaries, required to run the plan for the exclusive benefit of participants rather than themselves.
When fiduciaries breach that duty, EBSA investigates and can pursue civil and criminal remedies. Typical violations include mismanaging plan assets, using plan funds for insider benefit, and retaliating against employees who exercise benefit rights.13U.S. Department of Labor. ERISA Enforcement When the Secretary recovers money for a fiduciary breach through a settlement or court order, the responsible party owes an additional civil penalty equal to 20 percent of the recovery.14eCFR. 29 CFR 2570.81 – In General That penalty can be waived only if the Secretary determines in writing that the fiduciary acted reasonably and in good faith, or that paying it would cause severe financial hardship.
Certifying Foreign Workers
Before certain foreign workers can obtain immigrant or temporary work visas, federal law requires the Secretary to certify that hiring them won’t harm wages or working conditions for U.S. workers in the same occupation. That certification applies to permanent labor certification (PERM) and to temporary visa programs including H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B.15eCFR. Part 656 – Labor Certification Process for Permanent Employment of Aliens in the United States The Office of Foreign Labor Certification handles the applications and issues prevailing wage determinations that employers must meet when sponsoring foreign workers.
It is one of the Secretary’s less visible powers, and one of the more consequential. A prevailing wage set too low undercuts domestic workers; one set unrealistically high effectively blocks the visa. The Secretary’s office works that balance across hundreds of thousands of applications a year.
Anti-Discrimination in Federal Contracting
The Secretary oversees the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces the rule that companies doing business with the federal government cannot discriminate in hiring based on race, sex, disability, or veteran status. OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act, and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. Nonconstruction contractors with 50 or more employees and a contract of at least $50,000 must develop and maintain a written affirmative action program for each establishment.16eCFR. 41 CFR Part 60-2 – Affirmative Action Programs
Workforce Development and Unemployment
The Secretary oversees the Employment and Training Administration, which runs the network of roughly 2,300 American Job Centers nationwide.17United States Department of Labor. American Job Centers Authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, these centers offer career counseling, training referrals, job listings, and support services.18U.S. Department of Labor. American Job Centers The system gives priority referrals to veterans and specialized attention to people with disabilities, migrant farmworkers, youth, and older workers.
The Secretary also directs grants for registered apprenticeship programs pairing paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction, and supervises federal oversight of the Unemployment Insurance system. States administer UI benefits and set their own payment levels; the Department of Labor ensures the programs meet federal standards and channels funding to the states.
Union Oversight and Federal Workers’ Compensation
Through the Office of Labor-Management Standards, the Secretary promotes union democracy and financial transparency. OLMS requires labor organizations to file publicly searchable annual financial reports, conducts audits, and pursues civil and criminal enforcement when officials misuse union funds or interfere with member voting rights.19U.S. Department of Labor. OLMS Employers and labor relations consultants engaged in persuader activity during organizing campaigns must also file disclosure reports with OLMS.
The Secretary also runs the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, which administers disability compensation for specific worker groups. OWCP covers four major programs: the Federal Employees’ Compensation Program for civilian federal workers injured on the job, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Program, the Federal Black Lung Program for coal miners with occupational lung disease, and the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program for workers exposed to radiation or toxic substances at Department of Energy facilities.20U.S. Department of Labor. Workers’ Compensation These programs do not cover most private-sector workers, whose claims run through state workers’ compensation systems.
International Labor Enforcement
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs works to prevent foreign labor abuses from undermining American workers. ILAB investigates and reports on labor conditions abroad, helps enforce labor provisions in U.S. trade agreements, and works with Customs and Border Protection to block goods produced through forced labor from entering the country.21U.S. Department of Labor. Mission and Strategy The bureau also sits on the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, which drives enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. It gives the Secretary real leverage over global supply chain practices that affect U.S. job competition.
How to Get the Secretary’s Agencies Involved
The Secretary’s enforcement power depends on workers filing complaints. Different agencies handle different problems, each with confidential channels.
For unpaid wages, overtime violations, or child labor concerns, file with the Wage and Hour Division. Complaints are confidential and retaliation is prohibited. You can call 1-866-487-9243 or use the DOL website, and WHD staff will determine whether an investigation is warranted.22U.S. Department of Labor. How to File a Complaint
For unsafe working conditions, file with OSHA. Complaints can be submitted online, by phone at 800-321-6742, by fax or mail, or in person at a local OSHA office. You can file anonymously and in any language. A signed complaint is more likely to trigger an on-site inspection, and OSHA cannot issue violations for hazards reported more than six months after they occurred.23Occupational Safety and Health Administration. File a Complaint
For denied retirement or health benefits under an ERISA-covered plan, start with the plan itself. Every plan must have a written claims procedure, and if your claim is denied, the administrator must explain why in writing and tell you how to appeal. You generally have at least 60 days to file an appeal, and group health plans must give you at least 180 days.24eCFR. 29 CFR 2560.503-1 – Claims Procedure If the internal appeal fails, EBSA can investigate, and you keep the right to bring a civil action in court.