Department of Labor

The Department of Labor (DOL) is a federal government agency in the United States responsible for promoting and improving working conditions, protecting workers’ rights, and enforcing labor laws. The agency was established in 1913 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

The Department of Labor has several divisions and programs that oversee various aspects of labor policy and enforcement. Some of its main divisions include the Wage and Hour Division, which enforces minimum wage and overtime laws; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which sets and enforces workplace safety standards; and the Employment and Training Administration, which provides job training and unemployment benefits.

The DOL also collects and publishes data on employment and labor market trends, including information on job growth, wages, and working conditions. Additionally, the agency is responsible for enforcing a range of federal labor laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Overall, the Department of Labor plays a key role in protecting workers’ rights and ensuring that workplaces are safe, fair, and equitable.

 

 

Expand Your Knowledge and Impact this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons – Engage Together
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Expand Your Knowledge and Impact this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons – Engage Together

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Each year on July 30th, the United Nations and the international community commemorate the day as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons to raise awareness and encourage action. This year’s theme is “reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind.”  With over 50M victims, this is no small task.  And it will require every one of us to better …

The post Expand Your Knowledge and Impact this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons appeared first on Engage Together.

Risk Of Forced Labor Is Widespread In US Food Supply
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Risk Of Forced Labor Is Widespread In US Food Supply

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Eliminating forced labor is a vital starting point for creating a just and sustainable food supply, but most of us don’t know much about the labor conditions involved in producing our food. It’s possible that the people who picked and processed some of the items on our dinner table worked in conditions that involved force, fraud, coercion,…

LISTEN: Lisbeth Iglesias-Ríos on advocating for migrant farmworkers’ rights
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LISTEN: Lisbeth Iglesias-Ríos on advocating for migrant farmworkers’ rights

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Dr. Lisbeth Iglesias-Ríos joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss why we must advocate for better workplace conditions for the people who grow our food.  Iglesias-Ríos, researcher at the University of Michigan and a co-investigator of the Michigan Farmworker Project, also talks about being raised by two strong women, her winding…

ISSUE BRIEF: 2021-2023: Child Exploitation at the Southern Border
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ISSUE BRIEF: 2021-2023: Child Exploitation at the Southern Border

ByEyes on Trafficking News

TOPLINE POINTS The Biden Administration’s open border policies are responsible for the record setting number of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) trafficked or smuggled to the U.S. southern border. These vulnerable children are being exploited and abused by Mexican cartels, human traffickers, corporations, and their own families on the journey north and after the Biden Administration…

‘Nearly broke me’: Migrant workers accuse Michigan farm of trafficking, forced labor in suit ⋆ Michigan Advance
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‘Nearly broke me’: Migrant workers accuse Michigan farm of trafficking, forced labor in suit ⋆ Michigan Advance

ByEyes on Trafficking News

Photo by Anna Gustafson When Feliciano Velasco Rojas and Luis Guzman Rojas left their homes in Mexico and traveled to North Carolina for work in 2017, they did so to support their families and earn enough money to pay for sick relatives’ medication. Instead, they faced a nightmare situation in which they were trafficked from…

US Department of Labor honors Lalitha Natarajan as recipient of 2023 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor
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US Department of Labor honors Lalitha Natarajan as recipient of 2023 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor

ByEyes on Trafficking News

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that Lalitha Natarajan, an activist in the fight against child labor and modern slavery in India, is the recipient of the 2023 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor. The award was presented at the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, India. “Lalitha Natarajan’s tremendous…

U.S. House Democrats push for congressional hearing on child labor violations – Wisconsin Examiner
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U.S. House Democrats push for congressional hearing on child labor violations – Wisconsin Examiner

ByEyes on Trafficking News

WASHINGTON — Top Democrats on the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee are urging Republican Chair Virginia Foxx of North Carolina to hold a hearing this month on the uptick in child labor violations. Democratic Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the ranking member of the committee, and Alma Adams of North Carolina, the ranking member…

Ahead of TIP Report, Labor Rights Activists Urge U.S. to Call for Thailand and Taiwan to Protect Migrant Workers and End Forced Labor in Seafood Industry
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Ahead of TIP Report, Labor Rights Activists Urge U.S. to Call for Thailand and Taiwan to Protect Migrant Workers and End Forced Labor in Seafood Industry

ByEyes on Trafficking News

WASHINGTON, DC (June 5, 2023) – Greenpeace USA, Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF), and allies in the Seafood Working Group (SWG) today announced their findings of labor rights violations, forced labor, and human trafficking of migrant workers in Thailand and Taiwan and called on the U.S. Department of State to downgrade…

Report: More than 340 migrant kids sent to live with nonrelatives who sponsored other kids
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Report: More than 340 migrant kids sent to live with nonrelatives who sponsored other kids

ByEyes on Trafficking News

The Biden administration released 344 unaccompanied migrant children to live with nonfamily sponsors hosting three or more unaccompanied kids, says a new Health and Human Services Department audit, raising questions among advocates who worry that some minors are being sponsored by strangers who could exploit them for child labor. The audit, conducted by the agency’s Office…

Report: More than 340 migrant kids sent to live with nonrelatives who were already sponsoring other children
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Report: More than 340 migrant kids sent to live with nonrelatives who were already sponsoring other children

ByEyes on Trafficking News

The Biden administration released 344 unaccompanied migrant children to live with nonfamily sponsors who are already hosting at least two other children, says a new Health and Human Services Department audit, raising questions among advocates who worry that some minors are being sponsored by strangers who could exploit them for child labor. The audit, conducted by…