Federal Administrative Decisions and Resources: Labor

The Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board was created in 1972, by Congress, to review and issue decisions on appeals of worker's compensation claims arising under the Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act and the Black Lung Benefits amendments to the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.

Published and unpublished decisions from 1986 to the present.

Databases and tables on occupations, wages by area and occupation, unemployment figures, metropolitan area employment figures, the Consumer Price Index, the Occupational Outlook Handbook, and economic news releases.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private decision making. As an independent statistical agency, BLS serves its diverse user communities by providing products and services that are accurate, objective, relevant, timely, and accessible.

The mission of the Employee Benefits Security Administration is to assure the security of the retirement, health and other workplace related benefits of America's workers and their families. We will accomplish this mission by developing effective regulations; assisting and educating workers, plan sponsors, fiduciaries and service providers; and vigorously enforcing the law.

Affordable Care Act (ACA); Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA); Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) of 2008; Pension Protection Act (PPA); Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA); Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA); Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act (NMHPA); Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA).

Beginning with 1990.

EXPRO, class, and individual exemptions.

The Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB) was created in 1946 by statute to hear appeals taken from determinations and awards under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act with respect to claims of federal employees injured in the course of their employment

ECAB Decisions (from 1998 to present) and ECAB Orders (from April 2011 to present).

The mission of the Employment and Training Administration is to contribute to the more efficient functioning of the U.S. labor market by providing high quality job training, employment, labor market information, and income maintenance services primarily through state and local workforce development systems.

ETA advisories and handbooks.

Division of Research & Evaluation.

MSHA works to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners. MSHA carries out the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) as amended by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006.

A petition for modification is a request to modify the requirements of an existing MSHA safety standard to achieve the purpose of the standard by means different than those required by the standard. Includes final decisions beginning with 1995.

The Mine Act gives the Secretary of Labor authority to develop, promulgate, and revise health or safety standards for the protection of life and prevention of injuries in the nation’s mines.

With the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.

Directives available from 1978 to the present.

ALJ decisions available 1993 to the present. Commission decisions available beginning in 1972.

Available from 1972 to the present.

Since the fall of 2000, OALJ has published all final ALJ decisions and selected orders on the public website at www.oalj.dol.gov. Effective Tuesday, October 31, 2017, OALJ expanded its website publication to include all ALJ final decisions, interim decisions, orders, and notices made in the adjudication of cases, with limited exceptions for documents that are FOIA exempt. This change was prospective only. Users can access these documents through both the Case Status Lookup and the DMS Search Option 2.

The Part 18 Rules are the baseline rules of practice in proceedings before the Office of Administrative Law Judges. Litigants, however, should also consult the procedural rules governing the matter in litigation for more specific rules. Where programmatic rules are inconsistent with Part 18, the programmatic rule governs. See 29 C.F.R. § 18.10(a).

The Office of the Solicitor's mission is to meet the legal service demands of the Department of Labor.

The Office of the Solicitor files briefs in cases that the Department of Labor litigates as well as amicus ("friend of the court") briefs in cases of interest to the Department of Labor. We are providing significant briefs filed by the Office of the Solicitor and, in some cases, filed by the Solicitor General, to which the Department contributed. The briefs are organized by the Office of the Solicitor division that filed them.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) conducts audits to review the effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and integrity of all DOL programs and operations, including those performed by its contractors and grantees.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation protects the retirement incomes of nearly 40 million American workers.

The Wage and Hour mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce.
The WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

Includes laws, regulations, and guidance.

The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.

Women in the workforce are vital to the nation's economic security. The Women's Bureau develops policies and standards and conducts inquiries to safeguard the interests of working women; to advocate for their equality and economic security for themselves and their families; and to promote quality work environments.

Current and historical statistics on a broad range of topics and sub-populations of women in the labor force.

Resources on Equal Pay; Paid Leave; Occupations; Older Women Workers; Pregnancy & Breastfeeding; Status of Working Women; Women of Color; Women with Disabilities; Veterans and Families; Working Mothers/Families; Workplace Practices; Sexual Harassment.