Department+of+Labor

Hilda Solis- Secretary of Labor Suey Howe-Assistant secretary for Policy Paul T. Craven- Director/Division of enterprise communications of Public Affaris Sandra Polaski-Deputy Undersecretary of Labor Affairs Nancy S. Dolder-Benefits Review Board Alec J. Koromilas- Employee's Compensation Appeals Board
 * Department of Labor Leaders:**

The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. In carrying out this mission, the Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws including those that guarantee workers’ rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support. **
 * Mission Statement of the Department of Labor:


 * Current Issues of The Department of Labor:

 Minimum Wage - In states across the US, the minimum wage is different ranging from no wage in the souther states to $7.93 in Washington.  The minimum federal minimum wage will change to $7.25 on July 24th, 2009. Senate passed a bill that called for a $2.10 and hour raise for minimum wage workers.( http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/livingwages/)

Washington just passed a minimum wage bill to pay workers about $8.55. questioning in congress to pass more bill for states to increase%2Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 he federal Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 oxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 oxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 nimum wage. (http://www.lni.wa.gov/workplacerights/wages/minimum/default.asp)

A bill is heading to Congress to help boost the minimum wage in Alaska. The senate approved a bill to bump minimum wage from $7.15 to $7.25. This will keep Alaska's minimum wage payment at 50 cents above. (http://www.webcenter11.com/news/state/story/Minimum-wage-bill-heading-fro house-vote/_W36KFlaWUeaEawvQfcbPA.cspx)

Child Labor Laws- **Restrictions that say when children can work and what they can do. Children working in nothing but farm work must be at least of the age of 14. Once a child that reaches the age of 18 the child labor law no longer apply to them, any child 16 to 17 maybe able to work an unlimited number of hours. (http://jobsearch.about.com/od/employmentlaw/a/childlaborlaw.htm)

Children under 16 must have working papers in order to begin into the working force. A 17 year old who is still in school must not work over 6 days in a row, can not work after 10 on a school night. When school is not in session then a child can not work more than 10 hrs a day. (http://www.maine.gov/labor/po)

 Child labor provisions under FLSA are designed to protect the educational opportunities of youth and prohibit their employment in jobs that are detrimental to their health and safety. FLSA restricts the hours that youth under 16 years of age can work and lists hazardous occupations too dangerous for young workers to perform. Enforcement of the FLSA's child labor provisions is handled by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department’s Employment Standards Administration. (http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/youthlabor/)

(http://www.mass.gov/bb/h1/fy10h1/brec10/sect/ho948.htm)
 *  The Department of Labor ** spend the most of the there money on Wages and Salaries, Employee Benefits, Operating Expenses, Grants and Subsidies. Lat year they spend a grand total of $23,959. 74% of the sending is for Wages and Salaries, 19% are spent on Operating Expenses, 4% on Employee Benefits, and 3% on Grants and Subsidies.

(http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/dolchp01.htm)
 *  The Department of Labor **was found in March 4th 1913 by President William Howard Taft. the Department was made as a product or the Progressive Movement. The main purpose is to "foster, promote and develop the welfare of working people, to improve their working conditions and to advance their opportunities for the profitable employment".