Labor Department Facts

Labor Department Facts

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Labor Department Facts

The U.S. Department of Labor was established by an act that President William Howard Taft signed on March 4, 1913, in his final hours in the office. (Labor Department Facts)

Following then, the department has defended the rights of workers, job seekers, and retirees nationwide.

In addition to recovering billions of dollars in stolen pay and benefits, we have decreased workplace fatalities. Here are a few facts about the Labor Department that you might not be aware of.

  1. Labor Day is older than we are

Labor Day was first observed by Americans in 1882, and it was declared a federal holiday in 1894, over 20 years before the Labor Department was established.

  1. We reinterpreted the phrase “women first” in our way

Frances Perkins, the first female Cabinet official, oversaw the Labor Department. Since then, six women have held the position, making us the nation’s first and most prolific producer of female secretaries.

Many of the females who followed Perkins’ lead have forged new paths. The first Asian American and Hispanic women in the Cabinet, respectively, were Elaine Chao and Hilda Solis.

The first African American to hold the position of secretary of labor was Alexis Herman. The first woman to oversee two distinct departments for two separate presidents was Elizabeth Dole (Labor and Transportation).

  1. At a Labor Secretary reunion, clam chowder might cause a rift

About one-fifth of our 29 secretaries have lived in New York or Massachusetts, though they are from more than a dozen different states and three different countries.

 Marty Walsh, the current secretary, is not the first Boston native. He isn’t even the first Mayor of Boston to hold the position of Secretary of Labor. He shares the award with Maurice J. Tobin.

  1. Pants were not always required

at least the females. The introduction of pants by the female staff members of the department was noteworthy enough to be mentioned in the newsletter.

The phrase “fashion forward” isn’t often used to characterize the department, but Elizabeth Duncan Koontz, the director of the Women’s Bureau and a supporter of women’s rights, helped us get ahead of other federal agencies in the 1970s by formally allowing women to work in trousers. The fact that pants were so useful made the rest of history.

  1. 5. The side businesses of our secretaries are top-notch

For most people, joining the Cabinet would be a very spectacular accomplishment, but for the 29 men and women who have held the position of secretary of labor, it’s only the beginning.

William Wilson, our first secretary, published poetry. In addition to serving as a Supreme Court justice, Arthur Goldberg also served as an ambassador to the UN.

George Shultz also held the positions of Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of State, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget. And in the Episcopal church, Frances Perkins is revered as a saint. (Labor Department Facts)

  1. We have some very talented assistant secretaries

Take a look at J. Ernest Wilkins’ resume if you ever feel arrogant about your accomplishments.

Wilkins was the first African American to attend a Cabinet meeting while serving as assistant secretary of labor for foreign affairs. Before he turned twenty, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (the third of five science degrees he would earn in his lifetime).

He was a physicist for the Manhattan Project as well as a nuclear scientist, mechanical engineer, and mathematician.

  1. We’ve seen stars in our PSAs

Celebrities like RJ Mitte, Montel Williams, R. Lee Ermey, Carroll O’Connor, Colin Powell, the Flintstones, Johnny Cash, Mary Tyler Moore, Milton Berle, Ricardo Montalban, Vincent Price, Adam West, and Batgirl portrayer Yvonne Craig are just a few examples.

  1. Weekend warriors were first invented by us

In this way, we uphold the statute that established the 40-hour workweek. Labor activists had long pushed for a minimum wage and clearly defined work hours in the early 20th century; Secretary Frances Perkins supported both of these causes.

With the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, the 40-hour workweek and the minimum wage were made legal, and we have been upholding them ever since.

We hope you like our article on Labor Department Facts.

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