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OPA News Release: [02/03/2003]
Contact Name: Sue
Hensley
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676
2004 Labor Budget to Strengthen and Protect
America’s 21st Century Workforce, Help Displaced Workers Find
Jobs
Increase In Enforcement Funds, Civil Money
Penalties, Hispanic Outreach
WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today
announced details of the Department of Labor’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2004
budget request. The budget includes increased funds to protect Americans’
retirement funds, strengthen safety in the workplace, and help more displaced
workers find jobs. The FY 2004 total request is $56.2 billion. The budget
request includes an increase of 229 full-time Department employees.
“The 2004 budget reflects the Administration’s commitment to
aggressively support and protect America’s workers,” said Chao.
“We want to direct resources to help more people find jobs, ensure health
and retirement benefits, and protect employees’ rights and safety in the
workplace.”
Some highlights of the Department of Labor’s FY 2004 include the
following:
Help Displaced Workers Find Jobs
- The FY 2004 budget includes $2 billion to fund Personal Re-employment
Accounts which will provide up to $3,000 for at-risk job seekers to purchase
training, re-employment, or supportive services needed to get back to
work.
- The Employment and Training budget proposes $9.2 billion for
training. The budget also will strengthen employment and training programs by
reauthorizing and improving the Workforce Investment Act.
Preserve and Protect Americans’ Health and Retirement Employee
Benefits
- The newly-renamed Employee Benefits Security Administration
(previously the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration) will receive a $12
million increase in their budget, a 10% increase over FY 2003, to expand
enforcement and compliance activities that protect Americans’ retirement
security. EBSA oversees nearly six million private benefits plans with $4.8
trillion in assets.
Ensure Safety for America’s Workers
- Enforcement agencies will receive additional resources to better
protect workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will
receive an increase of $13 million, approximately 3% over last year’s
request. Of this amount, $2.3 million in new funding will be used to expand the
agency’s outreach to non-English speaking workers and employees.
- The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will see an increase
of $12 million, including 35 new mine safety inspectors for coal and 20
inspectors for metal/non-metal mining.
- To better serve union members by providing reliable information about
how dues are spent and to enforce the Landrum-Griffin Act, the Office of Labor
Management Standards (OLMS) will receive an additional $5 million in the 2004
budget.
- The Department will also seek increased Civil Money Penalties for
MSHA, OLMS and Wage and Hour to strengthen existing enforcement gaps. This
includes raising egregious mine violation penalties from $55,000 to $220,000.
In Wage and Hour, penalties for serious injuries to youths will be raised from
$11,000 to $50,000.
For more information about the Department’s budget, please visit
www.dol.gov.
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