WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris administration today released President Biden’s budget for fiscal year 2024. The budget details a blueprint to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out, lower costs for families, protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security, and reduce the deficit by ensuring the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share – all while ensuring no one making less than $400,000 per year pays more in taxes.

“President Biden’s 2024 budget request of $15.1 billion in discretionary resources for the Department of Labor allows us to fulfill our commitment to advance equity in all aspects of our work, including enforcing lifesaving safety and health laws, advancing Registered Apprenticeships and sector-based training, and securing retirements for millions of workers and families,” said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “The proposed budget delivers on the promise to make sure people in all communities have access to good jobs, and that all workers in America can count on the Department of Labor to be there for them morning, noon and night.”

The budget makes critical, targeted investments in the American people that will promote greater prosperity and economic growth for decades to come. At the Department of Labor, the budget:

• Empowers and protects workers: To ensure employers treat workers with dignity and respect, the budget invests $2.3 billion – an increase of $430 million over the 2023 enacted level – in the department’s worker protection agencies. The budget will enable the department to promote fair, safe and healthful workplaces for all, especially those in high-risk and underserved communities, combat exploitative child labor, and protect the benefits and financial security of all workers. The budget will also enable the department to promote equity through enhanced enforcement efforts and targeted outreach and education for underserved communities, ensuring fair treatment for millions of workers by restoring resources to oversee and enforce the equal employment obligations of federal contractors, including protections against discrimination based on race, gender, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation. 
• Expands pathways to good jobs: The budget invests in effective, evidence-based training models to ensure all workers have the skills they need to obtain high-quality jobs. The budget provides $200 million to launch the “Sectoral Employment through Career Training for Occupational Readiness” program, which will scale evidence-based sector partnerships to empower employers in growing industries to design and implement high-quality training, ensuring they have their workforce needs met and that underserved workers have access to high-quality jobs. In addition, the budget requests $335 million to expand Registered Apprenticeship opportunities while increasing the number of apprentices from historically underrepresented groups. The budget also invests $100 million in community colleges to build their capacity to work with both the public workforce development system and employers to deliver high-quality training for in-demand jobs. The budget invests in strategic planning, partnership development and training and reemployment activities for displaced workers, including resources to address changes in the energy economy.
• Improves access and equity in the unemployment insurance system: The budget invests $3.7 billion – an increase of $522 million above the 2023 enacted level – to modernize, protect and strengthen this critical program. This includes several investments aimed at tackling fraud in the UI program. The budget includes a $150 million investment to support more effective identity verification for unemployment insurance applicants and help states develop and test fraud-prevention tools and strategies. The budget also provides additional resources to allow the Office of Inspector General to increase its investigations into criminal fraud rings who target the UI program. In addition, the budget proposes a comprehensive legislative package of program integrity proposals designed to provide states with new tools and resources to combat UI fraud and improper payments while ensuring equity and accessibility for all claimants.
• Expands employment protections for military spouses: Military families make significant sacrifices on behalf of the nation, including overcoming the many challenges that spouses of active-duty service and reserve members experience in finding and retaining good jobs. Spouses of military servicemembers often face discrimination by current and prospective employers due to the frequent and unpredictable nature of deployment and relocations. The budget addresses these challenges by expanding anti-discrimination and reemployment protections to spouses of all active-duty and reserve members, which would allow them to more easily find and keep good jobs.
• Safeguards equal opportunity and nondiscrimination: The budget makes key investments to provide additional support to the Civil Rights Center to expand its enforcement work; the Women’s Bureau to support its efforts to remedy the negative impact of the pandemic on women and help marginalized women understand and access their employment rights; the Secretary’s policy office to support the department’s agencies in removing barriers for members of underserved communities in accessing its programs; invests resources in the Good Jobs Initiative to further embed equity in all departmental programs and promote good jobs principles; and the Office of Disability Employment Policy to fund Equitable Transition Model programs that will develop scalable strategies to enable low-income youth with disabilities to transition to employment. 
• Strengthens mental health parity protections: The budget requires all health plans to cover mental health and substance use disorder benefits, strengthens the network of behavioral health providers and improves the department’s ability to enforce the law. Additionally, the budget includes $275 million over 10 years to increase the department’s capacity to ensure that large group market health plans and issuers comply with mental health and substance use disorder requirements, and to take action against plans and issuers that do not comply.

Building on the President’s strong record of fiscal responsibility, the budget more than fully pays for its investments—reducing deficits by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade by asking the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share.

Learn more about President Biden’s FY 2024 Budget.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on President Biden’s announcement of his intent to nominate Julie Su as the next secretary of labor:

“I am grateful to President Biden for announcing his intent to nominate my dear friend and colleague, Deputy Secretary Julie Su, to succeed me as U.S. Secretary of Labor. 

“Julie has been a true partner in leading the Department of Labor, and her drive and vision have been central to everything we have achieved over the past two years. 

“As Deputy Secretary, Julie’s achievements – prioritizing rights and protections for the most vulnerable workers; driving our equity work; attracting diverse, world-class talent into public service; modernizing workforce development and unemployment insurance systems; and deepening our engagement with state and local governments – have been broad and deep. 

“She is a lifelong champion of America’s workers, and I have the utmost confidence in her ability to sustain the work of the department and advance the President’s vision of an economy that puts workers first and leaves no one behind.”

WASHINGTON – Since 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor has seen a 69 percent increase in children being employed illegally by companies. In the last fiscal year, the department found 835 companies it investigated had employed more than 3,800 children in violation of labor laws. The maximum civil monetary penalty under current law for a child labor violation is $15,138 per child. That’s not high enough to be a deterrent for major profitable companies.

The department takes these egregious violations very seriously and investigates every child labor complaint they receive and acts to hold employers accountable. On Feb. 17, 2023, the Department of Labor announced the resolution of one of the largest child labor cases in its history against Packers Sanitation Services Inc. LTD. The department currently has over 600 child labor investigations underway and continues to field complaints and initiate investigations to protect children. 

At the same time, the U.S. has seen an influx in migrant children from Latin America fleeing violence and poverty, a majority of whom do not have a parent in the U.S..

“Every child in this country, regardless of their circumstance, deserves protection and care as we would expect for our own child,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. “At Health and Human Services, we will continue to do our part to protect the safety and wellbeing of unaccompanied children by providing them appropriate care while they are in our custody; placing them in the custody of parents, relatives, and other appropriate sponsors after vetting; and conducting post-release services including safety and wellbeing calls. Everyone from employers to local law enforcement and civic leaders must do their part to protect children.”

“We see every day the scourge of child labor in this country, and we have a legal and a moral obligation to take every step in our power to prevent it. Too often, companies look the other way and claim that their staffing agency, or their subcontractor or supplier is responsible. Everyone has a responsibility here,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “This is not a 19th century problem – this is a today problem. We need Congress to come to the table, we need states to come to the table. This is a problem that will take all of us to stop.”

As the challenge of child labor exploitation – particularly of migrant children – increases nationwide, the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services are announcing the following actions to increase their efforts to thoroughly vet sponsors of migrant children, investigate child labor violations and hold the companies accountable:

A Department of Labor-led Interagency Taskforce to Combat Child Labor Exploitation: The task force will further collaboration and improve information sharing among agencies, as well as advance the health, education, and well-being of children in the U.S. For instance, timely information regarding active child labor investigations, as appropriate, enables HHS to apply additional scrutiny in the sponsor vetting process when warranted because of geographic or other concerns. Through this task force, the agencies will also jointly conduct education and training initiatives in relevant communities.

A National Strategic Enforcement Initiative on Child Labor: As part of this new initiative, the department’s Wage and Hour Division will use data-driven, worker-focused strategies to initiate investigations where child-labor violations are most likely to occur. And, the division and the department’s Office of the Solicitor will use all available enforcement tools, including penalties, injunctions, stopping the movement of goods made with child labor, and criminal referrals where warranted. 

Hold All Employers Accountable: The Department of Labor will hold all employers accountable to ensure child labor is removed from supply chains. This will include applying further scrutiny to companies doing business with employers using illegal child labor to increase corporate accountability for system abuses of child labor laws. Too frequently employers who contract for services are not vigilant about who is working in their facilities, creating child labor violations up and down the supply chain. With the increased reliance of staffing agencies and subcontracting, host companies are often claiming that they are unaware or unable to control child labor issues happening at their worksites. 

Mandated Follow Up Calls for Unaccompanied Children Who Report Safety Concerns: HHS will require a follow-up call to any child who calls the Office of Refugee Resettlement National Call Center with a safety concern. ORRNCC currently refers every safety related call to the appropriate law enforcement agency or child protective services. This additional call will serve as a critical follow up with the child. And, ORRNCC will immediately incorporate language into its training materials to ensure former unaccompanied children who reach out to the helpline clearly understand which authorities their safety concerns will be reported to.

Expand Post Release Services for Unaccompanied Children: HHS will continue to work with Congress to provide sufficient resources for ORR to provide post release services to all children and sponsors by 2025. Under the Biden-Harris administration, ORR has increased its capacity to provide post release services to more children. In fiscal year 2023, ORR is on track to serve nearly 60 percent of children released with such services, up from 24 percent of children when President Biden took office, and ORR attempts to reach all children and sponsors with safety and wellbeing calls. Additional post release services include assistance in registering children for school, ensuring they understand the immigration legal process and can attend their court hearings, and help finding medical, mental health, and family counseling services for which they may be eligible.

Increased Funding for the Department of Labor’s Enforcement Agencies: The Department of Labor is calling on Congress to meet the funding request in the President’s forthcoming budget for the Wage and Hour Division and the Office of the Solicitor to investigate child labor cases. Between 2010 and 2019, the division lost 12 percent of its staff because it was nearly flat-funded during this period. And, the Office of the Solicitor has essentially been flat funded for more than a decade, resulting in the loss of more than 100 attorneys as costs have increased. With modest funding increases over the last few years, American Rescue Plan funding for COVID-related investigations, and a strong focus on hiring during the Biden-Harris administration, the agency has begun to increase its staffing levels. But it still has not received anything near the funding level the President requested in the FY2023 Budget to allow the agency to meaningfully rebuild its staff and enforcement capacity. The President’s request for the Wage and Hour Division was about $50 million higher than the amount the agency received in the FY2023 appropriations bill and his request for the Solicitor’s Office was also nearly $50 million higher.  

Call on Congress to Increase Civil Monetary Penalties for Companies that Use Child Labor: The maximum civil money penalty under current law for a child labor violation is $15,138 per child. That’s not high enough to be a deterrent for major profitable companies. The Department of Labor is calling on Congress to increase civil monetary penalties, strengthening protections from retaliation for people who report child labor law violations and investigating corporations flouting child labor laws.

Audit ORR Sponsor Vetting Process: HHS will conduct an audit over the next four weeks of the vetting process for potential sponsors who have previously sponsored an unaccompanied child. HHS is immediately reviewing current policies regarding its vetting requirements for potential sponsors who have previously sponsored unaccompanied children to ensure all necessary safeguards are in place without unnecessarily keeping children in government-funded, congregate care settings. HHS will provide additional training for case managers and staff on how to assess these cases. This audit builds on steps that HHS has already taken to increase vetting of sponsors, including updating the case management system to more easily identify cases where children could be released to an individual who has previously sponsored children.

New Training Material for Unaccompanied Children to Know Their Rights: ORR is creating new materials and new staff training to provide more information to unaccompanied children in care and potential sponsors about child labor laws in the U.S. to ensure children and sponsors know their rights and understand the legal restrictions on working under the age of 18.

BARBERTON, OH ‒ In less than two years, three workers at a leading tool manufacturer in Barberton suffered injuries from unguarded machinery.

The latest injury occurred on Oct. 26, 2022, when a worker suffered a left thumb amputation while hand-feeding parts into a drill press using air-activated clamps. The worker had been on the job for just three months. In December 2020 and June 2022, two other workers performing similar tasks suffered laceration injuries.

Responding to the employer report of the amputation, investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Wright Tool for one willful violation of machine guarding standards, as well as two serious and one other-than-serious violations. The company faces proposed penalties of $164,742. Employers are required to report amputations to OSHA within 24 hours.

“Wright Tool was aware of the need to improve their guarding but failed to do so,” explained OSHA Area Director Howard Eberts in Cleveland. “Without proper guards and safety procedures in place, moving machine parts can cause severe workplace injuries. Employers have a legal responsibility to protect workers from hazards and train them on how to do the job safely.”

OSHA found the company also failed to conduct hazard assessments to identify personal protective equipment needs and other requirements, did not test energy control procedures at least annually or train each employee to ensure they understood hazardous energy control procedures, and failed to enclose shafting.

Since 1927, Wright Tool Company has forged wrenches, ratchets, sockets and attachments with distribution to the automotive, hardware and industrial markets.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about OSHA and safeguarding equipment and protecting workers from amputations.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh has made several appointments and changes to the staffing of the appeals boards that review a variety of workplace and worker rights claims. The actions will increase efficiency, ensure workplace justice and improve the quality of services provided to the nation’s workers and families.

With these appointments, the Administrative Review Board, Employee Compensation Appeals Board and the Benefits Review Board all contain their full complements of judges.

The changes made by Secretary Walsh are as follows:

Administrative Review Board: On Feb. 13, 2023, Ned Miltenberg was appointed as the board’s newest member.  Since his 2022 arrival, the Secretary has appointed four out of the five ARB members, including Chair and Chief Judge Susan Harthill, Vice Chair Tammy Pust and Board Members Ivey Warren and, now Miltenberg. Thomas Burrell also remains a member.

Employee Compensation Appeals Board: Judge James D. McGinley, formerly of the ARB, now joins the ECAB which gives the board full membership. All other board members remain in place.

Benefits Review Board: Vice-Chair Daniel T. Gresh is the newly reassigned to the BRB Chair; Member Jonathan Rolfe will now serve as Vice Chair; Former Chair Judith Boggs, Greg J. Buzzard and Melissa Lin Jones all remain as Members. 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh joined Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker today to sign a memorandum that gives the Occupational Safety and Health Administration the authority to issue certifications in support of applications for U Nonimmigrant Status and T Nonimmigrant Status visas.

“U Visas” and “T Visas” allow victims of specific crimes to help law enforcement detect, investigate and prosecute crimes without fear of retaliation based on their immigration status. These visas provide immigration status to non-citizen victims and allow them to remain in the U.S. to assist authorities in combatting human trafficking and other crimes.

For the first time, OSHA will be able to issue these visa certifications – during its workplace safety investigations – when the agency identifies qualifying criminal activities, including manslaughter, trafficking, extortion, felonious assault, forced labor and obstruction of justice.

OSHA’s new authority – effective March 30, 2023 – will strengthen its ability to protect all workers, including those whose immigration status or other social and cultural inequities discourage them from sharing information with investigators or reporting workplace safety and health issues. The authority will also provide the agency with a critical tool for protecting immigrant and migrant worker communities regardless of their lack of immigration status or temporary employment authorization.

“Expanding OSHA’s U and T visa certification authority helps the agency better fulfill its mission to make U.S. workplaces as safe and healthy as possible,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “Workers in the U.S. need to feel empowered and able to trust OSHA and the U.S. Department of Labor enough to voice their concerns about workplace safety regardless of their immigration status and fears of retaliation.”

“By enabling OSHA to issue U and T visa certifications, we will be empowering some of our economy’s most vulnerable workers to tell us if their jobs are jeopardizing their safety and health, and that of their co-workers, and to support our enforcement efforts,” Parker added.

The initiative announced today aligns with the department’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility plan and the Biden-Harris administration’s effort to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities across the federal government and improve job quality nationwide.

Learn more about worker rights and protections.  

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement about the December 2022 and January 2023 sentencings of six trade union leaders in Belarus:

“The U.S. is deeply concerned about the sentencing of six trade union leaders to prison in closed proceedings in Belarus on charges of ‘harming national security,’ ‘inciting social hatred,’ and ‘creating or participating in an extremist group.’ These actions gravely harm the labor movement in Belarus.

“On Dec. 27, 2022, Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Siarhei Antusevich and Iryna Bud-Husaim – leaders of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions – were sentenced to one-and-a-half to four years in prison. On Jan. 5, 2023, Henadz Fiadynich, Vasil Berasnieu and Vatslau Areshka – leaders of the Radio-Electronic Industry Workers Union – received sentences of between eight and nine years in prison. All of these people suffer from health conditions that require specialized treatment, and we urge their urgent release on humanitarian grounds.  

“This latest development in Belarus continues an ongoing and serious deterioration of labor rights there. Democratic and independent trade unions are essential to healthy, inclusive democracies and thriving economies.

“We call on the Lukashenka regime of Belarus to end its human and labor rights abuses, which include arbitrary arrests, acts of violence, harassment and intimidation against citizens in Belarus, including trade unionists who exercise their human and labor rights. Specifically, we urge the immediate and unconditional release of all trade union leaders and members, and the more than 1,400 political prisoners unjustly imprisoned for participating in peaceful assemblies or for exercising their fundamental freedoms.”

TULSA, OK – In a visit to Tulsa, Oklahoma today, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh highlighted the need to promote economic justice for people in Black and other underserved communities and how the U.S. Department of Labor is working to help business owners create good-paying jobs and equip workers to fill these positions in these communities.   

Secretary Walsh first met with Greenwood Chamber of Commerce President Dr. Freeman Culver, then visited the Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center and then toured the city’s historic Greenwood District with chamber leaders and a group of small business owners.

During the tour, Secretary Walsh learned about the critical role the district, also known as “Black Wall Street” played in Tulsa’s economic development and about the contributions made by area residents to America’s civil rights movement. He visited the Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center, which memorializes how a once thriving, 35-square-block area of successful Black-owned businesses was leveled during the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. As many as 300 people were killed here in one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history.

At the history center, Secretary Walsh spoke with descendants of some of the survivors of the devastation.

He talked about the importance of supporting Black business owners to create good jobs and how the U.S. Department of Labor is working to improve the lives and opportunities of Black workers and underserved communities.

“Understanding history’s successes and failures allows us to change our present and our future by ending economic injustice and making sure people in underserved communities share in our nation’s prosperity,” explained Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “The Biden-Harris administration is empowering Black entrepreneurs in places like Tulsa with new investments that will lead to business start-ups, innovation and job creation. Supporting Black businesses builds Black wealth and provides good-paying jobs for workers in these communities.”

Before departing, Secretary Walsh spoke with students from the Tulsa Job Corps Center and met  with journalism students from Langston University and Tulsa Community College.

The Secretary also met with the following small business owners:

• Wanda J. Armstrong and Ty Walker of Wanda J’s Soul Food  
• Cleo Harris of Black Wall Street T-Shirts and Souvenirs 
• Angela Robinson of Black Wall Street Corner Store and More 

Secretary Walsh also visited several area facilities supported by the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to respond better to the needs of underserved communities. These visits included the U.S. Black Chambers of Commerce’s Greenwood Women’s Business Center – where he offered brief remarks on workforce development and expanding training opportunities – and the Talking Leaves Job Corps Center in Park Hill, where he joined leaders of the Cherokee Nation for a facility tour.

WASHINGTON – To help meet the need for auto technicians in the growing electric vehicle industry, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced a national partnership with Mercedes-Benz USA to train Job Corps students initially at centers in Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Utah for automotive industry careers.

The agreement between the global automaker and the nation’s largest job training and education program will enable Mercedes-Benz USA to develop the curriculum, train Job Corps instructors to deliver it, provide technical support and donate materials, tools and equipment needed to educate the students.

The public-private partnership is designed to create pathways for students from 16 to 24 years of age toward good-paying jobs as auto technicians, including potential employment with Mercedes-Benz.

“Job Corps’ partnership with Mercedes-Benz reflects the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to expanding and strengthening training opportunities for our next generation of working Americans,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “This initiative will equip students with the skills they need for good jobs today and careers in the emerging energy economies of tomorrow.”

Job Corps will now offer students opportunities to study high-voltage and electric vehicles, and training opportunities with high-voltage vehicles at the following campuses: Earle C. Clements Job Corps in Morganfield, Kentucky; Westover Job Corps in Chicopee, Massachusetts; Edison Job Corps in Edison, New Jersey; and Clearfield Job Corps in Clearfield, Utah.

“This training program is an ideal entry point for students who want to become professionals in the automotive industry, especially aspiring electric vehicle mechanics,” said Job Corps National Director Rachel Torres. “Having Mercedes-Benz train our Job Corps students is a great example of the public and private sectors working together to prepare students for careers and provide companies with skilled workers.”

Established in 1965, Mercedes-Benz USA is headquartered in Atlanta and is responsible for the distribution, marketing and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz products in the U.S. The company employs about 1,600 people at its U.S. manufacturing, distribution, testing and other locations. The company also has 383 associated dealerships in the U.S. selling its model line of 16 vehicles.

Founded in 1964, Job Corps is the nation’s largest job training and education program. Mostly a residential program in urban and rural areas, it provides students from 16 to 24 years of age with vocational training and academic experiences to increase opportunities towards gainful employment and career pathways. Job Corps offers career technical skills training in 10 high-growth industry sectors, including welding, information technology, hospitality, health care and automotive repair at no cost to students.

The Job Corps network currently has 121 centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Learn more about Job Corps.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the January 2023 Employment Situation Report:

“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 517,000 jobs in the month of January, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.4 percent, the lowest rate since May of 1969. With 12.1 million jobs added since President Biden took office and a monthly average of 356,000 jobs over the past three months, we began 2023 with more strong, steady job growth that benefits workers and their families.

“Growth was widespread across industries, with notable gains in restaurants and bars, retail stores, healthcare facilities, professional and business offices, and construction. We saw jobs added in the care economy that make it possible for more people to work, and labor force participation increased among workers between the ages of 25 and 54. The unemployment rate for Black workers dropped to near an all-time low – although at 5.4 percent it remains higher than the overall rate and indicates an important area of focus for our economic equity policies.

“With unemployment down, and infrastructure and manufacturing investments moving forwards across the nation, we are truly seeing what it looks like to build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out. At the Department of Labor, we remain focused on making sure all the jobs being created are good jobs and making sure all workers have access to these opportunities.”