WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade:

“The U.S. Supreme Court today overturned decades of constitutional precedent, now allowing states to ban or significantly restrict access to abortion. This decision means that women across the country will lose access to necessary reproductive medical care.

“Reproductive autonomy directly supports women’s ability to get an education, participate in the labor force, and increase their earning potential and it has helped to narrow the gender wage gap. Losing the right to reproductive freedom will have a catastrophic impact on women’s employment and economic security.  

“Access to abortion and all other personal reproductive choices is not only an issue of health and personal liberty, but also squarely an economic issue that determines the welfare of working women and their families. The Department of Labor will work to advance our mission by empowering women using every tool we have.”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh today brought together a group of highly engaged private sector business leaders on June 23, 2022, to share ideas and discuss the implications for equity and job quality of workplace flexibilities in the wake of massive changes caused by the pandemic.

“Flexibility for working people is a cornerstone of opportunity, of equity and of inclusion – the pandemic certainly exposed this fact,” said Secretary Walsh in his opening remarks. “And at the same time, the pandemic also led to innovations in workplace flexibility. We saw workers and employers come together to figure out how to keep businesses open during a time of incredible hardship and uncertainty, and now they are working to figure out the ‘new normal.’”

Counselor to the Secretary Tanya Goldman kicked off the event and introduced Secretary Walsh. Following his remarks, Accenture’s North America Chief Human Resources Officer Kate Clifford, ADP’s Chief Economist Nela Richardson, The Raben Group’s Principal Whitney Tome and Well-Paid Maids Founder Aaron Seyedian then joined him for the panel.

Participants explored some of the deeper questions about this new business environment – going beyond remote work’s feasibility or desirability – to share their views about flexibility and leave policies that support workers when illness strikes or when faced with disabilities; workers at greater risk of COVID-19 infection; and those who balance caregiving responsibilities. The group also discussed ways employers can avoid distancing remote workers from workplace culture, hindering opportunities for networking and advancement and impeding fairness and equity.

The panelists emphasized the need to support workers holistically. Issues from mental health to paid leave are critical to employee productivity and retention – and to maintaining a strong business and a strong economy. As the department continues to develop its dialogues and partnerships on the Future of Work, these topics will remain a crucial subject of collaboration between the private sector and government.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh joined Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Rep. Bobby Scott, White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mayor Mitch Landrieu and other leaders of federal, state and local government, labor unions and workforce organizations gathered today in Washington at the “Good Jobs” Summit, part of the initiative led by the department to help create and support good-quality jobs.

“This administration is unified around the concept of a good job,” said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “I have seen it in my own life and throughout my career: good jobs change lives and lift up whole families. We have the opportunity right now to lift up more people than ever before. Today’s summit represents the partnerships we need to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and address the generational challenges we face from climate change to global competition, to public health, to racial justice and gender equity.”

During the event, Secretary Walsh announced the “Good Jobs Principles,” a coordinated effort with the Department of Commerce to provide employers, workers, federal agencies, state and local governments, and other advocates with a roadmap to advance the goal of quality jobs for all workers.

“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, millions of additional good-paying jobs are in the pipeline. As these new jobs are being created, we must ensure that workers can gain the in-demand skills needed to qualify for those good jobs,” said Rep. Bobby Scott, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “We need to make sure that contractors and subcontractors pay the legally required prevailing wage and make sure that workers’ rights to join a union are recognized. We also need to make sure that workers who have been historically left out of the hiring process can access these good jobs and build a rewarding career.”

The summit included panel discussions on leveraging federal funding for good jobs with officials from the departments of Commerce, Energy and Transportation. Other panels focused on building partnerships among government, labor and private sector employers, and prioritizing good quality jobs – including equity and accessibility – through infrastructure projects across the country.

“The clean energy economy is a huge opportunity for communities and workers,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. “We have to make sure workers can see in themselves the ability to power the nation for the next 100 years.”

The principles also provide a framework for creating good jobs and a more accessible workforce through federal government partnerships and investments, such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“Knowledge is a pathway to the future and this administration wants to level the playing field,” said White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Building a better America means everybody gets an opportunity. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are not just building bridges, roadways, and high-speed internet, we are building a generation of high paying jobs. This is an incredible opportunity, and we have a magnificent responsibility to get it right.”

The event was hosted in collaboration with the Families and Workers Fund, a coalition of more than 20 diverse philanthropies working together to build a more equitable U.S. economy that uplifts all.

WASHINGTON – As the part of today’s publication of the Spring 2022 Regulatory Agenda by the Biden-Harris administration, the U.S. Department of Labor’s agenda has been posted online.

Required by Executive Order 12866, the semiannual agenda lists all regulations under active consideration in the one-year period ahead as well as longer-term regulatory actions, and ensures public engagement in the process of establishing regulations. 

“Beneath the surface of every regulation is a story about workers – and our values,” said Assistant Secretary for Policy Raj Nayak. “The agenda that we published today reflects Secretary Walsh’s commitment to empowering workers morning, noon and night. It also builds on the strides we have made throughout this recovery to bring equity, security, and a voice on the job to workers, the people who make our economy thrive.”

The department’s Spring 2022 agenda represents actions that complement its Good Jobs Initiative – which focuses on providing critical information to workers, employers and government as they work to improve job quality and create access to good jobs free from discrimination and harassment for all working people – and seeks to advance several of the Biden-Harris administration’s key priorities.

In support of these priorities, the department’s agenda memorializes its engagement with stakeholders as it considers a proposed rule on heat illness prevention at work, both indoors and outdoors. It lists final rules that clarify when retirement plans can account for climate-related financial risks and promote Registered Apprenticeships as the gold standard of the workforce and training system.

The agenda also contains rules that update affirmative action programs for federal supply and service contractors and subcontractors, modernize Davis-Bacon and Related Acts’ wage determinations, and address other important aspects of job quality and equity.

View the complete semiannual agenda.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Departments of Labor and Commerce today released the “Good Jobs Principles,” a coordinated effort to provide employers, workers, federal agencies, state and local governments, and other advocates with a roadmap to advance the goal of quality jobs for all workers.

Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced the principles today in Washington at the “Good Jobs Summit,” an all-day event with leaders of federal, state and local government, labor unions and workforce organizations to discuss how the federal government is empowering working people through policies that create and support good-quality jobs.

The principles outline the essential elements of a good job, including recruitment and hiring, pay and benefits, job security and career advancement, collective bargaining rights, and working conditions. The principles also prioritize diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility to expand access to stable and secure jobs, especially for those from underserved communities.

The principles also provide a framework for creating good jobs and a more accessible workforce through federal government partnerships and investments. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, federal agencies have incentivized equity and good jobs in more than $50 billion of competitive grant funding to date.

“To stay competitive America needs a workforce that is strong, skilled, empowered and inclusive,” said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “As our economy rebuilds, workers are empowered to seek better opportunities, and employers are seeking skilled talent and the right tools to attract and retain that talent. Working with our partners in the Department of Commerce, we can develop the essential elements of a good job that will help us create a more equitable and fairer workforce, and grow our economy.”

The Biden-Harris administration has made good jobs and equity for all Americans a cornerstone of the economic recovery. As part of that effort, the department launched the “Good Jobs” initiative in January 2022 to organize and direct federal government tools and resources toward the goal of promoting good jobs for all workers. The principles advance that mission by establishing the groundwork for more concrete strategies to achieve high quality jobs for all workers in our economy, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women, immigrants, veterans, people with disabilities, and workers in rural communities.

“Creating jobs has been a top priority of the Biden-Harris administration since day one. Not only have we created a historic 8 million jobs but just as importantly, we have worked tirelessly to ensure Americans are returning to high-quality jobs that provide security and stability for American families while encouraging employers to recruit, train, and retain workers who can help their businesses flourish,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “To help achieve these goals, the departments of Commerce and Labor have formed an unprecedented partnership to ensure workers and businesses both benefit from high-quality, good paying jobs and today’s Good Jobs Principles will continue to help guide these efforts.”

Watch a livestream of today’s Good Jobs summit.

Learn more about the Good Jobs Initiative led by the Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON – The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, which includes the U.S. Department of Labor as a member, today issued the “Strategy to Prevent Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured with Forced Labor in the People’s Republic of China,” as required by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act prohibits goods made wholly or in part in the Xinjiang region of the People’s Republic of China or produced by certain entities, included in the UFLPA Entity List, from being imported into the U.S. The act directs the task force to develop a strategy to support enforcement of the prohibition on imports made with forced labor from entering the U.S. The act institutes a rebuttable presumption that goods made in Xinjiang, or by related entities, are made with forced labor unless proved otherwise.

The UFLPA strategy includes a comprehensive risk assessment, a forced labor scheme evaluation, and a list of entities and goods subject to the rebuttable presumption that their imports are made with forced labor. It also provides importer guidance on due diligence, effective supply chain tracing, and supply chain management measures. Importers of goods made in whole or in part in Xinjiang or by entities on the UFLPA Entity List must comply with this guidance in order to import such goods.

“The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act provides the U.S. government with powerful new tools to combat forced labor, which align with the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to eradicate forced labor from U.S. supply chains” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “We take the mandate from Congress to enforce these new provisions very seriously and are determined to prevent American consumers from inadvertently purchasing goods made with forced labor. The law is very clear, the onus is on importers to demonstrate they are not in violation of the act. The U.S. has zero tolerance for businesses profiting from genocide and crimes against humanity.”

Members of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force will hold recurring meetings with the private sector and non-governmental organizations on this strategy.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today released its inaugural Enterprise Data Strategy, a three-year plan by the department’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy that will guide department efforts to improve its data collection, management and use and enhance its ability to share data to advance opportunity and equity for the nation’s workers. 

Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su will announce the plan at today’s “Putting Data to Work on behalf of America’s Workers” event at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

“Without strong data, we cannot take wise action,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su. “The U.S. Department of Labor’s data is powerful because of what we can do with it. Even more importantly, the data is powerful because of what others can do with it. When cutting edge data is put in the hands of advocates, unions, employers, researchers, workers and others, the nation’s economy benefits.”

The Enterprise Data Strategy includes four guiding principles and five goals that together can help the department develop more consistent and effective data governance and align agency planning to improve data management. The four guiding principles seek to make data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable, also known as the FAIR principles.

The strategy’s five strategic goals are ensuring data are managed to be open by default, are comprehensible, are fit for purpose, are available in consistent and predictable ways, and that data is managed as an enterprise asset that incorporates stakeholder input, and as appropriate, made public in ways that provide real benefit to data users.

The Enterprise Data Strategy describes initial areas of focus and strategic goals to advance organizational and cultural change, strengthen governance, increase data talent, improve data documentation, modernize data infrastructure, integrate data management into existing systems, and expand data use to inform program administration.

In addition, the department today published its first Open Data Request for Information in the Federal Register to solicit comments, feedback and suggestions from the public for targeted improvements on data quality, availability and modes of access.  

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement after the International Labor Organization today recognized occupational safety and health as a Fundamental Principle and Right at Work:

“The U.S. Department of Labor commends the International Labor Organization for recognizing for the first time the right to a safe and healthy working environment in the framework of the ILO’s Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work at the 2022 International Labor Conference.

“Every day, millions of workers around the world face dangerous or unhealthy working conditions. Across the world, the ILO estimates that more than 2.3 million women and men die each year because of work-related accidents and diseases.

“Some workers are not aware of their rights because their employers fail to provide that information or they did not present it in a language understood by the workers. Others are afraid to speak up because of their immigration status or for fear of losing their jobs, and still others live in places that lack the necessary institutions to protect their rights or that fail to enforce them.

“The ILO’s 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work established an international consensus on the core body of labor rights in four categories: freedom of association and collective bargaining; the elimination of forced or compulsory labor; the effective abolition of child labor; and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

“Today’s approval of an amendment to the 1998 declaration now includes: ‘a safe and healthy working environment.’ Though non-binding, the 1998 declaration is the most widely cited ILO instrument. This recognition will have tremendous benefit for the safety and health of workers everywhere.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to work at home and abroad to ensure that all workers have the right to a safe and healthy working environment.”

Learn more about the department’s international work.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Departments of Labor and State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development today issued “Guidance on Fair Recruitment Practices for Temporary Migrant Workers,” with principles and guidelines on preventing abuse of prospective workers.

The guidance is part of a multi-agency effort to promote best practices by those countries seeking to increase participation in the H-2A program for temporary agricultural workers and the H-2B program for seasonal non-agricultural workers, along with recruiters and employers who rely on these programs.

“This collaborative effort by the Departments of Labor and State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development will help protect prospective workers in the H-2A and H-2B programs from abuse,” said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “The guidance announced today is intended to increase transparency and regulation of H-2A and H-2B worker recruitment programs and safeguard workers’ fundamental rights.”

As the Biden-Harris administration continues to consider the need for structural reforms to the H-2A and H-2B programs that would mitigate vulnerabilities they may create for workers, this initiative is another key component of the administration’s Collaborative Migration Management Strategy, focused on strengthening cooperative efforts to manage safe, orderly and humane migration in North and Central America.

“Taking meaningful steps to protect workers throughout the recruitment and employment process is crucial as the U.S. expands legal pathways for migration in line with our Collaborative Migration Management Strategy. The State Department supports this comprehensive effort to facilitate equitable access to temporary work opportunities and prioritize the protection of workers’ rights,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

“Providing legal pathways for temporary work is a powerful way to address critical labor needs here in the United States while giving seasonal workers a chance to earn money they can use to return to and rebuild their own communities. We’ve worked with the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to recruit temporary workers through safe, ethical, fair and transparent means, and today’s guidance is an important step in expanding efforts to prevent abuse and protect fundamental worker rights,” said U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power.

Based on the International Labor Organization’s “Guiding Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment” and the department’s current regulations, the Fair Recruitment Guidance encourages countries and employers participating in H-2A and H-2B visa programs to implement best practices.  It addresses key issues related to:

• The design, implementation and regulation of recruitment infrastructure and processes.
• Protecting fundamental worker rights.
• Ensuring transparency and access to redress for workers and job applicants.

The guidance also describes measures that retailers and other supply chain actors can take to help prevent, mitigate and remedy abuses in supply chains.

Learn more about the H-2A and H-2B visa program regulations here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai today announced that the United States has asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Teksid Hierro de México facility in Frontera, State of Coahuila, are being denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining.

The request, which was made in response to a petition filed under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act, marks the fourth time that the U.S. has requested Mexico’s review of freedom of association and collective bargaining rights issues under the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will continue working with our trade partners and the private sector to secure freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, which are foundations of our worker-centered trade agenda,” said Secretary Marty Walsh. “As we have done with other Rapid Response Labor Mechanism cases, we look forward to collaborating with the government of Mexico to ensure that workers can choose their union representatives freely and without interference.”

USMCA’s Labor Chapter contains a bilateral annex that requires Mexico to have specific laws necessary for the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining. The annex mirrors key provisions of Mexico’s historic 2019 labor law reform. The first-of-its-kind Rapid Response Labor Mechanism provides for expedited enforcement of collective bargaining and free association rights at the facility level.

“We continue to use the USMCA’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism to defend workers’ rights and remain committed to working closely with the Mexican government to do so,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “When our trade policy helps to ensure that workers in all countries can exercise their rights, it helps drive a race to the top.”

In connection with the U.S. request, Ambassador Tai has directed the Secretary of the Treasury to suspend the liquidation for all unliquidated entries of goods from the Teksid Hierro facility. 

The U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement. On May 5, 2022, the ILC received a RRM petition from the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros, Metalúrgicos, Siderúgicos y Similares de la República Mexicana, a Mexican union. The petition alleged that workers at the Teksid Hierro automotive parts facility in Frontera are being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining.  The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days.

In response to the petition, the ILC determined that there is sufficient credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms. As a result, the U.S. Trade Representative has submitted a request to Mexico that it review whether workers at the Teksid Hierro facility are being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining. Mexico has 10 days to agree to conduct a review and, if it agrees, 45 days from today to complete the review. 

Last month, the U.S. submitted a request for review to Mexico on a Panasonic automotive parts facility. Learn more about the request on the Panasonic facility.

Read the request for review of the allegations at the Teksid facility.

Read the USTR’s communication to the Department of the Treasury to suspend the liquidation for all unliquidated entries of goods from the Teksid Hierro facility. 

Learn more about the department’s international work.

Learn more about the work of USTR’s Labor Office.