WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate voted, on a bipartisan basis, to confirm Marty J. Walsh as the 29th Secretary of Labor.

“I am incredibly honored and privileged to serve as the United States’ next Secretary of Labor. I am grateful for the bipartisan support of members of the Senate, and I want to thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for their confidence in my ability to lead the Department of Labor during such a critical time in our nation’s history.

“As the son of immigrants and a former union laborer, I share their deep commitment to building an economy that works for all. I have been a fighter for the rights of working people throughout my career, and I remain committed to ensuring that everyone – especially those in our most marginalized communities – receives and benefits from full access to economic opportunity and fair treatment in the workplace. I believe we must meet this historic moment and, as the nation’s Secretary of Labor, I pledge to help our economy build back better.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Acting Secretary of Labor Al Stewart issued the following statement regarding the death of former U.S. Secretary of Labor George P. Shultz:

“In the reflections on his life that have poured out since George P. Shultz passed away on Feb. 6, he was hailed a statesman without peer. That was evident in his tenure as U.S. Secretary of Labor from January 22, 1969 to July 1, 1970, during which he oversaw the implementation of the ‘Philadelphia Plan’ for non-discrimination in federal construction projects. He shepherded programs to reduce poverty and played an important role in shaping the Nixon administration’s economic policies. While he would go on to accumulate ever greater stature as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State, the Labor Department will always take pride in calling Secretary Shultz one of our own.

The department expresses its gratitude for Shultz’s leadership and service, and its sympathy to his family and the many people around the world who loved and admired him.”

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement regarding Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

“Today we honor the life and work of one of the greatest Americans not to be President – a man greater, too, than many who were. Guided by his faith and the ideals of America’s Founders, Dr. King is a link between the principles of the Founding, the struggles for freedom and justice of the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement, and the work that remains to cement the principles of equality and non-discrimination for which he stands. As the Department of Labor observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we reflect on Dr. King’s legacy and remember his words: ‘No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.’”

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement regarding unemployment insurance claims:

“Unemployment claims are increasing due to shutdowns and other responses to rising coronavirus cases, and likely due in part to enhanced unemployment benefits. California and New York continue to exhibit particularly high unemployment rates, with the nation’s two highest rates of continuing claims. 

“December’s jobs report showed most recent job losses to be temporary rather than permanent, with employment increasing in many job sectors.  Vaccine distribution should facilitate another surge in employment in 2-3 months. Safety protocols remain critical, as does attention to the costs of excessive shutdown strategies.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

• Statement by U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia on the December Jobs Report – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement regarding the December 2020 Employment Situation Report:

“[Friday’s] report shows that the economy generally continues to recover, but that employment in certain sectors and States remains challenged.

“The 140,000 jobs lost in December were driven principally by the loss of 498,000 jobs in leisure and hospitality; data from the Restaurant Law Center shows that in the reporting period, six states (Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Oregon) reduced indoor dining occupancy to zero.  Fortunately, Congress finally enacted additional coronavirus relief at the end of December. The new $300 a week federal plus-up, combined with state unemployment benefits, will replace on average more than 90 percent of wages in leisure and hospitality jobs.

“Meanwhile, employment grew in December in six of the nine major industrial sectors that had significant changes, including manufacturing and retail. Also heartening is that with the unemployment rate unchanged at 6.7% and the workforce participation rate holding steady, job losses appear concentrated in temporary rather than permanent layoffs. The number of unemployed Americans not on temporary layoff dropped a whopping 534,000, the first drop in that figure since July.

“It also remains critical to realize that unemployment currently is particularly concentrated in certain States, just as it is concentrated in certain sectors. While the national unemployment rate in November was 6.7%, half the States were at 6% or lower.  The Department’s next State-by-State report will issue January 26. 

“As the Year 2020 ended, unemployment was more than 8 points lower than its peak in April, and is far lower than virtually anyone projected in April for the end of the year.

“The virus’s impact on employment reflects again the importance of distancing, mask-wearing, and other measures to reduce the spread, as well as the need to avoid excessive lock-down strategies that compound rather than mitigate this virus’s human toll. As distribution of vaccines continues through operation Warp Speed, it should be possible in the months ahead to restore millions more jobs, on top of the more than 12 million added back since the low-point in April.”

• The Employment and Training Administration released the following Unemployment Insurance Program Letters (UIPL).
  • UIPL 12-01 Change 2 – States’ Ability to Exercise Flexibility in Staffing Models for the Performance of Certain Unemployment Compensation (UC) Administrative Activities been added to the ETA Advisory database and is now available at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=8998
  • UIPL 16-20 Change 4 – Continued Assistance to Unemployed Workers Act of 2020—Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program: Updated Operating Instructions and Reporting Changes, has been added to the ETA Advisory database and is now available at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=6973
  • UIPL 15-20, Change 3 – Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers (Continued Assistance) Act of 2020 — Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) Program Reauthorization and Modification and Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) Program Operating, Reporting, and Financial Instructions has been added to the ETA Advisory database and is now available at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=6122.

Keeping America’s Workplaces Safe and Healthy:

• U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Announces $3,930,381 In Coronavirus Violations – Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic through Dec. 31, 2020, OSHA has issued citations arising from 300 inspections for violations relating to coronavirus, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $3,930,381.

Defending Workers’ Rights to Paid Leave and Wages Earned:

• U.S. Department of Labor Issues Guidance on Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has issued updated guidance that provides implementation information to states regarding two unemployment insurance programs: Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Labor is focused on protecting the safety and health of American workers, assisting our state partners as they deliver traditional unemployment and expanded unemployment benefits, ensuring Americans know their rights to new paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave, providing guidance and assistance to employers, and carrying out the mission of the Department.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement regarding the December 2020 Employment Situation Report:

“Today’s report shows that the economy generally continues to recover, but that employment in certain sectors and States remains challenged. 

“The 140,000 jobs lost in December were driven principally by the loss of 498,000 jobs in leisure and hospitality; data from the Restaurant Law Center shows that in the reporting period, six states (Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Oregon) reduced indoor dining occupancy to zero.  Fortunately, Congress finally enacted additional coronavirus relief at the end of December. The new $300 a week federal plus-up, combined with state unemployment benefits, will replace on average more than 90 percent of wages in leisure and hospitality jobs. 

“Meanwhile, employment grew in December in six of the nine major industrial sectors that had significant changes, including manufacturing and retail. Also heartening is that with the unemployment rate unchanged at 6.7% and the workforce participation rate holding steady, job losses appear concentrated in temporary rather than permanent layoffs. The number of unemployed Americans not on temporary layoff dropped a whopping 534,000, the first drop in that figure since July. 

“It also remains critical to realize that unemployment currently is particularly concentrated in certain States, just as it is concentrated in certain sectors. While the national unemployment rate in November was 6.7%, half the States were at 6% or lower.  The Department’s next State-by-State report will issue January 26.  

“As the Year 2020 ended, unemployment was more than 8 points lower than its peak in April, and is far lower than virtually anyone projected in April for the end of the year.

“The virus’s impact on employment reflects again the importance of distancing, mask-wearing, and other measures to reduce the spread, as well as the need to avoid excessive lock-down strategies that compound rather than mitigate this virus’s human toll. As distribution of vaccines continues through operation Warp Speed, it should be possible in the months ahead to restore millions more jobs, on top of the more than 12 million added back since the low-point in April.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

• U.S. Labor Secretary Scalia’s Remarks on Unemployment Insurance Reform at American Enterprise Institute Event – Secretary Scalia discussed unemployment insurance reform including its effects on the coronavirus pandemic during a virtual event with the American Enterprise Institute.

Keeping America’s Workplaces Safe and Healthy:

• U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Announces $3,646,228 In Coronavirus Violations – Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic through Dec. 10, 2020, OSHA has issued citations arising from 273 inspections for violations relating to coronavirus, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $3,646,228.

• OSHA Remains Focused on Keeping Workers Safe in 2020 – This year, OSHA used its authority through a combination of traditional practices and unique approaches to assure safe and healthful working conditions for America’s workers.

Defending Workers’ Rights to Paid Leave and Wages Earned:

• Oregon Agricultural Operators Pay Back Wages After Denying Paid Sick Leave to Workers Ordered to Quarantine for Coronavirus – After an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division, three Oregon agricultural operators will pay a collective $11,418 in back wages after wrongly denying paid sick leave to employees whose healthcare providers advised them to self-quarantine following potential coronavirus exposures.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Labor is focused on protecting the safety and health of American workers, assisting our state partners as they deliver traditional unemployment and expanded unemployment benefits, ensuring Americans know their rights to new paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave, providing guidance and assistance to employers, and carrying out the mission of the Department.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia discussed unemployment insurance reform during a virtual event with the American Enterprise Institute. View Secretary Scalia’s full remarks.

Secretary Scalia’s remarks included the following excerpts:

“My subject is the nation’s unemployment insurance system, which has provided valuable benefits to a record number of beneficiaries since March of this year. During that time, the system has also faced great challenges – those challenges exposed weaknesses that suggest improvements we can make to prepare for a future employment crisis.”

…

“In the first half of March of this year, just before the national economy shut down, we at the Labor Department explained to the States how they had flexibility within those substantive federal parameters to enable workers who had Covid, or had family members with Covid, to draw UI. Essentially, we were saying that in the pandemic UI could offer a form of partial paid leave. Within a week of that, the President signed the first-ever federal paid leave law for the private sector; two weeks after that he signed the CARES Act, with its unprecedented expansion of UI programs. That’s how quickly things were moving in those weeks.

…

“The Paycheck Protection Program also warrants mention. By providing forgivable loans to small businesses if they kept workers on payroll, it was an important adjunct to UI and actually had three significant advantages: It kept workers connected to their employer; it was faster; and it avoided the drastic overpayments that resulted from the $600 plus-up. If we’re unfortunate enough to experience a crisis like this again, a program like PPP should be a central part of the response.

…

“States were challenged, too, in implementing the new federal programs…Horribly outdated information technology systems played a major role in these problems. Nearly every State has its own unemployment IT system, and few have invested in upgrades. Some State systems are 40 years old; one Governor, who’s very tech savvy, told me that when the pandemic began overwhelming his State’s UI system, he hired software engineers from Latvia – that’s the only place he could find still using the obsolete code his UI system was running.

…

“A third major challenge for the unemployment system was fraud. Abuse of the unemployment program is not new; historically, about 10 percent of UI payments are what we call improper payments. The CARES Act programs have paid more than $380 billion to date; that implies potential improper payments of at least $38 billion. But the actual over-spend on CARES must be far larger. On top of that $38 billion estimate should be added the billions that were misspent because State computers prevented us from tying the federal plus-up to prior wage. And then we had the fact that the sheer generosity of the federal programs made them targets for criminal enterprises – at a time that States lacked the resources, the computers, and – in some instances, I’m afraid – the will to ensure that improper payments were not being made.”

…

“Technology enhancements would give better protection against improper payments and fraud.  States could more effectively track when workers returned to the job and were no longer eligible for payments.  During the pandemic, many overwhelmed State agencies essentially gave up on the blocking and tackling that’s central to managing a UI program, including ensuring eligibility.  Technology upgrades can bolster those capacities. 

…

“And when it comes to combatting fraud and improper payments, it is essential that changes be made to the PUA program if it’s extended. Basic changes would make a difference: Requiring basic eligibility documentation, including proof of prior income; ensuring that the income the claimant lost was her primary income; and mandating and funding more advanced identity verification.

…

“Let me now mention something the federal government should not do: Launch a take-over of the current State-based nature of the unemployment insurance program.

…

“Perhaps more important, State governments are responsible for economic policies that can create or destroy jobs—States make their own economic beds, to some extent. We must avoid an unemployment system in which residents of one State fund another State’s improvident policies. In that regard, it’s important to recognize how greatly State unemployment rates vary right now: Those state rates currently tell you more than the national rate does.”

…

“Let me conclude with this reminder: When we speak of unemployment insurance, we should always remember that our first choice for workers is work. Unemployment insurance is second-best. (It was partly for this reason I was a fan of the Paycheck Protection Program.) We are fortunate that as a nation we acted with bipartisan speed to make substantial unemployment benefits available last March. As we evaluate those programs and plan for the future, part of what we should consider, too, is how to best help Americans return to rewarding, remunerative work.”

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WASHINGTON, DC –The U.S. Department of Labor released the following response to the Office of Inspector General’s report regarding the 2017 Tip Rule Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

“As noted in the Wage and Hour Division’s response, during the development of the economic analysis within the 2017 Tips NPRM, the Department of Labor complied with the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs as well as our own standard operating procedures for rulemaking. The deliberative process remains an important part of regulatory development. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 directly impacted many issues in the 2017 Tip Rule, and a new Tip Rule is going through the rulemaking process to offer further clarity to employers and workers.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Keeping America’s Workplaces Safe and Healthy:

• U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Announces $3,504,345 In Coronavirus Violations – Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic through Dec. 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations arising from 263 inspections for violations relating to coronavirus, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $3,504,345.

Defending Workers’ Rights to Paid Leave and Wages Earned:

• U.S. Department of Labor Recovers Back Wages for 55 Workers After Louisiana Seafood Processor Fails to Provide Required Sick Leave – After an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division, a Louisiana seafood processor has paid $42,900 in back wages to 55 employees to resolve violations of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

• Texas Cabinet Manufacturer Pays Back Wages to Employee Wrongly Denied Paid Leave to Care for Child During Pandemic – After an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division, a cabinet manufacturer based in Taylor, Texas has paid an employee $3,736 in back wages for wrongly denying leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

• Pasadena, Texas, Employer Pays Back Wages to Employee Wrongly Denied Paid Sick Leave After Doctor’s Order to Quarantine – After an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division, a testosterone replacement center in Pasadena, Texas has paid back wages of $3,432 to an employee to whom it wrongly denied emergency paid sick leave and terminated despite a doctor’s order for the employee to quarantine with coronavirus symptoms.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Labor is focused on protecting the safety and health of American workers, assisting our state partners as they deliver traditional unemployment and expanded unemployment benefits, ensuring Americans know their rights to new paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave, providing guidance and assistance to employers, and carrying out the mission of the Department.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.