May 23, 2022

US government issues business advisory to alert companies, individuals of risks of business with Sudan’s state-owned enterprises, military-controlled companies

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today issued a Business Advisory on Sudan to highlight the growing reputational risks to American businesses and individuals conducting business with Sudanese state-owned enterprises and military-controlled companies. The departments of the Treasury, State and Commerce collaborated in issuing the advisory.

May 20, 2022

US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to highlight good jobs, worker protections, responsible supply chains with labor ministers in Germany

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh will participate in the Group of 7 Labor and Employment Ministers’ Meeting on May 24 in Wolfsburg, Germany. The G-7 is the premier forum for its democratic, industrial member countries to coordinate economic and security policies.

May 19, 2022

US Labor Department, US Trade Representative will participate in trans-Atlantic tripartite Trade and Labor Dialogue with unions, businesses

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will participate in the trans-Atlantic tripartite Trade and Labor Dialogue, which was announced at the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council Ministerial meeting in Paris on May 15-16, 2022. The dialogue will join trade unions, businesses and governments in the U.S. and Europe to discuss trade and labor issues.

May 18, 2022

Committee co-chaired by US Labor Department, US Trade Representative requests Mexico review alleged labor rights denial at Reynosa parts plant

WASHINGTON The Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement today requested that the Mexican government conduct a review at the Panasonic Automotive Systems electronic parts facility in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, in response to a petition filed under the USMCA alleging that plant workers there have been denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining.

May 12, 2022

READOUT: Labor Department’s Deputy Undersecretary Lee, Vietnamese Minister Dung confirm future labor dialogue

WASHINGTON On May 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee met with Vietnam’s Minister for Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Đào Ngọc Dung to discuss labor issues of mutual interest.

May 10, 2022

US Department of Labor renews workplace rights partnerships with El Salvadorean, Guatemalan, Honduran governments

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today renewed partnerships with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to strengthen collaboration with their U.S. embassies and consulates, and to provide information about laws governing workplace safety and health, wages and work hours, and other employment issues individuals from these countries face while working in the U.S.

April 4, 2022

CORRECTED: US Deputy Secretary of Labor visits Mexico to discuss worker rights, ending child, forced labor; announces $28M in investments to support projects

MEXICO CITYDuring an official visit to Mexico, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su today announced new investments by the department to support strengthening workers’ rights, promoting freedom of association, the right to bargain collectively, and the elimination of child and forced labor.

March 7, 2022

Readout: Deputy Undersecretary Lee visits Democratic Republic of Congo, meets officials to discuss mining industry labor rights

WASHINGTON – In the first visit by a high-level U.S. Department of Labor official to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in nearly 20 years, Deputy Undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs Thea Lee met from Feb. 28 to March 2 with the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, other high-ranking officials and with union leaders, business executives, members of Parliament and others, to discuss strengthening and enforcing workers’ rights, especially in the minerals sector.

March 1, 2022

Secretary Walsh, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai issue statements on Tridonex workers’ union selection vote in Matamoros, Mexico

WASHINGTON Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai released statements today following yesterday’s vote at the Tridonex auto parts facility in Matamoros, Mexico, when workers voted to choose which union will have the right to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement on their behalf. 

February 25, 2022

US Department of Labor announces $12M funding opportunity to support improved enforcement of Mexico’s labor laws

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced the availability of up to $12 million in funding to empower federal and state labor inspectors in Mexico to improve enforcement of the country’s landmark 2019 labor law reform in five states, with a focus on Northern States.

February 16, 2022

US Department of Labor awards $4.5M grant to combat child labor in mica mining in Madagascar

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $4.5 million cooperative agreement with Pact Inc., an international nonprofit organization, to combat child labor in mica-producing communities in Madagascar.

January 26, 2022

US Department of Labor, Departments of Treasury, State, Commerce, Homeland Security, US Trade Representative issue Burma business advisory

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor – in collaboration with the Departments of the Treasury, State, Commerce, Homeland Security and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative – today issued a Burma Business Advisory highlighting the risks of doing business due to corruption, illicit finance and human rights abuses.

January 4, 2022

US Department of Labor awards $14M in grants to two projects combating child labor, forced labor, human trafficking worldwide

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the awards of $14 million in cooperative agreements to support a broad set of actions by two projects intended to combat child labor, forced labor and human trafficking, which affects more than 200 million children, women and men worldwide.

December 29, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $8.4M grant to address child labor, forced labor, unacceptable work conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of an $8.4 million cooperative agreement to the Pan American Development Foundation to empower civil society organizations and workers’ organizations to address child labor, forced labor and other unacceptable working conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The project will promote gender and racial equity and prioritize people of African descent, Garifuna and indigenous communities.

December 22, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $5M grant to combat illegal fishing, improve working conditions in Peru, Ecuador’s fishing sectors

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded $5 million in a cooperative agreement for the International Labour Organization focused on strengthening decent working conditions in Peru and Ecuador by combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in coastal communities.

December 21, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $10M to promote gender equity, reduce workplace discrimination, harassment in Mexico

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $10 million cooperative agreement to Partners of the Americas to strengthen gender equity efforts in Mexico and reduce workplace discrimination and harassment.

December 21, 2021

Department of Labor awards $5M grant to combat forced labor, child labor abuses in Malaysia’s palm oil, garment industries

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $5 million cooperative agreement to Social Accountability International to prevent and reduce forced labor and child labor abuses in the Malaysian palm oil and garment industries.