What are the Responsibilities of the Labor Secretary?
The all-important position of Labor Secretary sets atop the entire United States Department of Labor. As the labor department’s head, the person working at this position is certainly entrusted with a great number of duties important to an entire country’s labor force. What exactly does the Secretary of Labor do? Here are the primary functions of the position as well as some basic information on the department headed therein.
United States Department of Labor
The labor secretary’s Department of Labor is the chief agency in charge of laws concerning labor within the country. Formed in 1913 by President Taft, this department began oversight of American labor laws right away. All labor-related, these laws concern subject matter such as job application processes, disabled job candidates, occupational health and safety, workplace conditions, treatment by superiors on the job, and much more. If it relates to labor, it relates to this department.
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The Secretary of Labor
Atop of this important department lies the Secretary of Labor. Responsible for all of the department’s successes and failures alike, this expert also answers to the various ruling divisions of the US government. The position was likewise created at the same time as the US Department of Labor so as to satisfy the instant leadership and management needs of that department.
Functions of the Secretary
For those more interested in the specific functions of the labor secretary, they are listed here. Totaling seven, chief functions in all, they are as follows.
1 Department Management – The secretary is charged with managing the inner-workings of the entire department. Areas of concern here can include department HR, department best practices and functions, operational procedures, and more.
2 Recommend New Legislation – New legislation, or laws, provide an ever-changing society with a means to keep up with change. The secretary oversees the department’s stance on current laws as well as the proposition of additions or changes therein.
3 Legal Enforcement – Not only does the secretary propose new labor laws, but they also handle some of the oversight aspects of the enforcement of current ones.
4 Workplace Safety Enforcement – With law on the books as backing, the secretary can also lead department efforts into workplace interventions when necessary. These can be lead to criminal, civil, or simply non-confrontational, advisory types of interventions.
5 Administration of Job Statistics – One of the chief duties originally outlined by the act creating the department and the secretary position therein was that of statistical preparations. According to The Organic Act of the Department of Labor, “That the Bureau of Labor Statistics, under the direction of the Secretary of Labor, shall collect, collate, and report at least once each year, or oftener if necessary, full and complete statistics of the conditions of labor, and the products and distribution of the products of the same.”
6 Manage Unemployment Compensation – Unemployment benefits and the programs handling them also fall to the ultimate oversight of the Secretary of Labor.
7 Testify as Needed – Finally, and although quite rarely, the secretary may need to testify in any number of environs to include the courtroom and congress.
The Secretary of Labor plays a pivotal role in the labor department’s day-to-day activities as well the general labor market of a country. Answering to the people and the government, this expert certainly must be of high caliber and appropriate expertise. These are the basics of the labor secretary, their primary functions, and the department which they work for.
