In 1913, when the Labor Department was founded, the U.S. workforce looked a lot different. Child labor was commonplace, and there were fewer opportunities for women and people of color. Plus, there were few safety laws and no minimum wage.
While the Labor Department has changed as the workforce we serve has changed, the principles guiding our work have never wavered. As my predecessor Frances Perkins once said, “A government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life.” At the Labor Department, we aim to give people the best possible life by fostering the welfare and protecting the rights of workers, job seekers and retirees. That was the department’s mission for more than 100 years, and it will be for the next 100 as well.