United States Secretaries of Labor

United States Secretaries of Labor
Post	United States Secretary of Labor
Incumbent	Marty Walsh
Incumbentsince	March 23, 2021
Department	United States Department of Labor
Style	The Honorable
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States
Appointer qualified	with Senate advice and consent
Termlength	No fixed term
Formation	March 4, 1913
Inaugural	William B. Wilson

United States Secretaries of Labor oversee the United States Department of Labor and administer federal labor standards, workplace safety, employment programs and benefits. The office, created during the Progressive Era, has played central roles in legislation, labor relations and social policy across administrations from Woodrow Wilson through Joe Biden. Secretaries coordinate with cabinet colleagues, Congress and agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

History and Establishment

The position originated as Secretary of the newly formed United States Department of Labor in 1913 under President Woodrow Wilson following advocacy from labor leaders like Samuel Gompers and reformers aligned with the Progressive Era. Early occupants such as William B. Wilson and successors engaged with legislation including the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Social Security Act, and wartime mobilization during the World War I and World War II periods. Throughout the Great Depression and the New Deal under Franklin D. Roosevelt, Secretaries worked closely with agencies like the Works Progress Administration and the National Labor Relations Board to expand unemployment relief and collective bargaining protections. Postwar Secretaries navigated industrial change during the Korean War and the Vietnam War, while later occupants under presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton confronted deindustrialization, globalization, and workforce retraining efforts tied to institutions like the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Secretary administers statutes enacted by the United States Congress including enforcement through agencies like the Wage and Hour Division, Mine Safety and Health Administration, and Employee Benefits Security Administration. Responsibilities include implementing regulations under acts such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, coordinating unemployment insurance systems with state labor departments, and advising the President and cabinet members like the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on workforce impacts of trade, health policy, and economic programs. Secretaries regularly testify before committees such as the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the United States House Committee on Education and Labor.

Appointment and Succession

The Secretary is nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate pursuant to the Appointments Clause; acting Secretaries may serve under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 or succession orders promulgated by the President. Presidential administrations from Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama have invoked recess appointments or acting arrangements in transitional periods; notable confirmations include contentious Senate votes during the administrations of Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Donald Trump. Succession within the Department typically moves from the Deputy Secretary to other senior officials such as the Solicitor of Labor or Assistant Secretaries, following established orders in executive documents and departmental regulations.

Notable Secretaries and Administrations

Prominent Secretaries include progressive organizer Frances Perkins under Franklin D. Roosevelt, architect of elements of the Social Security Act and Fair Labor Standards Act; labor leader George Meany influenced policy though not a Secretary, while Secretaries like Robert Reich under Bill Clinton emphasized workforce training and inequality; Elaine Chao under George W. Bush focused on enforcement and immigration-related labor issues; Tom Perez under Barack Obama pursued wage enforcement and employee benefits; Alexander Acosta under Donald Trump addressed regulatory rollback debates and trade-related employment; and Marty Walsh under Joe Biden has engaged with union revitalization and infrastructure workforce clauses tied to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Each Secretary’s agenda intersects with presidents' domestic priorities, labor unions such as the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and corporate stakeholders like chambers of commerce and industry associations.

Policies and Major Initiatives

Major initiatives led by Secretaries include implementation of minimum wage provisions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, creation and expansion of unemployment insurance systems during the Great Depression and recession responses under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, workplace safety enforcement under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, pension protections via the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and oversight of trade adjustment training funded through Congressional acts. Secretaries have also spearheaded apprenticeship expansion tied to the Perkins Act and employment equity measures referencing civil rights statutes like the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During crises—such as the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic—Secretaries coordinated stimulus employment programs, emergency unemployment benefit extensions, and interactions with agencies like the Small Business Administration.

List of Secretaries of Labor

The chronological list begins with William B. Wilson (1913) and includes figures such as James J. Davis, Frances Perkins, Martin P. Durkin, Maurice J. Tobin, Raymond J. Donovan, Ann McLaughlin Korologos, Robert Reich, Elaine Chao, Hilda Solis, Thomas E. Perez, Eugene Scalia, Marty Walsh and others spanning administrations from Woodrow Wilson to Joe Biden. This sequence reflects policy shifts between pro-labor, regulatory, deregulatory, and workforce development emphases across Republican and Democratic presidencies, and overlaps with major legislative acts and court decisions affecting labor law.

Office Structure and Supporting Agencies

The Secretary leads a department organized into offices and agencies including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wage and Hour Division, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Veterans' Employment and Training Service, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and regional offices liaising with state labor agencies. The Secretary is supported by a Deputy Secretary, Solicitor of Labor, Assistant Secretaries for policy areas, and career civil servants drawn from the Senior Executive Service and technical staffs with expertise in labor statistics, occupational safety, benefits law, and workforce training programs.

Category:United States Cabinet members