Labor Department

A Biden proposal would raise the threshold under which salaried workers are eligible for overtime pay — but it could face opposition from business groups.

Millions of additional salaried workers could get overtime pay under Biden proposal

3:40pm August 30, 2023

by Scott Horsley

A proposal from the Labor Department would make an estimated 3.6 million salaried workers newly eligible for overtime pay. It covers workers earning less than $55,000 per year.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh speaks during the annual North America's Building Trade's Unions Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. on April 6, 2022.

Politics & Government

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh leaves Biden administration to lead NHL players' union

4:40pm February 16, 2023

by Andrea Hsu

Marty Walsh, who's led the Labor Department since March 2021, is leaving the Biden administration. Walsh has been named executive director of the NHL Players' Association.

United Auto Workers members walk in the Labor Day parade' in Detroit, Monday, Sept. 2, 2019.

National

Why We Celebrate Labor Day And Other Facts About The Holiday You Might Not Know

12:53pm September 03, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

Where did this three-day-weekend come from anyway?

Marty Walsh is seen testifying at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee as part of his nomination to head the Labor Department on Feb. 4 in Washington, D.C. Walsh was confirmed by the Senate as the Lab

Politics & Government

Marty Walsh, Boston Mayor With Union Roots, Confirmed As Labor Secretary At Key Time

8:22pm March 22, 2021

by Sam Gringlas

The former union leader will head the Labor Department at a time when the pandemic has left millions unemployed and raised concerns about workplace safety.

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Princeton University will pay $925,000 in back pay and at least $250,000 in future wages as part of an agreement announced by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Princeton University Agrees To Nearly $1 Million In Back Pay To Female Professors

12:42pm October 13, 2020

by Brakkton Booker

The university has agreed to give back pay to 106 female full professors, but did not admit liability in the U.S. Labor Department's investigation.

A pedestrian walks by a closed shop in Grosse Pointe, Mich., on Thursday. The Labor Department is expected to report on Friday that the U.S. lost millions of jobs last month because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Friday's Jobs Numbers Will Be Brutal But Won't Tell The Whole Story

9:14am May 08, 2020

by Scott Horsley

The Labor Department is expected to report the U.S. lost millions of jobs last month due to the coronavirus. Unemployment likely jumped to its highest level since the Great Depression.

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Workers assemble cars at Ford's newly renovated assembly plant in Chicago. Factories lost 12,000 jobs in December. The manufacturing sector has been hard hit by the trade war as well as slowing demand overseas.

Economy

U.S. Job Growth Cools In December As Employers Add 145,000 Jobs

5:09pm January 10, 2020

by Scott Horsley

December's job growth is down slightly from the three previous months, when employers added an average of 200,000 jobs. But the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, matching a 50-year low.

A new rule proposed by the Labor Department would allow employers to require waitstaff and others to share their tips with kitchen staff. But labor advocates say it could allow bosses to take advantage of their workers.

Restaurants Would Get More Flexibility With Workers' Tips Under Proposed Rule

6:17pm October 07, 2019

by Scott Horsley

The rule would allow employers to require waitstaff and others to share their tips with kitchen staff. But labor advocates say it could allow bosses to take advantage of their workers.

A long-awaited update to federal overtime rules means about 1.3 million workers will be entitled to extra pay when they work more than 40 hours a week.

Economy

1.3 Million More Workers Eligible For Overtime Pay, But Some Say Rules Fall Short

5:11pm September 24, 2019

by Yuki Noguchi

A long-awaited update to federal overtime rules means about 1.3 million workers will be entitled to extra pay when they work more than 40 hours a week. But critics say it doesn't go far enough.

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Workers Mourned As North Carolina's On-The-Job Deaths Rise

11:05am April 26, 2019

by Associated Press

Signs that more people are dying on the job has workers' advocates demanding that North Carolina's labor department do more to inspect and punish companies that imperil their workers.