Department of Labor Web Sites
Links to Federal and state department of labor Web sites are listed below.
Department of Labor Facts
Department of labor is a broad term that describes all of the equivalent government agencies at the state and Federal levels. It comes from the proper name of the agency at the Federal level, which is the U.S. Department of Labor (see below).
But state equivalent agencies might go by different proper names. For example, the equivalent California agency is the Department of Industrial Relations, while the equivalent Texas agency is the Workforce Commission.
Regardless of their proper names, department of labor Web sites are excellent places to start for researching or asking questions about Federal and state employment and labor laws and other employment-related matters, for both employees and employers. Examples are listed below.
The Federal or a state department of labor is also typically the place to file a complaint against an employer, for an alleged violation of an employment or labor law that the department enforces. But it might be a good idea to first seek the advice of an attorney. An attorney will help you to better file your complaint in legalese, to increase your chances that a department of labor will act on your behalf.
An attorney will also tell you if you should file your complaint with the Federal or state department of labor based on the applicable law, and whether or not filing a private lawsuit instead might gain better relief. Typically, once you've gained relief through a department of labor (or other government agency), you cannot file a private lawsuit in an attempt to gain better relief for the same matter.
U.S. Department of Labor
The U.S. Department of Labor is also sometimes referred to as the Federal Department of Labor. In either case, it's abbreviated as DOL and its one of the largest enforcement agencies in the Federal government.
The U.S. Department of Labor administers and/or enforces over 180 Federal employment and labor laws, for which it provides research and compliance resources, and related contact information for asking questions and filing employee complaints if applicable. It also provides research resources for certain state and Federal employment, labor and discrimination laws that it doesn't administer. It's an excellent resource for both employees and employers.
U.S. Department of Labor
State Department of Labor
A state department of labor administers state employment and labor laws for which it's responsible and which might differ from the Federal equivalents. Typically, state department of labor Web sites provide employment and labor law or employee rights research resources, compliance assistance, and related contact information for asking questions and filing complaints, if the latter is applicable.
Some of the links below don't lead directly to state department of labor Web sites, but rather to state-government "gateways" that include or link to information about state labor and employment matters. That's because not every state department of labor has its own Web site or the gateway provides more extensive employment and labor research resources. In either case, browse the gateway to find the information you're seeking.
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