Which U.S. department administers federal labor standards and is associated with Labor Day?

The United States Department of Labor administers federal labor standards and is the cabinet department most directly associated with Labor Day.

Congress created the department in 1913 by splitting labor functions from the former Department of Commerce and Labor. Its responsibilities include workplace safety, wages and hours, employment statistics, unemployment insurance oversight, and enforcement of several worker-protection laws.

The department is not the body that created the holiday itself: Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894. The department’s later institutional role reflects the broader public policy concerns that grew from the labor movement.

The Department of Labor also contains the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is responsible for enforcing federal workplace-safety rules.