The Department of Labor (DOL) has launched a new website, worker.gov, designed to provide tools to employees who have questions about their legal rights under federal law. For now, the website is specifically aimed at workers in a limited number of job classifications, including day laborers, office workers, nail salon workers, restaurant workers, and construction workers, but much of the information on the website is relevant to workers regardless of their particular jobs.
According to DOL, the purpose of the website is to “remov[e] the guesswork, and provid[e] workers access to critical information about their rights under the major labor statutes in a way that makes sense for them.”
In addition to describing basic legal rights, worker.gov also provides direct links to enable an employee to file a wage claim with DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), as well as complaints with DOL’s Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
DOL hopes to expand the website in the future to include more job categories with the goal of designing each occupation’s page to focus on the information employees in that classification search for most often.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.