News Release
US Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announce partnership agreement to enhance outreach, enforcement
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced today that the department’s Wage and Hour Division and the EEOC signed a formal partnership that will enhance and maximize the enforcement of federal laws and regulations.
The Memorandum of Understanding enhances enforcement efforts and allows the agencies to respond more efficiently to the public through establishment of a referral system, coordinated investigations, cross training of personnel and joint educational outreach events.
“Our partnership with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission helps us work across federal agencies to ensure workers are treated fairly, paid fairly and do not have to fear retaliation when demanding the workplace protections that federal labor laws such as the PUMP Act require,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman.
The division and the EEOC enforce the PUMP Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, both signed into law on Dec. 29, 2022, by President Biden. The agencies combined their efforts on several events to raise public awareness of these new laws and will partner on future engagements as part of the new agreement.
“The EEOC is pleased to expand our integral partnership with the Wage and Hour Division to better serve America’s workers,” said Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “This collaboration will further effective outreach and enforcement with respect to the federal laws that advance equal employment opportunity and fair pay, including the recently enacted PUMP Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect in December 2022.”
Wage and Hour Division enforces minimum wage, overtime, child labor and workplace protections for nursing parents as well as other federal labor laws. Learn more about the PUMP Act and other laws enforced by the division or contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Calls can be answered in over 200 languages regardless of where you are from.
