The United States Department of Labor administers and enforces laws that cover workplace activities. In total, DOL oversees more than 180 laws. Some of the key federal labor and employment laws are included herein (see Tab above), as well as information on how to find recently proposed laws and federal legislative history. If you would like information about the regulations that DOL uses to implement these laws, please see the "Regulations" page of this LibGuide.
The Department of Labor has information about the U.S. Code provisions that are commonly referenced in litigation before the Office of the Administrative Law Judge and Boards on its website. The DOL website also has a helpful summary of major U.S.D.O.L. laws, linked here. Other provisions can be found in the resources below.
Office of the Law Revision Counsel - This office prepares the United States Code and provides a free version on its website.
Govinfo.gov - A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office. Also includes links to House and Senate bills, the Code of Federal Regulations, and more.
Lexis - For Labor titles, go to Practice Areas, Labor & Employment, USCS - Labor - Titles 5, 8, 26, 29, 30, 39, and 42
Westlaw - Go to Statutes & Court Rules, then scroll down to "Topical" and click "Labor & Employment". Note: you can get into statutes and court rules by going through the Practice Center, but the Labor & Employment materials are broken out into a few different practice areas.
BloombergLaw - When you sign in, go to the hamburger menu in the top left corner, then Laws & Regulations, then U.S. Code.
Below are some of the most influential labor laws in the U.S. Code.
National Labor Relations Act
Pub. L. No. 74-198, 49 Stat. 449 (1935); 29 U.S.C. §§151-169
Also called the Wagner Act, this law created the National Labor Relations Board, and guarantees the right of private sector employees to unionize and bargain collectively with their employers.
Labor Management Relations Act
Pub. L. No. 80-101, 61 Stat. 136 (1947); 29 U.S.C. §§141-187
This law, also known as the Taft-Hartley Act, made major changes to the Wagner Act. The Taft-Hartley Act defined six new unfair labor practices, and provided that employees had the right not to participate in union activities, but that employees could be required to participate as a condition of employment. More information is here.
Norris-LaGuardia Act
The Act of March 23, 1932 (Ch. 90, 47 Stat. 70); 29 U.S.C. §§101-115
This law established the right of employees to form unions without employer interference.
Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
Pub. L. No. 86-257, 73 Stat. 519 (1959); 29 U.S.C. §§401-531
Also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act, this law regulates the relationship between a labor organization and its members.
Fair Labor Standards Act
Pub. L. No. 75-718, 52 Stat. 1060 (1932); 29 U.S.C. §§201-219
Several resources for finding proposed and pending legislation are available to GMU law school faculty and students.
ProQuest Congressional - Offers a comprehensive collection of Congressional documents.
Govinfo.gov - A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office. Also includes links to the U.S. Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, and more.
Lexis - Go to Sources, then view all sources, then search within sources on Congress
Westlaw - From the main page, go to Proposed & Enacted Legislation
BloombergLaw- When you sign in, go to the hamburger menu in the top left corner, then Laws & Regulations, then Legislative Resources.
To find the legislative histories for DOL and other federal laws, as well as additional resources for finding federal legislative information, see the GMU Law Library's Federal Legislative History LibGuide.
