The Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor is an elective
executive officer
An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...
of the
State of Oklahoma. The Labor Commissioner serves as the head of the
Oklahoma Department of Labor. The Labor Commissioner is responsible for supervising the administration of all state laws relating to labor and workplace safety and gathers and publishes information about the workforce of Oklahoma.
Until his death in August, 2015, the Labor Commissioner was
Mark Costello, a Republican, who defeated the incumbent
Lloyd Fields
Lloyd L. Fields (born September 10, 1957) is an American politician who was Oklahoma Labor Commissioner, Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor from 2007 to 2011. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he was elected in 2006, receiving 456,373 vo ...
, a
Democrat in the November 2010 election. In November 2015, Oklahoma Governor
Mary Fallin appointed Melissa McLawhorn Houston to serve out the remainder of Costello’s term. Houston did not seek reelection to the position in the 2018 election, and was succeeded as Commissioner by
Leslie Osborn
Leslie Osborn (born October 17, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Oklahoma Labor Commissioner, Oklahoma labor commissioner. She was previously a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2008 to 2018.
Early life and care ...
.
History
The Oklahoma Department of Labor was created by the
Oklahoma Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th U.S. state. At its ratification, the Oklahoma ...
in 1907. In August of that year, delegates from the
labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s of the Twin-Territorial Federation of Labor, the State Farmers' Union and the Railroad Brotherhoods met in
Shawnee, Oklahoma, to formulate a list of demands for the upcoming constitutional convention. One demand called for the establishment of a State Labor Department.
Consequently, when the new state constitution was ratified by the delegates to the constitutional convention in 1907, the Oklahoma Department of Labor was created, with the Labor Commissioner as its head. The Labor Commissioner is responsible for the enforcement of labor laws that promote fairness and equity in the workforce, including state wage laws, workers' compensation compliance, state OSHA laws for public employers, asbestos compliance, child labor laws and various other duties.
The office of the Labor Commissioner has been both appointive and elective at various times in Oklahoma's history.
Term of office
The Labor Commissioner serves as four-year term that runs concurrent with that of the
Governor of Oklahoma.
Powers and responsibilities
The Oklahoma Constitution sets two responsibilities for the Labor Commissioner: (1) serve as the head of the Department of Labor and (2) serve as the chairman of the Board of Arbitration and Conciliation in the Department of Labor. As such, the vast majority of the Labor Commissioner's responsibilities are determined by acts of the
Oklahoma Legislature.
As the head of the Labor Department, the Labor Commissioner is the
chief executive officer of the Department and supervises the work of that Department. In doing so, the Labor Commissioner is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of workers, to improve working conditions of workers, to advance opportunities of workers for profitable employment, and for carrying into effect all laws in relation to labor enacted by the Legislature. In performing his official duties, the Labor Commissioner may administer oaths, issue
subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and take testimony in all matters relating to the proper enforcement of all laws over which the Commissioner has supervision of.
Office holders
The following is an incomplete list of those individuals who have served as Labor Commissioner for Oklahoma:
See also
*
United States Department of Labor
*
Oklahoma Department of Labor
External links
Oklahoma Department of Labor official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labor Commissioner
*