The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry is the executive branch agency of the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

responsible for administering labor and employment laws and programs in the U.S. state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Background

Established by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

in 1898, the agency is headquartered in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

and is overseen by the

Virginia Secretary of Labor The secretary of labor is a member of the Virginia Governor's Cabinet. , the office is vacant pending confirmation of Secretary-designate G. Bryan Slater. It was established in 2021. List of secretaries of labor * Megan Healy (2021–2022) * G ...

, with day-to-day operations led by an agency commissioner appointed by the

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

. The mission of the agency is "to make Virginia a better place in which to work, live, and conduct business." Departments and divisions within the agency include a Labor Law Division, Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) Compliance, and Boiler Safety Compliance Division. The agency administers occupational health and safety programs, and funds registered apprenticeship and job training programs in the state. The agency also administers

child labor Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, and other labor laws. The Virginia Apprenticeship Council and the Safety and Health Codes Board are the advisory bodies formally constituted in the

Code of Virginia The Code of Virginia is the statutory law of the U.S. state of Virginia, and consists of the codified legislation of the Virginia General Assembly. The 1950 Code of Virginia is the revision currently in force. The previous official versions were ...

which are affiliated with the agency. The agency is currently led by Gary G. Pan, who has served as commissioner since 2022.

External links

Agency Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virginia Department of Labor and Industry Labor and Industry 1898 establishments in Virginia Government agencies established in 1898