The Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor is an elective executive officer of the

State of Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

. The Labor Commissioner serves as the head of the

Oklahoma Department of Labor The Oklahoma Department of Labor (ODOL) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma that is headed by the Oklahoma Labor Commissioner, a statewide elected position. ODOL is responsible for supervising the administration of all state laws relatin ...

. 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, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

in the November 2010 election. In November 2015, Oklahoma Governor

Mary Fallin Mary Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She was the first and s ...

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.

History

The Oklahoma Department of Labor was created by the Oklahoma Constitution in 1907. In August of that year, delegates from the labor unions of the Twin-Territorial Federation of Labor, the State Farmers' Union and the Railroad Brotherhoods met in

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical ...

, 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 The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the '' ex of ...

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 The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

. As the head of the Labor Department, the Labor Commissioner is the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

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 A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

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:

External links

Oklahoma Department of Labor official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labor Commissioner *

History

Term of office

Powers and responsibilities

Office holders

See also

External links