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DOL Launches Expanded Compliance Outreach Initiative

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the creation of a new Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI) to promote greater understanding of federal labor laws and regulations, including those involving retirement security, health, and other employee benefits.

Established within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, the OCI will work with the enforcement agencies to refine their metrics to “ensure the efficacy” of the department’s compliance assistance activities, including:
 

  • facilitating and encouraging a culture that promotes compliance assistance within the DOL;
  • providing employers and workers with access to high-quality, up-to-date information about their obligations and rights under federal labor laws and re gulations;
  • assisting enforcement agencies in developing new strategies to use data for more impactful compliance and enforcement strategies; and
  • enhancing outreach to stakeholders for DOL’s enforcement agencies.

The OCI will also focus on helping enforcement agencies more effectively use online resources to deliver information and compliance assistance to individuals.

Part of this initiative is the launch of two websites — worker.gov and employer.gov — with resources to assess compliance with the law. Worker.gov provides a centralized base of information focused on federal worker protections. Employer.gov provides employers information about their responsibilities under federal laws and regulations.

DOL says that it expects more effective compliance assistance will help the department target enforcement resources on “repeat and willful violators.”