Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, review Chapters 22 to 26 of the textbook and research the employment laws for the state that you reside in. These can usually be found on your state’s Department of Labor website (visit the U.S. Department of Labor State Labor OfficesLinks to an external site. webpage if needed for a list of these).
Federal law provides the primary source of regulations that apply to employee rights, wages, benefits, and working conditions. Another major source of employment law comes from state law. While states must follow federal law, each state has its own set of laws relating to fair employment and workplace safety. However, these protections can vary greatly from state to state, as some are more “worker-friendly" than others.
Some states may also offer worker protections through a Human Rights Office. Then address the following questions:
- Briefly describe additional employment laws or rights that your state has in addition to federal law.
- Discuss whether you believe the employment laws in your state provide more benefit to workers or businesses. Explain why. To support your answer, you may need to compare the employment rights in your state to a state which has different laws.
- In your opinion, are state employment laws necessary to provide fair working conditions (wages, benefits, safe environment, etc.) for employees? Or do these regulations create an undue burden on employers? Explain your answer.
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State Labor O�ces
Commissioners, Directors, and Secretaries Below is a list of each state and their labor o�ice contact information.
AL | AK | AR | AZ | CA | CT | CO | DC | DE | FL | GA | GU | HI | IA | ID | IL | IN | KS | KY | LA | MA | MD | ME | MI | MN | MO | MP | MS | MT | NE | NC | ND | NH | NJ | NM | NV | NY | OH | OK | OR | PA | PR | RI | SC | SD | TN | TX | UT | VA | VI | VT | WA | WI | WV | WY
Contact information for state labor o�ices
State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Alabama Fitzgerald Washington Commissioner Alabama Department of Labor 649 Monroe St Montgomery, AL 36131
334-309-9000 www.labor.alabama.gov
Alaska Dr. Tamika Ledbetter Commissioner Department of Labor and Workforce Development PO Box 11149 Juneau, AK 99811-1149
907-465-2700 Fax: 907-465-2784
www.labor.state.ak.us [email protected]
Arizona Lisa Padgett Director Industrial Commission of Arizona 800 W Washington St Phoenix, AZ 85007
602-542-4661 Fax: 602-542-8097
www.azica.gov
https://www.azica.gov/divisions/labor- department
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Wage and Hour Division
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Arkansas Ralph T. Hudson Director, Division of Labor Arkansas Department of Labor & Licensing 900 West Capital Ave Ste 400 Little Rock, AR 72201
501-682-4500 Fax: 501-682-4535
www.labor.arkansas.gov [email protected]
California Lilia Garcia- Brower 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1302 Oakland, CA 94612
833-LCO-INFO (833-526-4636)
www.dir.ca.gov/contactus.html
Colorado Joe Barela Executive Director Department of Labor and Employment 633 17th St Suite 201 Denver, CO 80202-3660
303-318-8441 Fax: 303-318-8400
Connecticut Dante Bartolomeo Commissioner Department of Labor 200 Folly Brook Blvd Wethersfield, CT 06109-1114
860-263-6000 www.ct.gov/dol
Delaware Julie Petro� Director Division of Industrial A�airs 4425 N Market St 4th Floor Wilmington, DE 19802
302-761-8176 Fax: 302-761-6621
www.labor.delaware.gov
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
District of Columbia
Dr. Unique N. Morris- Hughes Director Department of Employment Services 4058 Minnesota Ave NE Washington, DC 20019
Hnin Khaing Director DC O�ice of Human Rights 441 4th St NW Suite 570 North Washington, DC 20001
202-671-1900 Fax: 202-673-6993
202-727-4559 Fax: 202-727-9589
www.does.dc.gov
ohr.dc.gov
Florida Dane Eagle Executive Director Florida Department of Economic Opportunity 107 E Madison St Tallahassee, FL 32399
850-245-7105 www.floridajobs.org
Georgia Mark Butler Commissioner Department of Labor 148 Andrew Young International Blvd NE Atlanta, GA 30303
404-232-3000 www.dol.state.ga.us
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Hawaii Anne E. Perreira- Eustaquio Director Department of Labor & Industrial Relations Princess Ruth Ke'elikolani Building 830 Punchbowl St Honolulu, HI 96813
808-586-8844 www.labor.hawaii.gov
Idaho Jani Revier Director Idaho Department of Labor 317 W Main St Boise, ID 83735
208-332-3570 www.labor.idaho.gov
Illinois Jane Flanagan Acting Director Department of Labor 160 N LaSalle St 13th Floor Suite C-1300 Chicago, IL 60601
312-793-2800 www2.illinois.gov/idol
Indiana David Redden Commissioner Department of Labor 402 W. Washington St Room W195 Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-232-2655 Fax: 317-233-3790
www.in.gov/dol
Iowa Rod Roberts Labor Commissioner Iowa Division of Labor 150 Des Moines Street Des Moines, IA 50309-1836
515-242-5870 Fax: 515-281-7995
www.iowadivisionoflabor.gov
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Kansas Amber Shultz Secretary Department of Labor 401 SW Topeka Blvd Topeka, KS 66603-3182
785-296-5000 www.dol.ks.gov
Kentucky Secretary Jamie Link 500 Mero Street, 3rd Floor Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
502-564-5550 (workers compensation)
502-564-3534 (wage and hour)
www.labor.ky.gov
Louisiana Ava Cates Executive Director Louisiana Workforce Commission 1001 N 23rd St Baton Rouge, LA 70802
225-342-3111 www2.laworks.net
Maine Laura Fortman Commissioner Department of Labor 45 Commerce Dr Augusta, ME 04333
207-623-7900 www.maine.gov/labor
Maryland Ti�any P. Robinson Secretary Department of Labor 1100 North Eutaw Street Baltimore, MD 21201
410-230-6020 Fax: 410-333-0853
www.labor.maryland.gov
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Massachusetts Lauren Moran Chief
Rosalin Acosta Secretary Executive O�ice of Labor & Workforce Development One Ashburton Pl Room 2112 Boston, MA 02108
617-626-7100 Fax: 617-727-1090
www.mass.gov/eolwd
Michigan Susan Corbin Director Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity 611 W. Ottawa Lansing, MI 48909
517-284-7800 www.michigan.gov/leo
Minnesota Nicole Blissenbach Temp Commissioner Department of Labor and Industry 443 Lafayette Rd N St. Paul, MN 55155
651-284-5005 www.dli.mn.gov
Mississippi Robert Stewart Interim Executive Director Department of Employment Security 1235 Echelon Pkwy PO Box 1699 Jackson, MS 39215-1699
601-321-6000 www.mdes.ms.gov
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Missouri Anna Hui Director Labor and Industrial Relations Commission 421 E Dunklin St PO Box 504 Je�erson City, MO 65102- 0504
573-751-4091 Fax: 573-751-4135
www.labor.mo.gov
diro�[email protected]
Montana Brenda Nordlund Commissioner Department of Labor and Industry PO Box 1728 Helena, MT 59624-1728
406-444-2840 www.dli.mt.gov
Nebraska John Albin Commissioner Department of Labor 550 S 16th St PO Box 94600 Lincoln, NE 68508-4600
402-471-2275 www.dol.nebraska.gov
Nevada Shannon Chambers Commissioner 3300 West Sahara Avenue, Suite 225 Las Vegas, NV 89102
702-486-2650 Fax: 702-486-2660
labor.nv.gov
New Hampshire
Ken Merrifield Commissioner Department of Labor 95 Pleasant St Concord, NH 03301
603-271-3176 www.nh.gov/labor/
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
New Jersey Robert Asaro- Angelo Commissioner Department of Labor and Workforce Development 1 John Fitch Plaza 13th Floor, Suite D PO Box 110 Trenton, NJ 08625-0110
609-292-1704 (wage and hour) https://www.nj.gov/labor/
New Mexico Sarita Nair Secretary Department of Workforce Solutions 401 Broadway Blvd NE PO Box 1928 Albuquerque, NM 87103
505-841-8405 www.dws.state.nm.us
New York Roberta Reardon Commissioner Department of Labor State O�ice Bldg # 12 W.A. Harriman Campus Albany, NY 12240
518-457-9000 www.labor.ny.gov
North Carolina
Josh Dobson Commissioner Department of Labor 4 W Edenton St Raleigh, NC 27601
800-625-2267 www.labor.nc.gov
11/6/2023 State Labor Offices | U.S. Department of Labor
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
North Dakota Nathan Svihovec Commissioner North Dakota Department of Labor 600 E Boulevard Ave Dept 406 Bismarck, ND 58505-0340
701-328-2660 Fax: 701-328-2031
www.nd.gov/labor
Ohio Sheryl Maxfield Director Department of Commerce 77 S High St 20th Floor Columbus, OH 43215
614-728-1949 com.ohio.gov
Oklahoma Leslie Osborn Commissioner Department of Labor 409 NE 28th St 3rd Floor Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-521-6100 Fax: 405-521-6018
www.labor.ok.gov
Oregon Val Hoyle Commissioner Bureau of Labor and Industries 800 NE Oregon St #1045 Portland, OR 97232
971-245-3844 www.oregon.gov/boli
Pennsylvania Jennifer Berrier Secretary Department of Labor and Industry 651 Boas St 1700 Labor and Industry Bldg Harrisburg, PA 17121
717-787-5279 www.dli.pa.gov
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Rhode Island Matthew Weldon Director Department of Labor and Training 1511 Pontiac Ave Cranston, RI 02920
401-462-8550 (labor standards) www.dlt.ri.gov
South Carolina
Emily Farr Director Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulations 110 Centerview Dr Columbia, SC 29210
803-896-4300 www.llr.state.sc.us
South Dakota Marcia Hultman Secretary Department of Labor and Regulation 123 W Missouri Ave Pierre, SD 57501
605-773-3101 Fax: 605-773-6184
www.dlr.sd.gov
Tennessee Deniece Thomas Commissioner Department of Labor & Workforce Development 220 French Landing Dr Nashville, TN 37243
844-224-5818 www.tn.gov/workforce
Texas Julian Alvarez Commissioner Representing Labor Texas Workforce Commission 101 E 15th St Room 651 Austin, TX 78778
800-628-5115 www.twc.state.tx.us
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Utah Jaceson Maughan Commissioner Utah Labor Commission 160 E 300 S 3rd Floor Salt Lake City, UT 84111- 6600
801-530-6800 www.laborcommission.utah.gov
Vermont Michael A. Harrington Commissioner Department of Labor 5 Green Mountain Dr PO Box 488 Montpelier, VT 05601-0488
802-828-4000 www.labor.vermont.gov
Virginia Gary G. Pan Commissioner Department of Labor and Industry 600 E Main St Suite 207 Richmond, VA 23219-4101
804-371-2327 Fax: 804-371-6524
www.doli.Virginia.gov
Washington Joel Sacks Director Department of Labor and Industries 7273 Linderson Way SW Tumwater, WA 98501-5414
360-902-5800 www.lni.wa.gov
West Virginia Mitchell Woodrum Commissioner Division of Labor 1900 Kanawha Blvd State Capitol Complex Building #3 Room 200 Charleston, WV 25305
304-558-7890 labor.wv.gov
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Wisconsin Amy Pechacek Transition Director Department of Workforce Development 201 E Washington Ave #A400 Madison, WI 53703
PO Box 7946 Madison, WI 53707-7946
608-266-3131 dwd.wisconsin.gov
Wyoming John Cox Director Department of Workforce Services 5221 Yellowstone Road Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-8650 www.wyomingworkforce.org
Guam George A. Santos Director Department of Labor 414 West Soledad Avenue Suite 808 GCIC Building Hagatna, GU 96910
671-475-7044 www.dol.guam.gov
Northern Mariana Islands
Vicky Benavente Secretary of Labor 1356 Mednilla Avenue Capitol Hill P.O. Box 1007 Saipan, MP 96950
670-664-3196 www.marianaslabor.net
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State Name and Address
Phone Number Websites / Email
Puerto Rico Gabriel Maldonado- González Secretary Department of Labor and Human Resources Edificio Prudencio Rivera Martinez 505 Muniz Rivera Ave Hato Rey, PR 00918
787-754-2120 www.trabajo.pr.gov
Virgin Islands Gary Molloy Commissioner Department of Labor 4401 Sion Farm STE 1 Christiansted, VI 00820-4245
St. Croix: 340-773-1994 St. Thomas: 340-776-3700
www.vidol.gov
Last updated January 2023.