On Labor Day and beyond, Kansas and the whole US prosper when workers are protected | Opinion

Labor Day began as a federal holiday to honor our nation’s workers and to remember those in the labor movement who came to their defense over a century ago. They demanded that workers’ economic contributions be recognized, and that people had safe workplaces, received fair wages and had opportunities to succeed. In 1894, President Grover Cleveland took an important step and declared the first Monday in every September since to be Labor Day.

For those of us at the U.S. Department of Labor, every day is Labor Day. Thousands of people throughout the nation and here in Kansas work hard each day on behalf of working people. We help make sure people have access to training programs and good jobs in their communities, and enforce laws that protect workers’ rights, wages, safety, health and earned benefits. From 2023 through June 30, 2024, your Labor Department has:

• Recovered $3,211,040 in wages for workers whose employers failed to follow the law.
• Recovered $5,038,150 in lost employee benefits in health care and retirement programs.

Your federal Labor Department has also:

• Conducted 518 safety and health inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to protect workers on the job.

• Issued 554 violations following Mine Safety and Health Administration investigations to protect miners on the job since Jan. 1, 2024.

Your Labor Department invested nearly $20 million in active grants in Kansas to expand Registered Apprenticeships, support safety and farm workers and to expand job training programs for youth and Native Americans that provide skills workers need to get good-paying jobs with benefits.

In 2024, your Labor Department has established new federal rules to protect workers that include:

• An overtime rule, effective July 1, 2024, increasing to $43,888 the annual salary one must earn to be exempt from overtime, in most jobs. On Jan. 1, 2025, that increases to $58,656 annually and requires salary adjustments every three years beginning in 2027.
• A rule that better protects workers from being misclassified as independent contractors and being denied full wages, benefits and protections.
• New regulations to protect miners from exposure to silica dust, a leading cause of lung disease and death.
• Regulations that require employers to allow an employee representative to accompany OSHA inspectors to protect workers’ interest.
• An H-2A farmworker protection final rule that protects temporary migrant workers from labor exploitation and human trafficking and adds safety requirements.
• A retirement security rule requiring investment advisers to have policies and procedures to avoid conflicts of interest and make sure they give investment advice in the best interest of growing and protecting their clients’ retirement funds.
• Proposed a rule to require employers to protect workers from excessive indoor and outdoor heat exposure.

We’re also addressing many other critical issues — such as pay inequity, access to affordable child care, workplace flexibility, paid leave and training — and working with employers, workers and local, state and federal leaders to build a 21st century workforce that leaves no one behind.

Your Labor Department remains committed, as it has since 1913, to fostering, promoting and developing the welfare of working people, improving their working conditions and enhancing their opportunities for profitable employment because we know when families succeed, communities thrive and the nation prospers overall.

Ruben R. Chapa is chair of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Executive Committee for the Chicago and Kansas City Region, and regional director of the Employee Benefits Security Administration.