Looking Toward Your Future at DOL...The Quality Work Place
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The success of American companies in the 21st century may rest on adopting an organizational culture and work place that support employees at work and help them deal with the competing demands of life outside work. The Department of Labor is at the forefront in leading the nation's workforce in the 21st century. We make sure that our work places support families, respect diversity, and promote a team work environment.
Why work for DOL?
We are creating a Labor Department for the new American workforce and the next American century. Our goals are clear: a prepared workforce...a secure workforce...and quality workplaces.
The Department of Labor strives to set the standard for a model workplace among government agencies and the best employers anywhere by offering a menu of flexible options, services and opportunities, all designed to meet your individual needs. DOL recognizes the demands of family/personal life and work are constantly competing for attention. Concerns about quality child and elder care arrangements may be a daily worry for some. Others may seek flexibilities to enhance their lifestyles and/or seek opportunities to improve their skills and advance their careers. Through provision of broad array of family-friendly programs, flexible options, and services benefiting our employees, DOL is committed to creating a healthy workplace that supports our employees and maximizes individual potential.
And, with our many locations throughout the United States, including Guam and Puerto Rico, you can work virtually anywhere in the United States.
DOL's Quality Work Place Guide A-Z:
- Alternative Work Schedule, Part-time Employment, and Job Sharing Opportunities — Eighty-five percent of the Department's employees participate in some type of flexible work schedule, called flexitime, which allows employees to accrue time for taking leave to attend to personal business. Flexitime enables employees to vary their arrival and departure times. Core hours are established for each office and credit time may be earned. Credit time earned in one pay period may be used as time off in another. DOL also offers opportunities for part-time work and job sharing.
- Assistive Services and Technology — Through a Central Office of Assistive Services and Technology, DOL assists and coordinates services and technical support for providing access and reasonable accommodations to DOL clients and employees with disabilities.
- Awards and Recognition — DOL recognizes the contributions of its employees in numerous ways. Our employees are eligible for monetary and/or non-monetary recognition such as Support Staff Day and the Secretary's Annual Honor Awards Programs for individual or team accomplishments that contribute to meeting the Department's goals.
- Career Assistance and Lifelong Learning — DOL is a lifelong learning organization. We promote and encourage a variety of programs that foster self-improvement, training, and career advancement.
- Career Assistance Center — Our comprehensive career assistance centers offer career development workshops, career counseling, automated resources, scholarship consultation services, job-lead development services, continuous learning library exchange, career education and retraining, and linkage to other resources such as the State employment services. Centers are available at headquarters and in each of our regional offices.
- Continuous Learning and Career Management Center — Continuous Learning and Career Management Center provides information about professional development services, such as career counseling, development, and training; programs, such as formal and informal classes; and resources, such as publications available through libraries or online. By way of long-standing interdepartmental cooperation, DOL employees can also take advantage of career development and training programs available through other government agencies.
- Virtual Learning — DOL Online University offers alternative to traditional classroom training and education. Personal and professional skills are enhanced using interactive multimedia tools. These tools deliver web-based learning to your desktop or laptop through two DOL Online University sites.
- Dependent Care - Child Care, Elder Care, and Special Needs — DOL is a long time supporter of employees with dependent care needs and offers various service and programs to support child care needs of DOL employees.
- Child Care Subsidy Program — In keeping with DOL's commitment to foster a quality work place for all its employees, DOL provides a child care subsidy to lower income DOL families to assist them in their efforts to obtain quality, licensed day care for dependent children through the age of 13 and disabled children through the age of 18.
- On-Site Child Care and Development Centers — DOL was one of the first federal agencies to establish an onsite day-care center. On-Site Child Care and Development Centers are available to our employees in some locations nationwide. Onsite or near-site day-care centers also are available in many of the Department's regional locations.
- Dependent Care Research and Referral — DOL's prepaid life events management service offers extensive services help with prenatal planning; adoption preparation; child care; school profiling; college and financial aid planning; adult care; and temporary or specialized care for dependents of all ages. This service lessens the time and stress associated with caring for loved ones and to relieve the tension between home obligations and work responsibilities. It serves those employees with dependent care needs as well as those without any care giving responsibilities who may need assistance locating a support group or balancing their work and personal lives.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) — DOL offers an employee assistance program (EAP) — a free, confidential and professionally staffed service -- which is available to help employees resolve personal problems that may adversely impact their job performance, attendance, and/or conduct. Such personal problems may include emotional, alcohol and drug-related, family and relationship, and/or financial issues. The EAP can help by providing high-quality problem assessment, short-term counseling and/or referral to appropriate community treatment resources, and follow-up. (The cost of care by a community treatment resource is the employee's responsibility.)
- Fitness Centers — Fitness is an important part of staying healthy and productive at work and at home. The Department of Labor Fitness Center, in the Frances Perkins Building, Washington, D.C., was established in 1988 to help reduce stress and improve the health of employees. Center memberships are available to eligible employees and contractors for a nominal fee. Employee memberships can be paid through payroll deductions. Regional facilities, sometimes shared with other federal agencies, can be found in some of the regional locations. In the regional offices, employees may be eligible for fitness subsidies to assist with their fitness center membership dues.
- Flexiplace (Telework) — Consistent with work requirements, DOL offers employees opportunities to perform work from an alternate location (e.g., home) other than their traditional office or location where work is typically performed.
- Health Services — A variety of basic health services are available to DOL employees either at on-site health units, such as in the national office or through local health units in the regional cities. Some of the basic health services include: assessment, treatment, counseling and referral for minor illnesses and injuries; immunizations; and health screening programs.
- Leave Programs
- Leave Bank Program — The Leave Bank is a pooled fund of donated annual leave. This pooled leave is then available for use by Bank members who need such leave because of a medical emergency. The Leave Bank Program permits DOL employees to join a bank and donate one pay periods leave accrual in order to apply for leave in the event of a medical emergency.
- Voluntary Leave Transfer Program — The Voluntary Leave Transfer Program permits DOL employees to donate annual leave to other specifically identified employees who need such leave because of a medical emergency.
- Student Loan Repayment Program — In certain cases, to enable DOL Agencies to recruit or retain highly qualified employees for hard-to-fill positions, DOL can provide assistance to employees with paying off their student loans.
- Transit Subsidy — DOL provides a transit subsidy to DOL employees to encourage the use of public transportation.
- Volunteerism Initiatives — DOL has a long history of volunteer and community outreach efforts. From Adopt-a-School Programs to food and clothing drives and Red Cross Blood Drive, DOL employees generously give back to their local communities.
