Secretary's Message

I am pleased to submit the tenth annual Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) Performance and Accountability Report to Congress and the American people. Work in the United States is evolving rapidly with demographic trends, technological advances, and international competition. To help workers succeed in the midst of change and economic uncertainty, the Department must anticipate new trends and adopt effective strategies. With that in mind, we set out to modernize the Department – to transform DOL into a more effective and efficient government agency that delivers benefits for its customers and stakeholders alike. During my tenure as Secretary of Labor, the Department responded in many new and innovative ways to the challenges of the 21 st Century. Four examples of progress stand out. First, the Department successfully updated the 50‐year‐old white‐collar overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide millions of low‐wage vulnerable workers with strengthened overtime protections. Second, DOL achieved the first major update of union financial disclosure regulations in more than 40 years, giving union members enhanced information on how their hard‐earned dues are spent. Third, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 complements the Department's record enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and achieves the President's goals of stronger funding and greater transparency of our pension system, including important reforms to expand retirement security and protect workers in defined contribution plans. And fourth, the Department has been privileged to assist our returning veterans, who have fought so bravely to defend our freedom at home and throughout the world. Among our actions, the Department published the first‐ever regulations implementing the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, launched ReaLifelines to provide one‐on‐one services to seriously wounded service members, initiated the HireVetsFirst campaign, and, this past August, inaugurated America's Heroes at Work, which focuses on the challenges of returning service members with Traumatic Brain Injury and Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Program Performance Overview in the Management's Discussion and Analysis section of this report includes many more examples that highlight the impact DOL programs have had on individuals over the last seven years. This report documents the latest evidence of the Department's transformation with program and financial performance results. While the Department did not meet all of its 2008 goals, we are continuing to focus on improving program performance. Organized by types of workers we serve, the following is a summary of our performance …