United States Secretary of Labor

The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies.

United States Secretary of Labor
Seal of the department
Flag of the secretary
Incumbent Lori Chavez-DeRemer since March 11, 2025
United States Department of Labor
Style	Madam Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Member of	Cabinet
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Frances Perkins Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	29 U.S.C. § 551
Precursor	Secretary of Commerce and Labor
Formation	March 4, 1913; 112 years ago (March 4, 1913)
First holder	William B. Wilson
Succession	Eleventh[1]
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of Labor
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I
Website	dol.gov

Formerly, there was a Department of Commerce and Labor. That department split into two in 1913. The Department of Commerce is headed by the secretary of commerce.

Secretary of labor is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule,^[2] thus earning a salary of $221,400 as of January 2021.^[3]

Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been appointed as secretary since March 11, 2025 by President Donald J. Trump.

List of secretaries of labor

Parties

  Democratic (13)   Republican (17)

Status

  Acting Secretary of Labor

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
1		William Wilson	Pennsylvania	March 6, 1913	March 4, 1921		Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
2		James J. Davis	Pennsylvania	March 5, 1921	November 30, 1930		Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
							Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
							Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)
3		William N. Doak	Virginia	December 9, 1930	March 4, 1933
4		Frances Perkins	New York	March 4, 1933	June 30, 1945		Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
							Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
5		Lewis B. Schwellenbach	Washington	July 1, 1945	June 10, 1948
6		Maurice J. Tobin	Massachusetts	August 13, 1948	January 20, 1953
7		Martin Durkin	Maryland	January 21, 1953	September 10, 1953		Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
8		James P. Mitchell	New Jersey	October 9, 1953	January 20, 1961
9		Arthur Goldberg	Illinois	January 21, 1961	September 20, 1962		John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
10		W. Willard Wirtz	Illinois	September 25, 1962	January 20, 1969
							Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
11		George P. Shultz	Illinois	January 22, 1969	July 1, 1970		Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
12		James Hodgson	California	July 2, 1970	February 1, 1973
13		Peter J. Brennan	New York	February 2, 1973	March 15, 1975
							Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
14		John Dunlop	Massachusetts	March 18, 1975	January 31, 1976
15		William Usery Jr.	Georgia	February 10, 1976	January 20, 1977
16		Ray Marshall	Texas	January 27, 1977	January 20, 1981		Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
17		Raymond J. Donovan	New Jersey	February 4, 1981	March 15, 1985		Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
18		Bill Brock	Tennessee	April 29, 1985	October 31, 1987
19		Ann Dore McLaughlin	District of Columbia	December 17, 1987	January 20, 1989
20		Elizabeth Dole	Kansas	January 25, 1989	November 23, 1990		George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
21		Lynn Martin	Illinois	February 22, 1991	January 20, 1993
22		Robert Reich	Massachusetts	January 22, 1993	January 20, 1997		Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
23		Alexis Herman	Alabama	May 1, 1997	January 20, 2001
24		Elaine Chao	Kentucky	January 29, 2001	January 20, 2009		George W. Bush (2001–2009)
–		Howard Radzely	Pennsylvania	January 20, 2009	February 2, 2009		Barack Obama (2009–2017)
–		Ed Hugler	Pennsylvania	February 2, 2009	February 24, 2009
25		Hilda Solis	California	February 24, 2009	January 23, 2013
–		Seth Harris	New York	January 22, 2013	July 23, 2013
26		Tom Perez	Maryland	July 23, 2013	January 20, 2017
–		Ed Hugler	Pennsylvania	January 20, 2017	April 27, 2017		Donald Trump (2017–2021)
27		Alexander Acosta	Florida	April 28, 2017	July 19, 2019
–		Patrick Pizzella	Virginia	July 20, 2019	September 30, 2019
28		Eugene Scalia	Virginia	September 30, 2019	January 20, 2021
–		Al Stewart	Virginia	January 20, 2021	March 23, 2021		Joe Biden (2021–2025)
29		Marty Walsh	Massachusetts	March 23, 2021	March 11, 2023
–		Julie Su	California	March 11, 2023	January 20, 2025
–		Vince Micone		January 20, 2025	March 11, 2025		Donald Trump (2025–present)
30		Lori Chavez-DeRemer	Oregon	March 11, 2025	Present

Line of succession

The former flag of the U.S. Secretary of Labor, used from 1915 to 1960.

The line of succession for the Secretary of Labor is as follows:^[4]

1. Deputy Secretary of Labor
2. Solicitor of Labor
3. Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management
4. Assistant Secretary for Policy
5. Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
6. Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training
7. Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security
8. Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health
9. Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health
10. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
11. Chief Financial Officer
12. Administrator, Wage and Hour Division
13. Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training
14. Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy
15. Deputy Solicitor of Labor (First Assistant of the Solicitor of Labor)
16. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy (First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Policy)
17. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs (First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs)
18. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training (First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training)
19. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy (First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security)
20. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health (First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health)
21. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health (First Assistant of the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health)
22. Regional Solicitor—Dallas
23. Regional Administrator for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management—Region VI/Dallas

Secretary succession

If none of the above officials are available to serve as Acting Secretary of Labor, the Designated Secretarial Designee assumes interim operational control over the Department, except the Secretary's non-delegable responsibilities.

1. Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
2. Director of the Women's Bureau
3. Regional Administrator, Employment and Training Administration—Dallas
4. Regional Administration, Occupational Safety and Health Administration—Dallas

See also

• United States Deputy Secretary of Labor
• United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General