U.S. Department of Labor

Ky. unemployment lowest in 4 years   For the first time in more than four years, Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate dropped below 8 percent to 7.9 percent in January 2013, according to the Office of Employment and...

Annette Walter was chief operating officer of a fast-growing Baltimore real estate company. Her husband, Shawn, a former construction project manager, had launched a successful career in sales. But in March, the Hunt Valley couple walked away from the...

Maryland employers slashed 6,200 jobs in April, cutting short a string of gains, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday, as the state began feeling the pinch of federal budget sequestration and cutbacks in consumer spending. But the government's...

In 1986, lawmakers decided the problem of illegal immigration had to be dealt with. More than 3 million people were living in the United States after crossing the border illegally or overstaying their visas. A new law signed by President Ronald Reagan...

The fight over the federal minimum wage is coming to Baltimore. The head of the U.S. Department of Labor plans to swing into town Tuesday to talk to low-wage workers about how they make — or don't make — ends meet. Seth D. Harris, the agency'...

State corrections secretary Gary D. Maynard ordered polygraph tests Friday of top administrators and "integrity reviews" of every employee at the Baltimore City Detention Center in an effort to root out corruption at the jail. Maynard has moved his...

Key elements of the state’s unemployment program violate civil rights laws and must be changed, the U.S. Labor Department has determined in a preliminary report. The provisions require laid-off workers to complete an online skills test before...

Key elements of the state's unemployment program violate civil-rights laws and must be changed, the U.S. Labor Department has determined in a preliminary report. The provisions require laid-off workers to complete an online skills test before being...

Maryland employers added 4,700 jobs in March, gains driven by the private sector, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated Friday. It was the fourth straight month of increases, though at a lower level than the previous three. The expansion brought...

WASHINGTON — President Obama's pick for Labor secretary, Thomas E. Perez, emerged unscathed Thursday from a Senate confirmation hearing that was more perfunctory than contentious. Conservatives have been critical of Perez, the administration's top...

Thomas E. Perez, the former Maryland labor secretary nominated to lead the U.S. Department of Labor, faced pointed questions at his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday about whether politics influenced his decisions as the top civil rights attorney in...

Just as they did when Thomas E. Perez was nominated to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Republicans are seeking to hold up his confirmation to head the U.S. Department of Labor, using any excuse they can think up, no matter how flimsy....