U.S. Department of Labor 2001-2009
On January 29, 2001, Elaine L. Chao became the 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor and the first Asian-Pacific American woman ever appointed to the President’s Cabinet in our nation’s history. The longest serving Secretary of Labor since World War II, she was the only Cabinet member to serve the entire eight years of President George W. Bush’s Administration. She was also the first Kentuckian to serve in the President’s cabinet in 46 years.
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Elaine L Chao being announced as the U.S. Secretary of Labor nominee by President-elect George W. Bush at Bush Transition headquarters, Washington, D.C.
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President George W. Bush being sworn in at the U.S. Capitol. Elain L. Chao and husband, Senator Mitch McConnel, seated to the left.
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Left to right: Vice President Dick Cheney, Elaine L. Chao, President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush at the head table at lunch hosted by Congress in Statutory Hall following the outdoors swearing-in ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol.
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Ceremonial swearing-in ceremony in Oval Office, The White Hous. L-R: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, President George W. Bush, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, Mrs. Ruth Chao, Sen. Mitch McConnel, and Dr. James S.C. Chao.
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President Bush's first cabinet- The Oval Office.
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Race for the Cure with Department of Labor colleagues in front of the Department of Labor.
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Race for the Cure. Secretary Chao with a young child.
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National summit on the 21st Century Workforce with President George W. Bush as keynote speaker.
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National summit on the 21st Century Workforce with President George W. Bush as keynote speaker.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao meeting on the topic of Americans with disabilities.
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President George W. Bush addresses the nation with his cabinet before August Congressional recess in the Rose Garden.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao visiting a Job Corps apprentice training center.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao reviewing and samplying various food booths an annual DOL Day.
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Elaine Chao spending some time with a future leader of America on DOL Day.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao meeting with a group of Department of Labor leaders.
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State of the Union address.
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President George W. Bush and Secretary Elaine L. Chao walking through the lobby of the Department of Labor building, Washington, D.C.
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President George W. Bush visiting the U.S. Department of Labor asking the Department professionals to help fellow Americans who've lost their jobs because of the attacks of September 11, 2001.
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First Friday of each month ritual: announcement of employment figures.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao being welcomed by New York's Chinatown which had been on the periphery of Ground Zero and also suffered significant job losses.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao joined by then New York Governor George Pataki being welcomed in Chinatown.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao greeting community leaders and a young admirer.
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Workforce Recovery Conference, Washington, D.C. Secretary of Commerce Don Evans, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta.
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Secretary Chao hosting a community event that celebrated the partnership between faith-based and community organizations and D.C. law enforcement to help ex-offenders gain employment and re-integrate into their communities.
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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month event with President George W. Bush at The White House.
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Secretary Chao and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Bolten volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity building site, Fairfax, VA.
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Signing of the Nurse Reinvestment Act. The Oval Office.
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Secretary Chao with a group of MSHA colleagues who participated in the successful rescue of nine miners at Quecreek, PA.
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President's Economic Forum, Waco, TX. Vice President Dick Cheney leading the panel discussion on "Improving Education & Helping Workers". L-R: Secretary of Education Rod Paige; Dr. Eduardo Padron, Vice President Cheney, Ms. Janet Baker, and Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.
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Secretary Chao announcing the resolution of the West Coast Ports dispute.
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A young worker showing Secretary Chao how to navigate "DisabilityInfo.gov" website to help Americans with Disabilities.
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Veterans Day commemoration at the Department of Labor. Assistant Secretary of Veterans Employment Traning Services, Chic Ciccollella at podium. Secretary Chao and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge standing.
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Second Cabinet photo, the main vestibule, The State Rooms Floor, The White House.
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Secretary Chao with Senators: Jim Talent, Olympia Snowe, Kit Bond promoting Association Health Plans which would allow small business employers to provide quality affordable health care for their employees.
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Strengthening America's Economy and Workforce: Secretary of the Treasury John Snow, Secretary of Commerce Don Evans, and Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.
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Crawford, TX. President Bush with his team of economic advisors. OMB Director Josh Bolten; NEC Director Stephen Friedman; Secretary of Commerce Don Evans; President Bush; Secretary Chao; Secretary of the Treasury John Snow.
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Secretary Chao with President George W. Bush walking toward Marine One on the White House South Lawn.
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Actor and singer Ricky Martin visits Secretary Chao to talk about how to help combat child labor.
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Actor and singer Ricky Martin visits Secretary Chao to talk about how to help combat child labor.
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Secretary Chao and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez sign an interdepartmental agreement to help reduce homelessness by promoting one-stop career centers employment services to homeless populations.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao visiting a DOL funded project for trafficked children in Krokrobite Village outside Accra, Ghana.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao, with the Iraqi Minister of Labor, inaugurating the MOLSA Baghdad Employment and Training Center funded in part by the U.S. Department of Labor to help reduce unemployment and bring stability to Iraq.
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Secretary Chao visiting an orphanage run by the Ministry of Labor in Baghdad and bringing a banner made by children at the Inian Hills Elementary School, Hopkinsville, KY.
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Secretary Chao visiting with Iraqi women at a Women and Democracy Center in Hilla, Iraq where many are learning computer skills.
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Secretary Chao with President George W. Bush and fellow cabinet members at a National Governors Association meeting.
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Secretary Chao speaking at the annual Opportunity Conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor to help underserved communities.
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Secretary Chao keynoting the Asian Pacific American Federal Career Advancement Summit hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor in partnership with U.S. Office of Personnel Management to help create a more diverse workforce.
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Secretary Chao speaking about retirement security and the need for social security reform at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Secretary Chao opening up a new one-stop career center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions and Governor BobRiley attending.
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Secretary Chao at the annual Congressional Spouses lunch with First Lady Laura Bush.
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Cabinet meeting.
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Secretary Chao and Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt promoting Medicare Part D to local communities.
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Secretary Chao, Secretary of Treasury John Snow, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Senator Jeff Sessions, Congressman Jo Bonner after touring sites damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
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Secretary Chao, Secretary of Treasury John Snow, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Senator Jeff Sessions, Congressman Jo Bonner after touring sites damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
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Secretary Chao talking to a displaced worker at an employment center.
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U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao addressing the National Peace Officers Memorial Service hosted by the Fraternal Order of Police. It is an annual event that commemorates the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers.
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Secretary Chao giving oranges to children in the Daycare Center after lighting the annual Christmas tree.
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Preparing for Jobs of the 21st Century. President's conference on the economy. Lt. Governor Michael Steele was one of the panelists.
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Bill signing ceremony at Room 350, Old Executive Office Building.
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Secretary Chao presents a $20 million grant to the National Urban League to help at-risk young people, New Orleans, LA.
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President Bush signing the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
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President Bush's economic team.
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President Bush's economic team.
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Camp Daivd after a morning's walk with First lady Laura Bush, Mrs. Diana Cantor, Mrs. Abigail Blunt, Mrs. Deborah Boehner, Mrs. Melissa Putname, Mrs. Tricia Lott, and Secretary Chao.
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President Bush with his economic team unveils his stimulus package in the Roosevelt Room, The West Wing.
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Cabinet meeting.
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Ringing the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Secretary Chao was in town to promote financial literacy for women. The Honorable Shinae Chun, the first Asian Pacific American director of the Women's Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor is second on the right.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao with Job Corps students.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao visitin San Francisco Chinatown.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao with Camp Fire Girls.
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Secretary Elaine L. Chao with MSHA emergency mine rescue team who had come to Washington to volunteer their time and service to Pentagon rescue efforts after 9/11/01.
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Secretary Chao with OSHA colleagues at Ground Zero.
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Secretary Chao paying tribute to American Legion Lt. B. R. Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post 1291, Chinatown, New York City.
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Women's Entrepreneurship Summit, Washington, D.C.
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Secretary Chao visiting Syosset High School, her alma mater, with Superintendent Dr. Carole G. Hankin and Principal Dr. Jorge Schneider.
As the first Secretary of Labor in the 21st Century, Secretary Chao focused on increasing the competitiveness of America’s workforce in a worldwide economy by updating outdated departmental rules and regulations to empower workers. Under her tenure, the Department achieved record results in worker health and safety, compensation and retirement security. These results included record low workplace injury, illness and fatality rates, recovering record levels of back wages for workers and monetary recoveries for workers’ pension plans, and obtaining record financial settlements for discrimination by federal contractors.
Secretary Chao successfully directed the Department to update the white collar overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which had been on the agenda of every Administration since 1977. The most significant regulatory tort reform of President Bush’s first term, the new regulations provided millions of low-wage, vulnerable workers with strengthened overtime protections. For the first time in over 40 years, the Department updated the union financial disclosure regulations, giving rank and file members more information on the financial condition of their unions.
The Department also launched comprehensive reform of the nation’s publicly funded workforce training programs to better serve dislocated and unemployed workers. The Department spearheaded many of the reforms in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to protect the retirement security of 44 million Americans with defined benefit plans. In record time, the Department processed disability compensation claims to energy workers, and implemented the requirements of the MINER Act, the first major legislation on mine safety in over 30 years. In November 2008, the Department successfully updated the Family and Medical Leave Act for the first time in 15 years, implementing the first-ever job-protected leave rights that allowed America’s military families to care for our wounded warriors. Under Secretary Chao’s leadership, the Department also issued new rules to protect our soldiers’ civilian re-employment rights, including issuing compliance regulations to fully implement the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which had been passed in 1994. In the first successful use of the Taft-Hartley Act since 1971, the Department led the effort to resolve the West Coast ports labor dispute in 2002, which was costing the nation up to $1 billion a day in damages.
Secretary Chao also appointed a diverse leadership team of which 50% were women. Under her tenure, the Department spearheaded programs and initiatives to expand everyone’s opportunity to succeed in the 21st century workplace.
Secretary Chao’s unique experience leading complex organizations in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors prepared her well to lead one of the federal government’s largest enforcement and regulatory departments. Secretary Chao reduced the Department’s discretionary spending while maintaining the quality of programs through better management.
