Welcome to the Kentucky Labor Cabinet. The Cabinet was originally established by the General Assembly in 1962, via Executive Order 83-65, and operates under the authority of KRS 336.015 and KRS 342. In December 2003, Governor Ernie Fletcher combined the Labor Cabinet, the Natural Resources and Energy and Environment Cabinet, and the Public Protection Cabinet into one large cabinet titled the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet (EPPC). The Labor Cabinet was given departmental status under this reorganization. In 2009, by Executive Order 2009-537, the Department of Labor was again reorganized to cabinet status.
The Labor Cabinet is comprised of the Office of the Secretary, the Office of General Counsel, the Department of Workers’ Claims and the Department of Workplace Standards. In addition, the Labor-Management Advisory Council, the State Labor Relations Board, the Workers’ Compensation Funding Commission, the Prevailing Wage Review Board, the Apprenticeship and Training Council, the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and the Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance Authority are affixed to the Cabinet for administrative purposes only. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of General Administration and Program Support (GAPS) are also affixed to the Cabinet for administrative purposes and as a support arm for the Labor Cabinet, the Energy and Environment Cabinet and the Public Protection Cabinet. The Secretary of the Labor Cabinet serves as the appointing authority for both the OIG and GAPS.
The primary responsibility of the Kentucky Labor Cabinet is to ensure that divisions and offices falling under the auspices of the Cabinet work within the jurisdiction of Kentucky labor law to ensure equitable and fair treatment of the Commonwealth’s 2,113,000 wage earning employees. Specifically, the Cabinet, according to regulation, shall have the duties, responsibilities, power, and authority relating to labor, wage and hour issues, occupational safety and health of employees, child labor, apprenticeship, workers’ compensation insurance, and all other matters under the jurisdiction of the Labor Cabinet. In addition, the Office of the Secretary serves to coordinate and promote positive and progressive working relationships between labor and industry, while simultaneously enforcing Kentucky’s labor laws.
Funding for the Labor Cabinet is derived from assessments against workers’ compensation insurance premiums (or simulated premiums for self-insurance paid by all Kentucky employers pursuant to KRS 342.122). All assessments are collected, managed, invested, and disbursed by the Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Funding Commission pursuant to KRS 342.122; KRS 342.1223; and KRS 342.1242.
You are invited to browse the Labor Cabinet website and please feel free to contact the Cabinet should you need assistance or have questions. Visitors are always welcome.O