Abstract

The Department of Labor (DOL) fosters and promotes the welfare of job seekers, wage earners and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, and protecting their retirement, health care, and other benefits. To fulfill this mission, the Department must be prepared and resilient to adapt to changing climate conditions across the Nation.

Policy for Climate Change and Adaptation: DOL is committed to deliberate and strategic climate change mitigation and adaptive action to protect our planet and its people. Consistent with our existing missions, we will collaboratively model best practices to ensure that our nation’s workforce has a sustainable and bright future as we empower workers, employers, and industries to foster environmental justice, establish measurable and sustainable mitigation progress, and improve climate resilience.

Agency Official Responsible for Implementation of the Climate Action Plan: Julia Tritz, Director, Business Operations Center (BOC), within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM), is the Agency Official (AO) responsible for implementation of the Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP). DOL’s National Contact Center phone number is 1-866-487-2365.

Statement of Intent: In response to Executive Order (EO) 14008 and the growing significance of climate change on economic prosperity and the delivery of federal services, the Department of Labor has established a Climate Action Plan to adapt to changing climate conditions and provide innovative and progressive federal leadership to address this growing threat to national security. The intent of this plan is to build on the 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Plan, assess and update vulnerabilities to DOL mission success, and construct clear adaptive measures to ensure resilience to climate change.

The CAP identifies key vulnerabilities, resilience opportunities, priority adaptation actions, and procurement challenges for our agencies and articulates our leadership plan for both immediate and long-term transformation. DOL’s ability to pursue these opportunities to combat the climate crisis and lead by example will require either additional fiscal and personnel resources or the realignment of existing resources.

The Secretary of Labor, as a member of the National Climate Taskforce, the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization, Interagency Working Group on Extreme Heat, Interagency Working Group on Flood Resilience, and the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council, will promote environmental equity and robust labor adaptation to all federal efforts on climate change.

DOL’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) is responsible for assessment of DOL assets for vulnerabilities to climate change and determination of appropriate adaptive measures to meet our resilience requirements. The CSO will also provide leadership to ensure that environmental justice and sustainable best practices are exemplified across all DOL agencies.