Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Privacy protected and confidential information is restricted from public access for 75 years (Code of Virginia 42.1-78). Types of restricted information may include, but is not limited to: court records, medical records, social security numbers, employee grievance materials, and personnel records. It will be necessary for an archivist to review unprocessed material for confidential information for removal or redaction before files can be used by patrons for research purposes or before any copies of records can be made for patrons.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Correspondence and subject files of the Commissioner of the Virginia Dept. of Labor and Industry, [cite specific date and accession used]. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

Virginia Dept. of Labor and Industry, Office of the Commissioner, Powers-Taylor Building, 13 S. 13th St., Richmond, VA 23219. Accession 33939 transferred 08 April 1991; Accession 33972 transferred 20 June 1991; Accession 34434 transferred 04 May 1993; Accession 34698 transferred 09 August 1994; Accession 35638 transferred 17 December 1997; Accession 37903 transferred 24 January 2001; Accession 41036 transferred 03 February 2004; Accession 42488 transferred 08 February 2006; and Accession 50380 transferred 04 March 2012.

Processing Information

This collection has been processed using minimal processing standards: the original arrangement has been maintained, the container list is brief and simple, and the records have not been refoldered and fasteners have not been removed.

Biographical Information

The Dept. of Labor and Industry has its origins in the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics, which was created by an act of the General Assembly passed on March 3, 1898. The General Assembly saw a need for an agency to compile and circulate data on the industrial pursuits of the state as they related to the commercial, industrial, social, educational, and sanitary condition of the laboring classes and to the permanent prosperity of the productive industries of the state. The name of the Bureau was changed to the Bureau of Labor and Industry on February 13, 1924.

Several divisions were added to the bureau to deal with a variety of labor related issues. The Division of Mines and Quarries was created in 1912 (duties of this division transferred to the newly created Dept. of Mines, Minerals and Energy in 1985) and joined the Division of Factory Inspection as a unit with the Bureau. In 1922 The Division of Women and Children was created to enforce child labor laws, the 10 hour work day limit and regulate issues related to the employment of women. The Division of State Public Employment Service was created in 1926 to help connect people seeking jobs and employers seeking workers (this division was eliminated in 1960 with the creation of the Virginia Employment Commission).

The state government reorganization act of April 18, 1927 changed the name of the bureau to the Dept. of Labor and Industry and gave it the status of a regular administrative agency of the state. The governor appoints a commissioner, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, who exercises supervision and control of the department. Several additional divisions were created in the department: Division of Apprenticeship Training (1938), Division of Factory, Institution and Mercantile Inspection (1951 - in 1967 this becomes the Division of Construction Safety Inspection and the Division of Industrial Safety), Advisory Council on Industrial Safety (1951), Safety Codes Commission (1962 - which later becomes the Safety and Health Codes Board), Division of OSHA Voluntary Compliance and Training (1977), Division of State Labor Law Administration (1978), Bureau of Occupational Health (1985 - transferred from Virginia Dept. of Health).

Commissioners of the Dept. of Labor and Industry include: Archer P. Montague, 1898-1899; James B. Doherty, 1900-1917; C.G. Kizer, 1917-1918; John Hirschberg, 1919-1920; John Hopkins Hall, Jr., 1921-1937; Thomas B. Morton, 1938-1941; John Hopkins Hall, Jr., 1942-1949; Edmond M. Boggs, 1949-1977; Robert F. Beard, 1977-1982; Azie Taylor Morton, 1982-1983; Eva S. Teig, 1983-1985; Carol A. Amato, 1985-1994; Theron J. Bell, 1994-1998; John Mills Barr, 1998-2000; Jeffrey D. Brown 2000-2002; and C. Ray Davenport, 2002-2010; Courtney Malveaux, 2010-2013; and C. Ray Davenport, 2014 - .

The Dept. of Labor and Industry's primary responsibility is the administering and enforcing of occupational safety and occupational health activities in both the public and private sectors. The mission of the Dept. is to make Virginia a better place to work by promoting safe and healthful workplaces, best employment practices, and job training opportunities. The Dept. provides Virginians with a broad variety of services to employers and workers that range from workplace safety, assistance to companies in establishing apprenticeships, to collecting unpaid wages for workers.

Scope and Content

Records, 1947-2010, consisting of the incoming and outgoing correspondence of the Commissioner of the Dept. of Labor and Industry; as well as reports, project files, and subject files. This series documents the administrative activities of the agency, as well as the establishment of policy and procedures, and major achievements of the agency.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series: