Director & Staff
The Office of the Director provides a variety of support services for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations including policy development, legislative coordination, communication, accounting, budgeting, and human resources in order to assist the department’s overall mission. Administrative sections provide centralized services necessary for day-to-day operations of the Department.
Division of Employment Security
The Division of Employment Security supports the Department's vision statement by administering the state’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. In Missouri, it is a joint state-federal program funded solely through tax contributions paid by employers, so no deductions are made from employees’ paychecks for this insurance. These funds are held in the Missouri Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund (UTF) and payment of benefits for regular unemployment are made from this fund. There are also special unemployment programs available to qualified individuals.
Division of Labor Standards
The Division of Labor Standards consists of three sections: Wage and Hour, On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program, and Mine and Cave Safety. The Division enforces Missouri’s wage and hour laws including Child Labor and Minimum Wage Laws. The Wage and Hour Section also calculates annual prevailing wage/average hourly wage rates. The Division offers a free consultation service to employers to ensure they comply with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, inspects mine and cave sites, and trains miners in the practice of implementing safe and healthy working habits.
Division of Workers' Compensation
The Division of Workers’ Compensation provides services to those who have been injured on the job or exposed to occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment. The Division also makes sure that an injured worker receives benefits that they are entitled to under the Missouri Workers' Compensation Law. The Division's Administrative Law Judges have the authority to approve settlements or issue awards after a hearing relating to an injured worker’s entitlement to permanent benefits allowed by Missouri law. Line of Duty Compensation for the families of emergency workers killed on the job, payments to uncompensated Tort Victims, and oversight of the Second Injury Fund are also administered by the Division.
Labor and Industrial Relations Commission
The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission oversees the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The Commission is composed of three members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. One member is classified as a representative of employers, one member is classified as a representative of employees, and one member is classified as a representative of the public. The public representative must be licensed to practice law in Missouri. The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission hears appeals of claims on Workers’ Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, and Tort Victims’ Compensation as well as objections to Prevailing Wage Orders.
Missouri Commission on Human Rights
The Missouri Commission on Human Rights develops, recommends, and implements ways to prevent and eliminate discrimination and to provide fair and timely resolutions of discrimination claims through enforcement of the Missouri Human Rights Act. The Commission investigates complaints of discrimination in housing, employment, and places of public accommodations based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, age (in employment cases only), and familial status (in housing cases only).
State Board of Mediation
The State Board of Mediation (SBM) is a quasi-judicial board that administers the Public Sector Labor, Laws which covers most public sector employees who seek union representation. Duties include defining of appropriate bargaining units of employees; certification and recertification of bargaining units; determination of majority representation status by secret ballot elections; oversight of annual financial reporting by public employee unions and officials; and enforcement of “paycheck protection” for public sector employees.
