I was born during the 1960s, and like a lot of people my age, I have a strong fascination with the decade, because the cultural and political forces that transpired then significantly shaped the world in which I grew up. The 1960s also significantly shaped the work my dedicated Labor Department colleagues and I do each day.
When John F. Kennedy assumed the presidency in 1961, he promised a “New Frontier” of domestic social and economic reform. Reflecting this, the ensuing years were a high intensity time at the department. Kennedy’s first secretary of labor was Arthur J. Goldberg, who advocated for civil rights and raised the minimum wage. He also oversaw the implementation of the Manpower Development and Training Act, which created the first major federal job training program, designed to address job losses due to automation. This legislation also led to the development of the Manpower Administration, the forerunner to today’s Employment and Training Administration.
Goldberg left in 1962 to become an associate justice of the Supreme Court. His replacement was Undersecretary of Labor W. Willard (Bill) Wirtz, who remained in office for the remainder of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
Wirtz championed programs to assist undereducated and unemployed individuals, especially disadvantaged youth, as a way to reduce poverty. In 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act was signed into law; among other things, it created Job Corps, which today annually provides 60,000 students ages 16-24 with hands-on training in high-growth industries. We’re looking forward to commemorating the 50th anniversary of this important program this year.
Wirtz also implemented the department’s antidiscrimination responsibilities resulting from the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other landmark legislation. In 1965, President Johnson signed Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion or national origin and requires them to take affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity in all aspects of their employment. It also established the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to enforce its provisions.
The same year, President Johnson also signed the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act. This law established, for the first time ever, standards for prevailing compensation as well as safety and health protections for employees performing work on every contract entered into by the U.S government. Enforcement responsibility was assigned to the department’s Wage and Hour Division, and enforcement of the safety and health provisions were later assigned to its Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which was established in 1971.
Because attempts to address age discrimination in earlier legislation were unsuccessful due to lack of credible data, Wirtz commissioned the report “The Older American Worker: Age Discrimination in Employment.” Shortly after its publication, President Johnson signed into law the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and charged the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — created by the Civil Rights Act three years earlier — with enforcing it.
As a “child of the sixties,” I’m proud that the Labor Department was at the forefront of the social progress associated with the decade that changed America for the better. As a result of the department’s work then, America’s workplaces are fairer and safer, and its workforce more diverse and vibrant, today. At the department, as in America overall, the 1960s were more than a decade; they were a defining era.
Carl Fillichio heads the Labor Department’s Office of Public Affairs and serves as the chair of the department’s centennial. This post is one in a series in which he explores the department’s impact over the past 100 years. To view a timeline of the department’s history, watch a special centennial video and learn more about its 100 years of service, visit dol.gov/100.