NAGLO MISSION

NAGLO is a professional association consisting of the chief official in each state and territory of the United States responsible for overseeing the laws that protect and serve workers throughout the nation. We strive to assist each NAGLO member in the following ways:

• to assist members by developing a clear understanding about the issues they face on a daily basis, both in terms of sharing new approaches to common problems and by keeping members informed about developments in Washington D.C. and the states;
• to provide knowledge that will allow members to be better managers and leaders within their agencies;
• to help members establish a nationwide network of contacts with their peers to facilitate in the exchange of information; and,
• to represent the views of state officials on important workforce issues when the opportunity arises in Washington.

ABOUT NAGLO

The National Association of Government Labor Officials (NAGLO) was formed in 1914 to represent all state bureaus or departments that were devoted to procuring and publishing the facts and figures relating to the condition of their working populace.

NAGLO is a bi-partisan association of the commissioners, directors, and secretaries of labor for each state and territory of the United States. It is open to all states, U.S. territories, the federal government, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Originally developed as an outgrowth of the Industrial Revolution, the association of the early 20th century was focused primarily on insuring the safety of factories and on the compilation of labor statistics. As time has moved on, NAGLO reflected a change in society and began to focus on domestic issues ranging from workplace safety, to employment security and wage and hour issues.

Today, one of NAGLO's main goals is to open lines of communication across state lines to provide the state labor commissioners and other labor officials with the opportunity to meet and speak with their peers across the country. NAGLO also represents the states at the federal level through working with the federal Department of Labor (US DOL) on various labor policy issues that would have an impact on state labor regulations or laws.

As an affiliate of the Council of State Governments - a private, non-profit organization designed solely for the purpose of improving the quality of state government through leadership training, research, and the sharing of timely information about state programs, policies and innovations - NAGLO is uniquely positioned to insure that each state's commissioner, cecretary or director of labor has access to relevant and timely information.

NAGLO is a federal stakeholder and regularly participates in US DOL conferences in order to provide the state's viewpoint on federal programs.

NAGLO HISTORY

NAGLO has been active since the early 1900’s. There have been dramatic changes related to workers and the workplace in that time. Itis incumbent upon NAGLO to periodically review its mission and goals, in light of the perpetually changing atmosphere in which the members of NAGLO work.

With more than an 100-year history, NAGLO has become a leader in offering services and information to member states to improve the protection of working men and women. NAGLO is a bi-partisan association of the Commissioners, Directors, and Secretaries of Labor for each state and territory of the United States. It is open to all states, U.S. territories, the federal government, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

These days, not all states have entities that are solely responsible for oversight of traditional labor issues. Some states have expanded their labor departments to focus on other issues ranging from workforce development and training to safety inspections of elevators and carnival rides.

Just as labor departments have evolved, so have the responsibilities of the departments that fall under the jurisdiction of NAGLO members. Most members of NAGLO are the gubernatorial appointee in their respective state with regulatory and enforcement authority over:

• the unemployment insurance system,
• the workers' compensation system,
• the workforce development or job training programs in their respective states,
• wage and hour issues, such as setting the state's minimum wage, insuring that employees receive the compensation guaranteed to them under state and federal statutes, and insuring that employers comply with federal statutes such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, and
• the state's welfare-to-work plan.

A number of the members also have regulatory and enforcement authority over state OSH programs, state inspection programs (elevators, carnival rides, etc.), and child labor programs.

NAGLO has developed into an organization that seeks to provide information to its membership on a wide variety of issues. Not all members are responsible for all of the issues covered at conferences and meetings, which makes the information dissemination process a challenge. Regardless, NAGLO strives to keep its membership up-to-date through timely reporting of events on Capitol Hill and by sharing information about applicable programs in each state from which other members may learn new ideas or approaches to common problems.

EVOLUTION OF NAGLO

Development of the National Association of Governmental Labor Officials

• 1883
• Association of Chiefs and Officials of Bureaus of Labor
• 1887
• International Association of Factory Inspectors
• 1910
• Association of Chiefs and Officials of Bureau and International Association of Factory Inspectors
• 1914
• Association of Governmental Labor Officials
  (Resulting from amalgamation of the Association of Chiefs and Officials of Bureaus of Labor and the International Association of Factory Inspectors)
• 1928
• Association of Government Officials in Industry
  (Successor organization to Association of Governmental Labor Officials)
• 1934
• International Association of Governmental Labor Officials
  (Successor organization to Association of Government Officials in Industry)
• 1979
• National Association of Governmental Labor Officials
  (Successor organization to International Association of Governmental Labor Officials)