employment standards administration
Employment Standards Administration. A unit in the U.S. Department of Labor responsible for administering various laws and programs pertaining to minimum-wage and overtime standards, registration of farm-labor contractors, wage rates to be paid and the nondiscrimination and affirmative-action programs to be followed by government contractors and subcontractors, workers’-compensation programs for federal and certain private employers, financial integrity and the internal organizational practices of labor unions, and certification of employee protection for federally sponsored transportation programs. • The Administration operates through four divisions that have regional offices or administrators in various cities: the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Wage and Hour Division, the Office of Labor–Management Standards, and the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. — Abbr. ESA.