DOL Enforcement Database: How to Search Federal Labor Records (2026)

The DOL Enforcement Database: What’s In It

The U.S. Department of Labor maintains enforcement records across multiple agencies, each with its own database and search tool. Together, these databases contain over 6 million records spanning decades of workplace investigations.

But here’s the problem: DOL doesn’t provide a unified search. WHD, OSHA, and NLRB each have separate databases, separate search tools, and separate employer identifiers. An employer investigated by all three agencies appears as three unrelated entries—unless you use a tool that links them.

DOL’s Own Search Tools

The Department of Labor provides free search tools for each agency. Here’s where to find them.

• WHD: enforcedata.dol.gov — Search by employer name, state, NAICS code, or date range
• OSHA: osha.gov/ords/imis/establishment.html — Search inspections by establishment name
• NLRB: nlrb.gov/case — Search cases by employer, case number, or region
• SEC EDGAR: sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar — Search company filings by name or CIK

Why DOL’s Tools Fall Short

Each DOL agency search tool works for its own data, but professional research requires connecting the dots across agencies. The government’s tools have fundamental limitations.

• Four separate searches: You must search WHD, OSHA, NLRB, and SEC individually—no unified query
• No entity resolution: "McDonald's Corp" on WHD, "MCDONALDS" on OSHA, and "McDonald's USA LLC" on NLRB appear as unrelated employers
• No cross-agency patterns: The OSHA → WHD → NLRB escalation sequence is invisible across separate databases
• No risk scoring: Raw data only—no composite risk assessment or industry benchmarking
• No corporate hierarchy: Can’t connect a subsidiary’s violations to the parent company’s overall enforcement profile
• Outdated interfaces: Some DOL search tools haven’t been updated in years and lack modern filtering

Cross-Agency Enforcement Search

Cross-agency platforms solve these problems by unifying enforcement data from all federal and state agencies into a single search. Entity resolution uses probabilistic matching to link records that belong to the same employer—even when names, addresses, or identifiers differ across agencies.

LaborAudit’s database unifies over 6 million enforcement records across WHD, OSHA, NLRB, SEC EDGAR, and 39 state attorneys general. A single search returns the employer’s complete enforcement profile with cross-agency risk scoring.

What Cross-Agency Data Reveals

The value of unified enforcement data goes beyond convenience. Patterns that are invisible in single-agency searches become clear when records are linked.

• Escalation patterns: OSHA citations often precede WHD wage investigations (18 months) and NLRB charges (36 months)
• Corporate roll-ups: A parent company with 200 subsidiaries may have clean individual records but a significant aggregate enforcement profile
• Industry benchmarking: Compare any employer’s enforcement history against sector averages
• Geographic exposure: Identify multi-state employers with concentrated enforcement in specific regions
• Financial impact: Total back wages + OSHA penalties + state settlements in one view

Database Coverage by the Numbers

LaborAudit’s enforcement database covers the following federal and state sources, updated through automated data pipelines.

Who Uses Federal Enforcement Data?

Federal labor enforcement data serves a wide range of professional use cases.

• Employment lawyers: Research opposing parties, identify enforcement patterns for litigation strategy
• Safety consultants: Evaluate client OSHA history before engagements
• ESG analysts: Screen portfolio companies for labor compliance risk
• M&A teams: Due diligence on acquisition targets’ enforcement exposure
• Insurance underwriters: Assess workers’ compensation risk based on OSHA history
• Compliance officers: Monitor company enforcement status across all agencies
• Journalists: Investigate workplace safety and labor practices at specific employers

Getting Started

Search any employer across all federal enforcement databases with LaborAudit’s unified lookup. No signup required for basic searches.

For specific agency guides, see: How to Look Up OSHA Violations by Company Name and How to Search NLRB Cases. For the most cited safety standards, see: OSHA Top 10 Most Cited Violations 2025–2026.