New York (State). Dept. of Labor.

New York State's official involvement in labor issues began in 1883 when the Bureau of Labor Statistics was created (Chapter 356) to gather information and prepare an annual statistical report on the State's labor force. The State began regulatory activity in labor and industrial affairs in 1886 (Chapter 409) with the establishment of the Office of Factory Inspector (expanded to the Department of Factory Inspection in 1887) to enforce laws regulating the employment of children in factories, and the Board of Mediation and Arbitration, to assist in the settlement of labor disputes.

These three units were combined in 1901 (Chapter 9) to form the Department of Labor, headed by a commissioner. Two new divisions, the Bureau of Mercantile Inspection and the Bureau of Industries and Immigration, were added to the department in 1909.

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