The Virginia General Assembly creates the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics to compile and circulate data " . . . on the pursuits of the State as they related to the commercial, industrial, social, educational, and sanitary condition of the laboring classes and to the permanent prosperity of the productive industries of the State." Archer P. Montague, a mechanical engineer, is named as first Commissioner of Labor.

The Division of Mines and Quarries is created and joins the Division of Factory Inspection as a unit within the Bureau.

Child labor under 14 yrs of age is prohibited in factories, workshops, mines, mercantile establishments, laundries, bakeries, brickyards and lumberyards during school hours or after 7:00 p.m. in the distribution, transmission or sale of merchandise.

The Division of Women and Children is created within the Bureau to enforce child labor laws, the 10-hour workday limit and regulate issues relating to the employment of women.

The name of the agency is changed to the Bureau of Labor and Industry by the General Assembly.

The Division of State Public Employment Service is created within the Bureau to help connect people seeking jobs and employers seeking workers.

The Bureau of Labor and Industry is renamed the Department of Labor and Industry by the General Assembly and given the status of a regular administrative agency of the Commonwealth.

The Division of Research and Statistics is formalized within the Department.

The General Assembly approves the Virginia Apprenticeship Act and the concurrently established Apprenticeship Council holds five meetings that year. The Division of Apprenticeship Training is established within the Department.

The Department organizes its first industrial safety campaign and promotes a system of voluntary safety committees to operate within private firms.

The Department establishes a new Division of Factory, Institution, and Mercantile Inspection and an Advisory Council on Industrial Safety.

Oil and gas inspection is added to the Division of Mines within the Department.

Division of Public Employment Service is eliminated and the duties transferred by the General Assembly to the newly created Virginia Employment Commission.

The General Assembly approves the Payment of Wage Law and the administrative duties are added to the Division of Women and Children whose name is subsequently changed to the Division of the Administration of Laws Relating to Employment of Women and Children, Payrolls and Wages, and Employment Agencies. Also that year, the General Assembly establishes the Safety Codes Commission which later becomes the Safety and Health Codes Board.

The Division of Factory, Institution, and Mercantile Inspection is reorganized into the Division of Construction Safety Inspection and the Division of Industrial Safety within the Department.

Governor Linwood Holton designates DOLI as the state agency responsible for enforcing the federal Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.

DOLI and the Virginia Department of Health submit an initial state program development plan to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor for the enforcement of OSHA requirements in the workplace. Existing DOLI occupational rules and regulations are reviewed and upgraded as necessary to insure that they are "as effective as" those standards promulgated and enforced by federal OSHA. Also, the responsibility for Boiler and Pressure Vessel Safety is transferred from the State Corporation Commission to DOLI.

1974

Finalized rules and regulations for Boiler and Pressure Vessel Safety are established.

Virginia's state plan proposal for state enforcement of OSHA is granted operational status by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Division of OSHA Voluntary Compliance and Training is established.

The Division of State Labor Law Administration replaces the Division of the Administration of Laws Relating to Employment of Women and Children, Payrolls and Wages, and Employment Agencies.

The Bureau of Occupational Health is transferred to DOLI from the Virginia Department of Health. The Division of Mines is eliminated and the duties transferred to the newly created Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.

DOLI receives final state plan approval for the VOSH program from US DOL Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Virginia becomes a state plan state for the enforcement of OSHA requirements in the workplace and assumes jurisdiction from the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

The responsibility for the manufacturing, handling, and sale of explosives is transferred from DOLI to the Department of Housing and Community Development.

The Licensed Asbestos Contractor Notification, Asbestos Project permits and Permit Fees Program is initiated.

DOLI enters into an agreement with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and begins direct enforcement in Virginia of the NESHAP regulations dealing with Asbestos Emissions in Demolition and Renovation Construction Activities.

First Annual Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Conference is held as a one day event in June.

The Licensed Lead Contractor Notification, Lead Project permits and Permit Fees Program is initiated.
Responsibility for Apprenticeship Related Instruction is transferred from DOLI to the Virginia Community College System.

The VOSH Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) program is initiated, and the first site at the General Electric Energy Plant in Salem is approved.

DOLI offers a full-scope apprenticeship opportunity for individuals interested in a career as a Compliance Safety/Health Officer.  This apprenticeship opportunity provides formal and informal on-the-job and classroom training on VOSH/OSHA standards and regulations, as well as best practices for inspection and investigative procedures.  Upon completion of this three-year program, employees will achieve a Journeyman-level status as a Compliance Safety Officer or Industrial Hygienist.