29 U.S.C. § 569: Security detail

Summary

The Secretary of Labor may hire law enforcement officers or special agents to protect the Secretary. They must protect the Secretary during the workday and at events before or after official duties. They can also protect a family member who takes part in an official event. If there is a clear, specific threat of physical harm, they can provide ongoing protection to the Secretary and family. They can also protect the Deputy Secretary or another senior officer at a public event when a clear, specific threat exists under the Secretary’s rules. Those officers may carry firearms, arrest without a warrant for U.S. crimes they see, do threat-finding and advance security checks, work with local police, and start criminal or other probes into threats in coordination with the Department’s Inspector General. They must follow rules set by the Attorney General and by the Secretary of Labor.

Title 29, §569

Labor, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

The Secretary of Labor is authorized to employ law enforcement officers or special agents to—

(1)provide protection for the Secretary of Labor during the workday of the Secretary and during any activity that is preliminary or postliminary to the performance of official duties by the Secretary;

(2)provide protection, incidental to the protection provided to the Secretary, to a member of the immediate family of the Secretary who is participating in an activity or event relating to the official duties of the Secretary;

(3)provide continuous protection to the Secretary (including during periods not described in paragraph (1)) and to the members of the immediate family of the Secretary if there is a unique and articulable threat of physical harm, in accordance with guidelines established by the Secretary; and

(4)provide protection to the Deputy Secretary of Labor or another senior officer representing the Secretary of Labor at a public event if there is a unique and articulable threat of physical harm, in accordance with guidelines established by the Secretary.

(b)Authorities

The Secretary of Labor may authorize a law enforcement officer or special agent employed under subsection (a), for the purpose of performing the duties authorized under subsection (a), to—

(1)carry firearms;

(2)make arrests without a warrant for any offense against the United States committed in the presence of such officer or special agent;

(3)perform protective intelligence work, including identifying and mitigating potential threats and conducting advance work to review security matters relating to sites and events;

(4)coordinate with local law enforcement agencies; and

(5)initiate criminal and other investigations into potential threats to the security of the Secretary, in coordination with the Inspector General of the Department of Labor.

(c)Compliance with guidelines

A law enforcement officer or special agent employed under subsection (a) shall exercise any authority provided under this section in accordance with any—

(1)guidelines issued by the Attorney General; and

(2)guidelines prescribed by the Secretary of Labor.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification section 113(a) of div. B of Pub. L. 119–75, which directed amendment of act Mar. 4, 1913, ch. 141, by adding this undesignated section at the end, was executed, as shown in the credit of this section, by adding section 12 to the Act, to reflect the probable intent of Congress and section 113(a) of Pub. L. 118–47, div. D, title I, Mar. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 646, which set out an identical section designated as section 12 with the catchline “Security detail” and provided that act Mar. 4, 1913, was to be applied as if that section were part of it.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2026 Amendment Pub. L. 119–75, div. B, title I, § 113(b), Feb. 3, 2026, 140 Stat. 256, provided that: “This section [enacting this section] shall be effective on the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 3, 2026].”

§569 Security Detail