Monday marked the 100th anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Department of Labor, which began when President William Howard Taft signed the legislation authorizing the department on his last day in office. The Labor Department launched a new website marking the centennial that includes a thorough history of the department, a close look at the current Labor Department and its mission, the future of labor and the department, a timeline of key events, historical documents and much more.

From an email announcing the anniversary:

For the past 100 years there's been one federal agency that has helped explain, investigate, enable and instruct the world of American employment, making work safer and fairer, giving it the security and the respect it deserves, and guaranteeing that most fundamental right to be paid fairly for the work you do—the U.S. Department of Labor.

President Obama also issued a proclamation celebrating the centennial:

Over the course of a century, the Department of Labor has fought to secure strong safeguards for workers and their families. It helped lay the cornerstones of middle class security, from the 40-hour work week and the minimum wage to family leave and pensions. As the agency once led by our Nation's first female Cabinet Secretary, the Department has broken down barriers to equal opportunity in the workplace. And for decades, it has improved worker safety and health and aggressively combated child labor at home and abroad.

Today, the Department of Labor is working to restore the basic bargain that built our country: that no matter what you look like or where you come from, if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead. It is forging new ladders of opportunity so a generation of workers can get the 21st century skills and training they need. And to preserve a century's progress in labor rights, the Department will continue to ensure hardworking Americans always have a voice in government and on the job.

On this centennial, we recognize the dedicated public servants at the Department of Labor who have helped move our country forward, and we reaffirm our commitment to giving America's workers the chance to build a brighter future for themselves and their families.