The Department of Employment Services (DOES) fosters and promotes the welfare of job seekers and wage earners by advancing opportunities for employment, helping employers find workers, tracking changes in employment and other national economic measurements impacting the District of Columbia, and improving employee working conditions.

Summary of Services
DOES, the District of Columbia’s lead labor and workforce development agency, provides customers with a comprehensive menu of workforce development services funded through a combination of federal grants and local appropriations. DOES delivers basic income support services to unemployed or underemployed persons who lost their jobs through no fault of their own through the Unemployment Insurance division. The Labor Standards Program ensures a safe and healthy work environment for workers in the District, administers a program to provide benefits to qualified individuals with employment-related injuries or illnesses, administers the District’s wage-and-hour laws and provides hearing and adjudication services to settle workers’ compensation disputes. DOES’s Workforce Development Program provides job seekers with workforce development and training programs and services to ensure employers have access to qualified job candidates. Finally, DOES provides District youth with job training, academic enrichment, leadership and employment opportunities through its Year-Round, Summer Youth, Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute and other youth programs.