As part of the effort to improve and redevelop the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor, it was decided to create an entirely new building for the Labor Department in that area.

Finally, an employee suggested that the building should be renamed for the former Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, and the idea was warmly accepted.

[3] The ceremony to rename the NDOL and dedicate it as the Frances Perkins Building was held on April 10, 1980 – the 100th anniversary of her birth.

"[5] On the same day, the United States Postal Service issued a new 15-cent stamp bearing the likeness of Perkins.

[5] The building features the Cesar Chavez Auditorium, Wirtz Library, and the Labor Hall of Honor.

These included "She Who Must Be Obeyed" (1975) by minimalist sculptor Tony Smith and "The History of Labor in America" by new realist painter Jack Beal.