The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) is a cabinet-level federal ministry of Germany responsible for national employment policy, labor law, occupational safety, pensions, and the social security system. Tracing its lineage back to the Weimar Republic's Reich Ministry of Labour established in 1919, the modern ministry was formally established in 1949 upon the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany. Between 2002 and 2005, its labor portfolio was temporarily merged into the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour before being restored as an independent ministry managing the largest portion of the federal budget.