The article analyzes academic thought about the relationship between public law and private law principles in the regulation of labor relations. At the same time, private legal principles are present only in some institutions of labor law (social partnership, employment contract, wages, working hours, rest time). However, the state intervenes here by setting the lower limits of the agreement. All other institutions are characterized mainly by public law principles. Thus, public law principles are somehow present in all institutions of labor law and significantly prevail in most of it. Based on the study of the content of the goals and tasks of labor legislation enshrined in the Russian Labor Code, it is additionally proved that labor law belongs to the sphere of public law regulation. The Constitution of the Russian Federation fixing the basic principles of labor legislation initially defined the vector of attribution of labor law to public law science In the study of modern goals of legal regulation of labor relations, attention is drawn to the fact that the current wording in the Labor Code of the goals and tasks of labor legislation does not contribute to strengthening guarantees of labor rights of employees, creates conditions for infringement of workers’ rights achieved during the years of Soviet power and leads to increased tensions in human society, since the state supports the employer to a greater extent (and not the employee) to the detriment of his rights and legitimate interests. Meanwhile, the precise formulation and legislative consolidation of the goals and tasks of labor legislation will contribute to the development of labor relations, maintaining legality in the law enforcement activities of judicial and executive bodies of state power.