White House re-nominates acting DOL wage & hour administrator to lead division

On January 23, 2023, President Biden re-nominated Jessica Looman to formally become the next Director of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL). Ms. Looman originally was nominated for the position in August 2022 and made it out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in late November 2022, but no vote was held by the full Senate prior to the expiration of the last Congressional term.

Prior to joining the DOL as Principal Deputy Administrator of the WHD at the beginning of 2021, Ms. Looman was executive director of the Minnesota building trades coalition. She had been in position of Acting Administrator of the WHD since June 2021 but, due to regulatory requirements for agency nominees, her official title was removed while she continued to work during the nomination process. Ms. Looman is the second Biden Administration nominee for the WHD Administrator position, following the withdrawal of the original – and more controversial – nominee, David Weil.

Ms. Looman’s tenure at the WHD has been an active one, with the Division rescinding final wage and hour rules concerning the joint employer and independent contractor analyses, issuing a new independent contractor rule, and soon proposing revisions to the overtime rule concerning the salary requirements for the executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemptions. For further background regarding Ms. Looman and former nominee Weil, see our blog post, White House Nominates Acting DOL Wage & Hour Administrator to Lead Division.

Jackson Lewis will continue to monitor and report any updates on both Ms. Looman’s re-nomination and the status of the new overtime final rule that is likely to be proposed. In the meantime, if you have any questions about these or any other wage and hour questions, please contact the Jackson Lewis attorney(s) with whom you regularly work.

DISCLAIMERS

JACKSON LEWIS P.C. (“FIRM”) PROVIDES THE INFORMATIONIN THIS POST FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS POST SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON OR REGARDED AS, LEGAL ADVICE. NO ONE ACCESSING OR REVIEWING THIS POST, WHETHER OR NOT A CURRENT CLIENT OF THE FIRM, SHOULD ACT OR REFRAIN FROM ACTING ON THE BASIS OFSUCH CONTENT OR INFORMATION, WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING WITH AND ENGAGING A QUALIFIED, LICENSED ATTORNEY, AUTHORIZED TO PRACTICE LAW IN SUCH PERSON’S PARTICULAR STATE, CONCERNING THE PARTICULAR FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE MATTER AT ISSUE. THE POST MAY NOT REFLECT CURRENT LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS, OR LAWS OR RULES THAT MAY APPLY IN PARTICULAR JURISDICTIONS. THE FIRM AND ITS LAWYERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH ACTIONS TAKEN OR NOT TAKEN BASED ON ANY OR ALL OF THE CONTENTS OR INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THIS SITE. ANY INFORMATION ABOUT PRIOR RESULTS ATTAINED BY THE FIRM OR ITS LAWYERS IS NOT A GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY THAT A SIMILAR OUTCOME WILL BE ACHIEVED.

THE FIRM IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT, OPERATION, LINKS OR TRANSMISSIONS, OR ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED ON ANY OTHER PART OF BLR®, A DIVISION OF SIMPLIFY COMPLIANCE LLC’S WEBSITE OR ANY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE WHICH MAY BE ACCESSED BY A LINK FROM THIS WEBSITE.

NOTHING PROVIDED BY THE FIRM IS INTENDED TO FORM, AND WILL NOT CREATE, AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.

THIS POST MAY BE CONSIDERED ATTORNEY ADVERTISING UNDER THE RULES OF SOME STATES. THE HIRING OF AN ATTORNEY IS AN IMPORTANT DECISION THAT SHOULD NOT BE BASED SOLELY UPON ADVERTISEMENTS.

STATEMENT IN COMPLIANCE WITH TEXAS RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT:

UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED IN INDIVIDUAL ATTORNEY BIOGRAPHIES, LAWYERS RESIDENT IN THE FIRM’S VARIOUS OFFICES ARE NOT CERTIFIED BY THE TEXAS BOARD OF LEGAL SPECIALIZATION.