United States Solicitor of Labor
Seal of the Department of Labor
Incumbent
Seema Nanda
since July 14, 2021
United States Department of Labor
SeatFrances Perkins Building, Washington, D.C.
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Formation1913
DeputyElena S. Goldstein, Deputy Solicitor of Labor
SalaryExecutive Schedule, level IV
Websitewww.dol.gov/sol/

The United States solicitor of labor is the chief legal officer of the United States Department of Labor and the third-ranking officer of the department, behind the secretary of labor and deputy secretary of labor.[1][2] The Office of the Solicitor has the second largest litigation department in the U.S. federal government, with about 500 lawyers in both national and regional offices.[1][3] The Solicitor of Labor has independent authority to initiate lawsuits to enforce 180 federal workplace statutes.[1][4] The position is a Presidential appointee requiring Senate confirmation, and is paid at Level IV of the Executive Schedule.[5]

The Office of the Solicitor was established by the Organic Act of 1913, which separated the Department of Labor from the Department of Commerce and Labor, although a solicitor position for the combined department had existed since 1903. The solicitor of labor was originally located in the Department of Justice until it was transferred to the Department of Labor in 1933. In 1940, all Department attorneys and legal personnel were transferred to the supervision of the solicitor of labor.[1][6] In the 1980s, the office attracted attention for delays in cases enforcing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,[7] and for not seeking the maximum compensation for back wages due under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.[8] In 2019, a memo directing lawyers to consult with agency heads before filing lawsuits against employers was criticized as ceding some of its authority to political appointees.[3]

List

The following people have held the office of Solicitor of Labor:[9]

Portrait Solicitors Took office Left office
John B. Bensmore 1913 1918
John W. Abercrombie 1918 1921
Theodore G. Risly 1921 1932
Charles E. Wyzanski 1933 1935
Charles O. Gregory 1936 1937
Gerard D. Reilly 1937 1941
Warner D. Gardner 1941 1942
Irving J. Levy (Acting) 1942 1943
Douglas B. Maggs 1943 1945
William S. Tyson 1945 1953
Harry N. Routzohn 1953 1953
Stuart Rothman 1953 1959
Irving Nystrom (Acting) 1959 1961
Charles Donahue 1961 1969
Laurence Silberman 1969 1970
Peter Nash 1970 1971
Richard F. Schubert 1971 1973
William J. Kilberg 1973 1977
Carin Clauss 1977 1981
T. Timothy Ryan, Jr. 1981 1983
Francis X. Lilly 1984 1985
George R. Salem 1986 1989
Robert P. Davis 1989 1991
Marshall Breger 1992 1993
Thomas S. Williamson, Jr. 1993 1996
J. Davitt McAteer (Acting) 1996 1997
Marvin Krislov (Acting) 1997 1998
Henry L. Solano 1998 2001
Judith E. Kramer (Acting) 2001 2001
Howard M. Radzely (Acting) 2001 January 11, 2002
Eugene Scalia January 11, 2002 January 17, 2003
Howard M. Radzely January 2003 December 2007
Gregory F. Jacob December 2007 January 20, 2009
M. Patricia Smith March 1, 2010 January 19, 2017
Nicholas C. Geale (Acting) January 20, 2017 December 21, 2017
Kate S. O'Scannlain December 21, 2017 January 20, 2021
Terri Johnson (Acting) January 20, 2021 February 1, 2021
Elena S. Goldstein[10] (Acting) February 1, 2021 July 14, 2021
Seema Nanda[11] July 14, 2021 Present

References

  • Seema Nanda (Nominee)
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Office of the Solicitor (SOL) History". U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  2. ↑ Borins, Sandford F. (2009-12-01). Innovations in Government: Research, Recognition, and Replication. Brookings Institution Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780815710301.
  3. 1 2 Penn, Ben (2019-06-07). "Labor Department's Top Lawyer Wants Political Review of Lawsuits". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  4. ↑ Penn, Ben (2017-11-08). "Meet the Most Powerful Labor Lawyer You've Never Heard Of". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  5. ↑ "United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book)". U.S. Senate. 2016-12-01. p. 102. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  6. ↑ "Key Dates in SOL History". U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  7. ↑ "Assessment of How the Department of Labor's Solicitor's Office Handles Pension and Welfare Benefit Cases". U.S. Government Accountability Office. 1984-12-08. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ↑ "The Department of Labor's Enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act" (HRD-85-77). U.S. Government Accountability Office. 1985-09-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ "Past Solicitors of Labor". U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  10. ↑ "Biden's New DOL Hiring Wave Adds Political Head to Legal Office". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Seema Nanda Confirmed to Labor Department's Top Legal Post". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2021-11-01.
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