The U.S. Senate has confirmed Jessica Looman as a top enforcer at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Senators voted 51-46 mostly along party lines on Oct. 25 to confirm Looman as head of the DOL's Wage and Hour Division, where she has served as the principal deputy.
Democratic lawmakers and unions generally praised Looman, a Minnesota native, while some Republicans have criticized her. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, represented the only Republican vote in favor of Looman.
Looman "has been showing up and fighting for America's workers since day one of the Biden-Harris administration, and I am so glad she can continue her work in this role," Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said on X, formerly Twitter. The Senate has not yet confirmed Su's nomination to become labor secretary.
Looman "will be an incredible advocate for workers like the waitress whose boss steals her tips or the restaurant manager who isn't getting paid for overtime. This is a victory for working families," Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., said on X.
However, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., called Looman "a union crony who has spent her career doing the bidding of Big Labor. I expect her to mirror Acting Secretary Su's approach to running the agency: shoddy rulemaking, regulatory overreach, and a complete and total disregard for the rule of law."
In a press release opposing Looman's nomination, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said she prioritized ideology above neutral enforcement of federal labor laws.
Looman previously worked as the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce and executive director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, representing 70,000 union construction workers.
Enforcement of Child Labor Laws
The Senate vote positions a confirmed leader at the Wage and Hour Division as it is in the process of finalizing a proposed overtime rule that was released Aug. 30 and battles a steep rise in child labor violations. Child labor violations rose 69 percent between 2018 and 2022, according to the DOL.
The Biden administration formed the Interagency Task Force to Combat Child Labor Exploitation in February, and the task force has aimed to take a whole-of-government approach to address the problem.
In August, the DOL's Office of the Inspector General announced it would conduct an audit of the Wage and Hour Division's efforts to curb child labor violations and the cause of rising child labor violations.
Some states recently took steps to loosen labor laws around teenagers in the workplace. At least 11 states have recently made it easier to get minors into the workforce as industries struggle with a tight labor market, according to The Hill.
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