Weil's Nomination to Be DOL's Wage and Hour Administrator Advances

​On Jan. 13, a Senate committee voted in favor of David Weil's nomination to be the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL's) wage and hour administrator, a position he held during part of the Obama administration. Now his nomination moves to the full Senate. We've gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other outlets.

Advancement of Nomination Was a Surprise

The nomination of Weil, a staunch critic of gig-economy companies' labor practices, had stalled last year when members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee recorded a tie vote along party lines. This year, the committee voted 11-10 in favor of his nomination when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was absent from the vote.

(Bloomberg)

Prior Role as Administrator

During his time with the DOL, Weil authored administrator interpretations on independent-contractor status and joint-employer relationships, which were later withdrawn by the Trump administration. If confirmed by the Senate, Weil is expected to focus on these issues again.

(The White House), (Littler) and (SHRM Online)

Wage and Hour Enforcement

If the Senate approves the nomination, Weil will head the DOL's Wage and Hour Division, which enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage, overtime pay, record-keeping and child-labor requirements. The division also enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Consumer Credit Protection Act's wage garnishment provisions, and wage requirements under certain other federal statutes.

(U.S. Department of Labor)

Stricter Independent-Contractor Test Favored by Weil

Weil has called for a stricter test that would render most gig workers employees. "Weil has made no secret of his belief that independent contractors used by many gig companies should be classified as employees," said J. Hagood Tighe, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Columbia, S.C.

(SHRM Online)

Senate Committee Hearing

At a Senate committee hearing last year, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., noted that Weil had previously served as the wage and hour administrator from 2014 to 2017. "Under his leadership, the division significantly increased its efforts to enforce wage and hour laws," she said.

However, Ranking Member Richard Burr, R-N.C., told Weil, "You received no Republican support the last time you were nominated, and I think it was for a good reason. You engaged in such partisan overreach that the courts stepped in to stop your badly constructed overtime rule."

(SHRM Online)