Keith E. Sonderling

• University of Florida (BS)
• Nova Southeastern University (JD)

Keith Sonderling
Official portrait, 2025
38th United States Deputy Secretary of Labor
Incumbent
Assumed office March 14, 2025 [1]

Keith E. Sonderling (born November 25, 1982) is an American lawyer and government official. He has served as the 38th United States Deputy Secretary of Labor, the acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Acting Under Secretary of United States Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Authority since 2025, during President Donald Trump's second term. From 2020 to 2024, he served as commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ^[2] From 2017 to 2020, he served as the deputy and acting administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor. ^{[3] [4] [5]} Before government service, he was a shareholder at Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Early life and education

Born on November 25, 1982, in Manhattan, New York, Sonderling grew up in Boca Raton, Florida. Sonderling is Jewish and the grandchild of holocaust survivors. ^[6] He graduated from Spanish River High School and attended the University of Florida. He received a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, majoring in broadcast journalism. Sonderling then obtained his Juris Doctor., magna cum laude, from Nova Southeastern University.

Career

Sonderling began his legal career at Gunster in West Palm Beach, Florida. At Gunster, he practiced labor and employment law and was elevated to shareholder in 2015. In 2012, Florida Governor Rick Scott appointed Sonderling to serve as a commissioner on the 4th District Court of Appeals judicial nominating commission. ^[7] In 2016, his fellow commissioners elected him chair. ^[8]

Department of Labor (2017–2020)

In September 2017, Sonderling joined the United States Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. ^[9] In 2019, Sonderling served as the acting administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. ^[10]

Department of Labor (2017–2020)

In 2019, Sonderling issued the department's first opinion letter on the gig economy, concluding that gig workers were independent contractors, not employees of a company, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). ^[11] This opinion was later withdrawn by the Biden administration in 2021, but reinstated in May 2025. ^{[12] [13]} Sonderling also issued proposed rules for marquee labor issues, such as updating the overtime threshold and joint employer standards under the FLSA. ^{[14] [15]}

Sonderling developed the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID), the Agency's first comprehensive self-audit program. ^[16] The program recovered $7 million in wages to 11,000 workers. ^[17]

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2020–2024)

On July 3, 2019, President Trump nominated Sonderling to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for a term expiring July 1, 2024. On June 3, 2020, the Senate Health Education Labor and Pension Committee, by unanimous consent, favorably reported his nomination, ^[18] and he was confirmed by the Senate in a 52–41 vote on September 22, 2020. ^[19] He was also designated by the president to serve as vice chair of the commission. ^[20] Sonderling left the commission at the expiration of his term on August 30, 2024. ^[21]

EEOC (2020–2024)

During his tenure at the EEOC, Commissioner Sonderling's highest priority was ensuring that AI-informed employment technologies were designed and deployed in ways that comply with longstanding laws. ^[22] Sonderling published numerous articles and spoke globally on the benefits and potential harms of using artificial intelligence-based technology in the workplace. ^{[23] [24]} Sonderling also focused on human capital management compliance, working with human resource leaders worldwide. ^[25]

Sonderling also served as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School, teaching employment discrimination. ^[26]

Department of Labor (2025–present)

On January 15, 2025, President-elect Trump announced his intention to nominate Sonderling as the United States Deputy Secretary of Labor. ^[27] On March 6, the United States Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee reported his nomination in a 12–11 vote. ^[28] Sonderling was confirmed 53–46 by the United States Senate on March 12. ^[29] As the United States Deputy Secretary of Labor, Sonderling is the second-highest-ranking official and oversees the day-to-day-operations of the department. ^[30]

Institute of Museum and Library Services (2025–present)

On March 18, 2025, President Trump designated Sonderling as the acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an independent government agency that is the primary source of federal funding for the nation's museums and libraries. ^[31] Sonderling announced that he would lead IMLS "in lock step with this administration to enhance and foster innovation", referencing a March 14, 2025 executive order that directed the agency, along with six others, be "eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law." ^{[32] [33]}

Minority Business Development Authority (2025–present)

On March 18, 2025, President Trump designated Sonderling the Acting Under Secretary of Commerce, leading the Minority Business Development Authority (MDBA), an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that promotes growth and competitiveness of the United States' minority-owned businesses. ^[34]

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 29, 2025.
2. "Roll Call Vote No. 189" . Retrieved September 23, 2020.
3. "DOL Names New Acting Wage and Hour Administrator". The National Law Review. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
4. Diaz, Jaclyn (February 2019). "Labor Department's New Acting Wage and Hour Chief Named". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
5. "DOL's Wage And Hour Division Gets New Acting Head - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
6. "Download File: Sonderling - HELP Committee Opening Statement.pdf | The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions". www.help.senate.gov. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
7. "Gunster's Keith Sonderling appointed to judicial nominating commission". Gunster. October 12, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
8. "Gunster Attorney Keith E. Sonderling Reappointed by Gov. Scott to Judicial Nominating Commission". Citybizlist. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
9. "Management Lawyer Joins DOL as First Wage-Hour Political Hire". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
10. "DOL Names New Acting Wage and Hour Administrator". The National Law Review. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
11. Scheiber, Noam (April 29, 2019). "Labor Dept. Says Workers at a Gig Company Are Contractors". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 26, 2020.
12. Farmer, Shannon; Talmo, Karli (February 19, 2021). "DOL Withdraws 2019 FLSA Opinion Letters on Independent Contractors and Compensable Time for Truckers". Ballard Spahr . Retrieved April 10, 2025.
13. "US Department of Labor issues guidance on independent contractor misclassification enforcement".
14. "U.S. Department of Labor Releases Overtime Update Proposal | U.S. Department of Labor". www.dol.gov. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
15. "U.S. Department of Labor Issues Proposal for Joint Employer Regulation | U.S. Department of Labor". www.dol.gov. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
16. "Former EEOC Commissioner and Acting WHD Administrator Keith Sonderling Announced as Pick for Deputy Secretary of Labor | Littler". www.littler.com. January 15, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
17. "U.S. Department of Labor's PAID Program Helps Workers and Employers as America Reopens". DOL. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
18. "Nominations | The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions". www.help.senate.gov. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
19. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Keith E. Sonderling, of Florida, to be a Member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)". www.senate.gov. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
20. "Keith E. Sonderling Sworn in as EEOC Commissioner and Vice Chair | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission". www.eeoc.gov. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
21. "Republican EEOC Commissioner Sonderling to Exit as Term Ends". www.news.bloomberglaw.com. July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
22. "Podcast - Managing the Future of Work - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
23. Sonderling, Keith; Kelley, Bradford; Casimir, Lance (November 8, 2022). "The Promise and The Peril: Artificial Intelligence and Employment Discrimination". University of Miami Law Review. 77 (1): 1.
24. Sonderling, Keith E. (December 6, 2021). "How People Analytics Can Prevent Algorithmic Bias - International Association for Human Resources Information Management" . Retrieved April 26, 2025.
25. "You searched for sonderling". HR Executive. March 18, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
26. "Keith E. Sonderling". www.law.gwu.edu. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
27. Wiessner, Daniel (January 15, 2025). "Trump taps ex-EEOC member Sonderling to serve as deputy labor secretary". Reuters. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
28. Niedzwiadek, Nick (March 6, 2025). "Senate committee greenlights Keith Sonderling for Labor deputy". Politico . Retrieved March 17, 2025.
29. Rainey, Rebecca (March 12, 2025). "Sonderling Confirmed as No. 2 At DOL, Filling Out Top Leadership". Bloomberg Law . Retrieved March 17, 2025.
30. "Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith E. Sonderling". DOL. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
31. "Keith E. Sonderling Sworn In as Acting Director of Institute of Museum and Library Services". www.imls.gov. March 20, 2025. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
32. Schuessler, Jennifer (March 25, 2025). "Library Advocates Rally as Trump Targets Federal Funding". The New York Times.
33. Trump, Donald J. (March 14, 2025). "Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy". The Whitehouse.
34. "Senators Demand to Know Who Killed Minority Business Development Agency, Why & Where's the Money Going? - Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Press Release | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved September 5, 2025.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Political offices
Preceded by Julie Su	United States Deputy Secretary of Labor 2025–present	Incumbent