United States Solicitor of Labor

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United States Solicitor of Labor
Seal of the United States Department of Labor.svg
Seal of the Department of Labor
Incumbent
Jonathan Snare (acting)
since 2025
United States Department of Labor
Seat Frances Perkins Building, Washington, D.C.
AppointerThe president
with Senate advice and consent
Formation1913
DeputyJonathan Snare, Deputy Solicitor of Labor
Salary Executive Schedule, level IV
Website www.dol.gov/sol/ OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

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]

Contents

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]

PortraitSolicitorsTook officeLeft office
John B. Bensmore 19131918
John Abercrombie (congressman).jpg John W. Abercrombie 19181921
Theodore G. Risly 19211932
Charles E. Wyzanski Jr. (cropped).jpg Charles E. Wyzanski 19331935
Charles O. Gregory 19361937
New Solicitor U.S. Department of Labor. Washington D.C. Gerard D. Reilly, of Boston, has just been nominated by President Roosevelt to be Solicitor for the Department of Labor. He has been LCCN2016872059.jpg Gerard D. Reilly 19371941
Warner D. Gardner 19411942
Irving J. Levy (Acting)19421943
Douglas B. Maggs 19431945
William S. Tyson 19451953
Harry N. Routzohn crop.jpg Harry N. Routzohn 19531953
Stuart Rothman 19531959
Irving Nystrom (Acting)19591961
Charles Donahue 19611969
Laurence Hirsch Silberman crop.jpg Laurence Silberman 19691970
Peter Nash 19701971
Richard F. Schubert 19711973
William J. Kilberg 19731977
Carin Clauss as Solicitor of Labor.jpg Carin Clauss 19771981
T. Timothy Ryan, Jr. 19811983
Francis X. Lilly 19841985
George R. Salem 19861989
Robert P. Davis 19891991
David S. Fortney (Acting)19911992
Marshall Breger 19921993
Thomas S. Williamson, Jr. 19931996
J. Davitt McAteer (Acting)19961997
Marvin Krislov (Acting)19971998
Henry L. Solano 19982001
Judith E. Kramer (Acting)20012001
RadzelyHoward.jpg Howard M. Radzely (Acting)2001January 11, 2002
Eugene Scalia.jpg Eugene Scalia January 11, 2002January 17, 2003
RadzelyHoward.jpg Howard M. Radzely January 2003December 2007
Gregory F. Jacob December 2007January 20, 2009
M. Patricia Smith Solicitor of Labor (SOL) (6750864315).jpg M. Patricia Smith March 1, 2010January 19, 2017
Nicholas C. Geale (Acting)January 20, 2017December 21, 2017
KateSOScannlain.jpg Kate S. O'Scannlain December 21, 2017January 20, 2021
Terri Johnson (Acting)January 20, 2021February 1, 2021
Elena S. Goldstein [10] (Acting)February 1, 2021July 14, 2021
Seema Nanda, DOL.jpg Seema Nanda [11] July 14, 20212025
Jonathan Snare (Acting)2025Present

References

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