The United States solicitor of labor is the chief legal officer of the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...

and the third-ranking officer of the department, behind the

secretary of labor The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all o ...

and deputy secretary of labor. 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. The Solicitor of Labor has independent authority to initiate lawsuits to enforce 180 federal workplace statutes. The position is a Presidential appointee requiring

Senate confirmation Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...

, and is paid at Level IV of the

Executive Schedule Executive Schedule () is the system of salaries given to the highest-ranked appointed officials in the executive branch of the U.S. government. The president of the United States appoints individuals to these positions, most with the advice and co ...

. 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 The United States Department of Commerce and Labor was a short-lived Cabinet department of the United States government, which was concerned with fostering and supervising big business. Origins and establishment Calls in the United States for ...

, although a solicitor position for the combined department had existed since 1903. The solicitor of labor was originally located in the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

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. In the 1980s, the office attracted attention for delays in cases enforcing the

Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (, codified in part at ) is a U.S. federal tax and labor law that establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. It contains rules on the federal income tax e ...

, and for not seeking the maximum compensation for back wages due under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. 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.

List

The following people have held the office of Solicitor of Labor:

References

* Seema Nanda (Nominee)

External links

* {{authority control United States Solicitor of Labor American labor lawyers