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Wednesday, July 14, 2021: Seema Nanda confirmed as U.S. Department of Labor Solicitor: Obama Re-Union Continues
The U.S. Senate voted 53-46 to confirm Seema Nanda as U.S. Labor Department (“DOL”) Solicitor, filling the DOL’s chief legal officer position. The Solicitor position, the number three official at USDOL, represents the DOL in all necessary litigation, including both enforcement actions and defensive litigation.
The confirmation marks Ms. Nanda’s return to USDOL where she had previously served as Deputy Solicitor and Chief of Staff to the Secretary during the Obama Administration. The appointment also underscores the Biden Administration’s priority commitment to Wage and Hour matters since Ms. Nanda had championed the wage rights of employees in her last stint at USDOL. Republicans had objected to Ms. Nanda’s nomination as “too political” since she had followed prior USDOL Secretary of Labor Tom Perez to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which he then chaired, and where she served as the DNC’s Chief Executive Officer.