Paul DeCamp, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Law360 Employment Authority, in “5 People Who Could Be Labor Secretary,” by Max Kutner. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Now that U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh has confirmed he is leaving President Joe Biden’s cabinet to run the National Hockey League players’ union, attorneys and other observers are contemplating who will replace him.
Walsh’s departure, which he announced Thursday and is set for mid-March, had been expected for more than a week. That gave lawmakers, attorneys and other observers time to think about and advocate for a nominee for the next leader of the U.S. Department of Labor.
In a statement Friday, Biden said Walsh’s time as secretary “will serve as a model for all future labor secretaries who truly value American working people.” But the president did not indicate whom he would put forward to fill the role.
Paul DeCamp of management-side firm Epstein Becker Green, who served as DOL Wage and Hour Division administrator under former President George W. Bush, said eyes are on whether Biden chooses someone who is considered friendly or hostile toward the business community.
“With Secretary Walsh, the perception was that he was not hostile to business,” DeCamp said. “That is not necessarily true of all of the names who are being discussed to replace him.”