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Department of Labor gossip: Punching In: Labor Department Seeks New Identity as 2022 Looms
Punching In: Labor Department Seeks New Identity as 2022 Looms
COLUMN
Dec. 6, 2021, 6:05 AM
Monday morning musings for workplace watchers
{snip}
Ben Penn: From the start, my contributions to this column have been only as good as the sources I’ve relied on for information. Fittingly, my swan song reflects interviews with more than two dozen of the most influential people shaping workplace policy inside and outside the Biden administration.
I was struck by how these well-connected individuals often answered my questions with ones of their own.
The takeaway: The Department of Labor has made progress on numerous fronts in 2021, yet enters the Biden administration’s second year without a defined identity or clear authorities among senior leadership. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and his team are still working to establish a detailed, forward-looking agenda to execute President Joe Biden‘s goals of improving workers’ lives while strengthening organized labor.
Few question the talent and expertise inside the department. The problem is when stakeholders or other government entities meet with DOL officials, they’ve come away unclear about who has authority over what.
Nearly everyone I spoke to expected this to change soon, though if Walsh were to run for Massachusetts governor—Politico reported last week he was weighing that very question—there would be far more ambiguity about the department’s policy trajectory.
Walsh dodged questions about his interest in running during a Bloomberg TV interview Dec. 3. “I have a lot of work to do here at the Department of Labor,” he said.
There’s an understanding around Washington—even among Biden critics—that Walsh and his team were dealt a rough hand that’s challenged their bandwidth and ability to coordinate efforts and roll out a four-year plan.
{snip}
COLUMN
Dec. 6, 2021, 6:05 AM
Monday morning musings for workplace watchers
{snip}
Ben Penn: From the start, my contributions to this column have been only as good as the sources I’ve relied on for information. Fittingly, my swan song reflects interviews with more than two dozen of the most influential people shaping workplace policy inside and outside the Biden administration.
I was struck by how these well-connected individuals often answered my questions with ones of their own.
The takeaway: The Department of Labor has made progress on numerous fronts in 2021, yet enters the Biden administration’s second year without a defined identity or clear authorities among senior leadership. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and his team are still working to establish a detailed, forward-looking agenda to execute President Joe Biden‘s goals of improving workers’ lives while strengthening organized labor.
Few question the talent and expertise inside the department. The problem is when stakeholders or other government entities meet with DOL officials, they’ve come away unclear about who has authority over what.
Nearly everyone I spoke to expected this to change soon, though if Walsh were to run for Massachusetts governor—Politico reported last week he was weighing that very question—there would be far more ambiguity about the department’s policy trajectory.
Walsh dodged questions about his interest in running during a Bloomberg TV interview Dec. 3. “I have a lot of work to do here at the Department of Labor,” he said.
There’s an understanding around Washington—even among Biden critics—that Walsh and his team were dealt a rough hand that’s challenged their bandwidth and ability to coordinate efforts and roll out a four-year plan.
{snip}