The White House announced its intent to nominate Cheryl Stanton to serve as the Administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage & Hour Division. Stanton currently serves as the Executive Director for the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Prior to that, she worked in private practice as a management-side labor and employment attorney. She also previously served as Associate White House Counsel for President George W. Bush, where she was the administration's principal liaison to the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Ms. Stanton is nominated to join a Labor Department in which only Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta has successfully navigated the Senate confirmation process. Deputy Secretary nominee Patrick Pizzella was formally nominated in June 2017; his nomination remains pending in the Senate. With a full Fall agenda including Hurricane Harvey (and likely Irma) relief, the debt ceiling, tax reform, border wall funding, and potential immigration-related issues, it is unclear when the Senate might confirm Ms. Stanton. It would not be surprising to see her nomination linger until the end of the year–or even into 2018.
When she does arrive at WHD, she'll be facing a full plate of issues as the agency tackles a new rulemaking process increasing the salary level required for exemption under the FLSA's white-collar exemptions, a proposal revising the rules surrounding tipped employees and the use of tip credit, and, presumably, filling the vacuum left by the Department's withdrawal of the Administrator Interpretations on independent contractors and joint employment. In addition, with the Department's announcement that it would once again be issuing opinion letters, there's likely to be quite a queue of requests awaiting Ms. Stanton's review.
We'll keep you posted as Ms. Stanton's nomination works its way through the confirmation process.
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