On March 12, the Senate confirmed Keith Sonderling as deputy secretary of labor, the number two job at the Department of Labor (DOL). The vote was 53 to 46.

Sonderling had been serving as a senior advisor at DOL since the January beginning of the current Trump Administration. Before that, he had been a Republican commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a subagency within DOL.

Prospects: Sonderling’s portfolio at DOL includes oversight of the agency’s workforce and day-to-day operations, a job that entails dealing with large-scale restructure of DOL staffing. He will also be key in implementing the Trump Administration’s labor-related policy agenda. Issues he will oversee include worker classification, the fiduciary rule, overtime pay, and others.

NAIFA Staff Contact: Jayne Fitzgerald – Director – Government Relations, at jfitzgerald@naifa.org.