- Senate Confirms Agency Nominees, Including Key Workplace Roles
- WHD Proposes Shift of 450+ FLSA Regs from CFR to Field Handbook
- Social Security Head Also Given Executive Leadership of IRS
- Tax Agency Furloughs Half of Its Workforce
- Senate Committee Approves Two Picks for NLRB Posts
Senate Confirms Agency Nominees, Including Key Workplace Roles
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Oct. 7 voted 51-47 to pass Senate Resolution 412, an “en bloc consideration” of 108 nominations for federal government posts. Most notable among the confirmations for Workspan Daily readers were nine individuals (additional context is provided for those whose names are in bold):
- Paul Atkins, reappointed member of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a term expiring June 5, 2031
- Jonathan Berry, solicitor for the Department of Labor (DOL)
- Janet Dhillon, director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for a term of five years
- Julie Hocker, assistant secretary of labor for the DOL
- David Keeling, assistant secretary of labor for the DOL
- Brittany Panuccio, member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for a term expiring July 1, 2029
- Andrew Rogers, administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
- Jonathan Snare, member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for a term expiring April 27, 2029
- James Woodruff II, member of the Merit Systems Protection Board for the term of seven years expiring March 1, 2032
Senate Republicans recently changed procedural rules to allow en-masse voting for or against the confirmation of large groups of nominees for mid-level executive branch, sub-Cabinet-level and ambassadorship positions, without a limit on how many nominees can be voted on at one time. The change serves to curb debate and blocking on individual nominees.
Rogers’ confirmation puts him in charge of the WHD, the agency responsible for enforcing compensation, benefits and working-conditions laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). He most recently served as acting general counsel at the EEOC. During the first Trump administration, he was a senior advisor in the WHD, where he worked primarily on regulations and opinion letters.
Panuccio’s confirmation restores a quorum to the five-seat EEOC and establishes a Republican majority within the commission. The EEOC enforces federal laws that prohibit employment discrimination and harassment. She previously served under the first Trump administration at the Department of Education and the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy.
Dhillon’s confirmation brings stability to the PBGC after Alice Maroni was installed as acting director in March. The agency, created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), insures private-sector defined benefit pension plans, protecting retirement income if a plan fails and can’t pay its benefits. Dhillon was acting assistant secretary of labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) from June 24 until Daniel Aronowitz was confirmed to that role on Sept. 18. She has previous federal agency leadership experience as chair of the EEOC (March 2019 to January 2021).
Atkins’ confirmation extends his leadership of the SEC, the independent agency that enforces federal securities laws, requires organizations to publicly disclose key financial information, and oversees exchanges, brokers and investment advisors. He was first confirmed by the Senate in April 2025 to complete the rest of former chair Gary Gensler’s term, which had been slated to end in June 2026.
Berry’s confirmation as labor solicitor makes him the DOL’s chief legal officer. The role advises DOL and other agency leadership on federal labor law enforcement and the protection of workers’ rights.
| Stay on top of hot total rewards/TR news by also reading: |
|---|
WHD Proposes Shift of 450+ FLSA Regs from CFR to Field Handbook
A recent WHD proposed rule seeks to transfer some regulations governing FLSA application from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to an appendix in DOL’s Field Operations Handbook (FOH). The proposal would remove more than 450 separate FLSA regulations (on 229 pages) from the CFR. Employers regularly reference many of these regulations but regard some of them as dated and confusing.
The current set of FLSA regulations in the CFR contains both binding legislative rules and non-binding interpretive rules. Through its rulemaking, the WHD said it intends to:
- Remove all interpretive regulations that were never implemented (or amended) after notice and comment.
- Transfer many, but not all, of the interpretive rules.
The agency said some interpretive regulations (e.g., those governing “regular rate of pay” [Part 778], “hours of work” [Part 785] and independent contractor status [Part 795]) would remain in the CFR because full or partial regulations were previously subject to notice and comment.
“Technology has widened the availability of resources available to the public, which are no longer limited to the U.S. Code and the CFR,” stated the WHD in its proposed rule. “Indeed, it is commonplace today for interested parties to view the department’s website and, in particular, WHD’s Field Operations Handbook, which summarizes many of the agency’s positions and cross-references to various other resources. And while one of the original reasons for the CFR was to have a comprehensive publication of every agency’s rules and legal interpretations, many agencies, including WHD, issue sub-regulatory guidance outside of the CFR which is entitled to the same weight as interpretive rules and policy statements that are in the CFR. Accordingly, the department intends to temporarily retain all content which is removed from the CFR as sub-regulatory guidance, apart from the provisions in Part 779 [the FLSA as applied to retailers of goods and services], which are obviously obsolete.”
Sixteen comment documents (submitted primarily by law associations, individual law firms and trade unions) were received after the proposed rule was published in the Federal Register.
After reviewing and analyzing the comments, the WHD will decide to either:
- Issue a final rule;
- Make significant changes to the proposed rule; or,
- Withdraw the proposal entirely.
Social Security Head Also Given Executive Leadership of IRS
In a bit of an unconventional move, Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano on Monday, Oct. 6, was given the dual role of chief executive officer of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The appointment was announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bisignano had been serving as the tax agency’s acting commissioner since August.
The CEO position is new to the IRS and, unlike the commissioner job, does not require Senate confirmation. The organization chart recast was meant to bring greater stability to the agency, which has had seven commissioners in 2025 alone. The most recent Senate-confirmed commissioner was Billy Long, who vacated the role in August after less than two months on the job.
Together, the SSA and IRS employ more than 100,000 federal workers.
Tax Agency Furloughs Half of Its Workforce
Speaking of the IRS, the agency on Wednesday, Oct. 8, shared plans to immediately furlough approximately 34,000 employees — just under half of its total workforce — as a result of the current federal government shutdown.
In a letter to IRS employees, the agency said affected workers would be paid after the shutdown ends, citing a 2019 law requiring back pay. The move contradicted a recent White House Budget Office draft memo that noted federal workers aren’t guaranteed pay during a shutdown. President Donald Trump also has publicly commented that not all federal workers are subject to compensation during a shutdown.
On Thursday, Oct. 8, the IRS walked back its initial statement. In an email obtained by news platform Politico, the tax agency informed workers, “An earlier memo circulated on furlough guidance incorrectly stated the nature of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 as it relates to compensation for non-pay and non-duty status. ... The Office of Management and Budget will provide further guidance on this issue, and you will be updated accordingly.”
According to some legal experts, not compensating employees for a shutdown-related furlough would violate the Civil Service Reform Act (which prohibits agencies from suspending pay for employees without due process) and the FLSA.
Senate Committee Approves Two Picks for NLRB Posts
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 12-11 on Thursday, Oct. 9, to approve two of President Trump’s nominees for roles on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). A vote on a third nominee, though, was postponed.
Obtaining approvals were retired NLRB lawyer James Murphy and corporate lawyer Crystal Carey. The full Senate will soon vote on their final confirmation.
The committee scrapped a planned vote on Trump’s third nominee, Boeing chief labor counsel Scott Mayer, after Mayer and Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) had a heated discussion about Boeing’s current Machinists strike during an Oct. 1 confirmation hearing. It’s unclear whether Mayer’s nomination will be reintroduced.
The five-seat NLRB currently has just one member, Democrat David Prouty, and has been without a quorum since January. The board’s status has left hundreds of labor law cases in limbo, including dozens in which employers are challenging union election victories.
Editor’s Note: Additional Content
For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:
#1 Total Rewards & Comp Newsletter
Subscribe to Workspan Weekly and always get the latest news on compensation and Total Rewards delivered directly to you. Never miss another update on the newest regulations, court decisions, state laws and trends in the field.
