Direct Hires of In-House Judges Now in Labor Secretary Hands (1)

The DOL confirmed in an Aug. 29 Federal Register notice that it will be bypassing the Office of Personnel Management in picking administrative law judges.

A recent executive order by President Donald Trump empowers the heads of all federal agencies to appoint ALJs directly instead of going through OPM. The agency’s goal in publishing the notice is to provide greater transparency about its hiring procedures for in-house judges, a DOL spokeswoman said.

The DOL has the third largest administrative law judge office in the federal government, with some 41 judges. The goal is to provide a neutral space to resolve ...