DOL Leadership Wants Faster Decisions From In-House Judges

U.S. Labor Department leadership has tightened oversight of its internal trial court by requiring judges to provide data on how long it takes them to reach decisions, a move that could boost efficiency but raises questions about how the information will be used.

The department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges, which handles cases in eight districts nationwide under a range of federal workplace laws, must send quarterly case-inventory reports to the secretary’s office, Deputy Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella wrote in a memo to the chief judge that was quietly posted on the office’s website.

The initiative, launched in late-May, will ...