Labor Boosts Political Staff’s Power in Benefits Arm Shuffle (1)

Three offices in the Labor Department’s employee benefits division will now directly report to a politically appointed official, sidelining the career staffer who had overseen them.

The move follows a similar realignment in the department’s Wage and Hour Division that also consolidated power with political appointees.

A new organizational structure sent to Employee Benefits Security Administration staff in an Aug. 27 email will nest more offices under Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson, the division’s politically appointed deputy. It will also create a new director position to oversee regional offices that has yet to be filled, EBSA head Preston Rutledge said in an ...