Labor Department Primed for More Robust Virus Action Under Biden

Joe Biden’s victory will usher in new leadership at the U.S. Labor Department and—if his campaign pledges are any indication—shift its pandemic response in workers’ direction.

Biden’s priorities for the department are likely to include more punitive stances on workplace-safety standards for employers and protecting workers’ wages. The business-friendly approach Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia has implemented during his year in office is poised for reversal. And Biden is likely to be more responsive to organized labor and other worker rights’ organizations that took a back seat to industry groups during Scalia’s tenure.

Several tensions will pose immediate challenges for Biden’s ...