Labor Standards Director Rosenfeld Dies After Long Legal Career

Arthur F. Rosenfeld, who directed the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, died May 16 of pancreatic cancer, his daughter confirmed to Bloomberg Law.

Rosenfeld, 75, was a prominent conservative figure in the labor and employment bar for decades, having served in Republican executive branch and congressional staff leadership roles during a career that began in 1979 as a U.S. Chamber of Commerce labor attorney.

In the George W. Bush administration, Rosenfeld was twice confirmed by the Senate: as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board from 2001-06, and as director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service from 2006-09.

Rosenfeld received a cancer diagnosis about six months ago but continued to work remotely during the pandemic through last week, his daughter, Cara Kessler, said in an interview. Rosenfeld maintained a low profile as head of OLMS as the agency carried out work on several regulatory initiatives designed to increase transparency of labor union finances.

It was not clear who would succeed Rosenfeld at OLMS. DOL representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lively, Witty, Warm

Rosenfeld, a Villanova University Law School graduate, came out of retirement in 2017 to work in the Trump administration after receiving a call from his friend and former NLRB colleague, then-Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta. Rosenfeld agreed to lead OLMS, the small but critical subagency that regulates and enforces laws governing labor union financial disclosures and officer elections.

Rosenfeld initially signed on to work in late 2017 as a senior counselor at DOL before getting White House approval to start as OLMS director in July 2018.

By the time he joined the Trump administration, Rosenfeld was already a well-known persona in workplace policy circles.

“Arthur was a lively presence, beloved by colleagues and staff, who will be remembered for his warmth, humor, and wry wit,” Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said Monday in an email to colleagues.

Scalia had known Rosenfeld since 2001, when the latter worked as a senior labor counsel for Republicans on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

“His dedication to our labor laws was equaled by his loyalty to family and friends and to his motorcycle and a dog (who I confess I never met) named Meathead—‘Meaty,’ to Arthur,” Scalia said.

Rosenfeld’s last few years at DOL represented his second stint at the agency. He served in other department roles, including as special assistant to the solicitor, starting in 1986.

“Arthur was my pal, confidant, and ultimately a motorcycle buddy since the time we worked at the Department of Labor under the Reagan administration,” said Randy Johnson, a longtime lobbyist who formerly ran the Chamber of Commerce’s labor division. “His in-office cigar smoking was legendary, as was his friendly nature and sharp mind.”