Loophole Lets DOL Install Wage Chief While Nomination Is Pending

A law aimed at checking the executive branch’s ability to install temporary leaders at federal agencies would have prevented Jessica Looman from continuing to lead the US Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division as “acting” administrator when she was tapped to head the division permanently.

So when the White House officially nominated Looman July 27 to serve as administrator of the DOL’s wage arm, the Biden administration dropped that “acting” name and “delegated” the duties of the position to her under a new title, allowing her to lead the agency while her nomination is pending in the Senate.

The maneuver, ...