Punching In: Acting Chief Su Previews the DOL’s Agenda in 2024

Monday morning musings for workplace watchers.

On the Road With Julie Su

Rebecca Rainey: With less than nine months left in President Joe Biden’s term, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su says the agency will be busy shepherding several high profile rulemakings, and scaling and expanding its workforce development projects.

Employers and workers should expect the DOL’s new overtime pay rule to be on track for the new proposed pay threshold under which employees qualify for overtime pay, according to its current chief. The rule, which is under review at the Office of Management and Budget—the last step before its released and goes into effect—is expected to expand time-and-a-half-pay eligibility to at least 3 million new workers.

In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Law last week while on the road in Michigan, Su said the final version of the rule will “be within what we noticed.” That means the regulation could encompass salaried employees making as high as $60,209 annually to be automatically owed overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours a week.

READ MORE: DOL’s Su Plans Focused Enforcement Approach Amid Budget Woes

“That is going to benefit millions of workers and basically give folks more money in their pockets, and fulfill the promise of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is that people should not have to work really long hours without extra pay,” Su said.

The DOL’s worker safety arm, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has also been racing to write a rule to protect both indoor and outdoor workers from heat stress, but officials have kept mum on when a proposal will be released. While Su says the agency will likely not have the time to finalize the regulations, it will put out some sort of proposal to set expectations for the next four years under Biden or another administration.

“We’re serious about making sure to begin that process and put out at least some standard around not just outdoor heat, which can be deadly, but also indoor heat,” Su said. “These are things we probably won’t have time to finalize, but we want to send a very clear message about where we stand on vulnerable workers and their needs.”

Workforce development and job training, which has been a key part of Biden’s green energy and economic policy agenda, will also continue to be a common theme at the DOL throughout 2024. Su said the public should expect more workforce training investment announcements, especially in collaboration with the Department of Energy.

“The name of the game in workforce this year is scaling,” said Su.

Federal agencies doling out job training grants from the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS semiconductor investment law, and other funding pots, will be looking to ensure that programs subsidized through the federal government reach women, people of color, those involved in the justice system, those with disabilities, and others who have traditionally been left out of federal investments, Su added.

It’s been a little over a year since Su took over as acting leader of the agency. She has been unable to win enough votes in the Senate to be approved as labor secretary permanently, but a provision in DOL’s founding documents allows the former deputy secretary to serve as acting head until a replacement is confirmed—which in this case basically means she can hold the position indefinitely.

READ MORE: Su’s Timeline Leading the DOL: Rules for Acting Heads Explained

Despite facing fierce opposition to her nomination, Su’s not fazed by the critics who have questioned her fitness to lead the agency and lambasted her past work as California’s labor secretary.

“The President has asked me to do this job. And the American people need a strong labor secretary, there’s just no question about that,” Su said. “I feel very much like I have an important job to do, and I’m gonna stay focused on doing it.”

We’re punching out. Daily Labor Report subscribers, please check in for updates during the week, and feel free to reach out to us.