***UPDATE: According to a Bloomberg Law Report, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Julie Su on March 16, 2021. We will continue to monitor updates to Su’s nomination as the Deputy Labor Secretary.***
According to a Bloomberg Law report, President Biden plans to nominate Julie Su as the Department of Labor’s Deputy Secretary. Su has already accepted the nomination and a formal announcement of her selection is forthcoming. Su currently serves as Secretary for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
Prior to her current role, Su served as California’s Labor Commissioner from 2011 through 2018. In addition to her public service, Su has spent much of her career working to advance individuals’ civil rights and advocating on behalf of under-represented communities. She was the Litigation Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles, the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. She also co-founded Sweatshop Watch, an organization founded to counter inhumane working conditions in sweatshops.
Numerous workers’ rights organizations had advocated for President Biden to nominate Su for the more senior position of Labor Secretary. Instead, President Biden nominated Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as Secretary. Su’s background working towards advancing equality in the workplace for various marginalized groups will align with much of Mayor Walsh’s advocacy on behalf of workers and is a natural fit in the Biden administration. The Deputy Secretary traditionally is charged with handling the DOL’s day-to-day operations
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