The United States solicitor of labor is the chief legal officer of the United States Department of Labor and the third-ranking officer of the department, behind the secretary of labor and deputy secretary of labor. The Office of the Solicitor has the second largest litigation department in the U.S. federal government, with about 500 lawyers in both national and regional offices. The Solicitor of Labor has independent authority to initiate lawsuits to enforce 180 federal workplace statutes. The position is a Presidential appointee requiring Senate confirmation, and is paid at Level IV of the Executive Schedule.
The Office of the Solicitor was established by the Organic Act of 1913, which separated the Department of Labor from the Department of Commerce and Labor, although a solicitor position for the combined department had existed since 1903. The solicitor of labor was originally located in the Department of Justice until it was transferred to the Department of Labor in 1933. In 1940, all Department attorneys and legal personnel were transferred to the supervision of the solicitor of labor. In the 1980s, the office attracted attention for delays in cases enforcing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and for not seeking the maximum compensation for back wages due under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. In 2019, a memo directing lawyers to consult with agency heads before filing lawsuits against employers was criticized as ceding some of its authority to political appointees.
List The following people have held the office of Solicitor of Labor:
PortraitSolicitorsTook officeLeft officeJohn B. Bensmore19131918John W. Abercrombie19181921Theodore G. Risly19211932Charles E. Wyzanski19331935Charles O. Gregory19361937Gerard D. Reilly19371941Warner D. Gardner19411942Irving J. Levy (Acting)19421943Douglas B. Maggs19431945William S. Tyson19451953Harry N. Routzohn19531953Stuart Rothman19531959Irving Nystrom (Acting)19591961Charles Donahue19611969Laurence Silberman19691970Peter Nash19701971Richard F. Schubert19711973William J. Kilberg19731977Carin Clauss19771981T. Timothy Ryan, Jr.19811983Francis X. Lilly19841985George R. Salem19861989Robert P. Davis19891991David S. Fortney (Acting)19911992Marshall Breger19921993Thomas S. Williamson, Jr.19931996J. Davitt McAteer (Acting)19961997Marvin Krislov (Acting)19971998Henry L. Solano19982001Judith E. Kramer (Acting)20012001Howard M. Radzely (Acting)2001January 11, 2002Eugene ScaliaJanuary 11, 2002January 17, 2003Howard M. RadzelyJanuary 2003December 2007Gregory F. JacobDecember 2007January 20, 2009M. Patricia SmithMarch 1, 2010January 19, 2017Nicholas C. Geale (Acting)January 20, 2017December 21, 2017Kate S. O'ScannlainDecember 21, 2017January 20, 2021Terri Johnson (Acting)January 20, 2021February 1, 2021Elena S. Goldstein (Acting)February 1, 2021July 14, 2021Seema NandaJuly 14, 2021January 20, 2025Jonathan Snare (Acting)February 24, 2025November 5, 2025Jonathan BerryNovember 5, 2025Present
References Seema Nanda (Nominee)
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