GAO to review Su’s status as acting labor secretary

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is reviewing whether Julie Su is limited in how long she can serve as Acting Secretary of Labor under the federal vacancy law. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) asked the GAO in a July 6, 2023, letter to provide an opinion on the legal authority governing Su’s service as acting Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary. The investigation comes after Republicans have questioned whether Su should be time-limited in how long she can serve as acting head of DOL without Senate confirmation.

The Biden administration has maintained that the Federal Vacancies Reform Act allows Su to serve as acting secretary indefinitely because she has already been confirmed as deputy secretary, while Republicans argue she is subject to the limitations outlined in the Act and that DOL actions under her leadership will be subject to legal challenges.

DOL inspector general probing child labor violations

The DOL Office of Inspector General informed the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) that it plans to probe the division’s “efforts to curtail child labor violations, as well as the cause for rising child labor law violations.” Scrutiny occurs after numerous media reports on the growing number of child labor violations.

Over the past 10 months, the WHD has concluded 765 cases involving 4,474 children employed in violation of federal child labor laws and has recovered fines of more than $6.6 million. More than 700 cases involving child labor violations are currently pending before the division.