Deals and People January 11, 2002

Bush Bypasses Senate, Appoints Scalia to DoL

January 11, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Using his constitutional right to install nominees without Senate approval during recesses, President Bush appointed Eugene Scalia as Labor Department solicitor, a position to which he was nominated several months ago.

Reported by

Camilla Klein

Presidential appointments at this level are subject to Senate confirmation, however the Senate ended its last session without addressing Scalia’s confirmation. Scalia is son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Scalia’s appointment was opposed by organized labor, partly due to his opposition to rules aimed at reducing workplace injuries, according to a report by the Associated Press.

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By Bush exercising his executive authority while Congress is in recess, Scalia will be in charge of enforcing nearly 200 labor laws and worker protections until Congress recesses again at the end of the year.

He will provide legal advice and guidance on virtually every DoL initiative in areas such as safety and health, minimum wage, and pension security.