Federal Position Descriptions
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Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division

Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor
Responsibility
Management Scope

The administrator leads an agency of 1,800 people and a budget of $227.5 million2 (fiscal 2016 enacted), and deals with laws that reach more than 135 million workers and 7.3 million employers.3 The administrator has four senior advisors, a deputy administrator, a deputy administrator for program operations, a chief of staff, a senior policy advisor and six regional administrators.4

Primary Responsibilities

• Serves as the principal advisor to the secretary, providing top-level executive expertise regarding Wage and Hour Division programs and ensuring program continuity
• Has responsibility, through the secretary’s delegation of authority, for carrying out the Labor Department’s employment standards, labor standards and labor-management standards policies, programs and activities for all the statutes and executive orders administered by the agency
• Leads efforts to protect some of the most core labor protections for the nation’s workers, providing them a basic level of economic security through the enforcement of several acts, including: the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act; the Family and Medical Leave Act; the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act; the Employee Polygraph Protection Act; field sanitation and housing standards in the Occupational Safety and Health Act; and a number of employment standards and worker protections provided in the Immigration and Nationality Act
• Oversees a nationwide staff of investigative and compliance-assistance personnel who set the rates and enforce the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act, the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services
• Oversees promulgation of rules under the above acts and sets policies in conjunction with career staff to enforce and implement those acts so they achieve their statutory intent
• Leads an education and outreach program to promote voluntary compliance and protect the workforce and
• Establishes and maintains relationships with stakeholders that include business and industry officials; members of Congress; leaders of various interest groups; leaders of labor unions and worker advocacy organizations; academic thought leaders; representatives of other federal agencies and state and local governments for the purposes of explaining and gaining support and cooperation for Wage and Hour Division programs and initiatives as well as gaining valuable feedback from stakeholders concerning agency goals and priorities
• Articulates agency mission, policies and programs through direct engagement with the media as well as through engagement with agency and department personnel in setting outreach approaches5

Strategic Goals and Priorities
[Depends on the policy priorities of the administration.]
Requirements

• Experience supporting and managing a staff of investigators or demonstrated ability to do so (strongly recommended)
• Experience with government enforcement at the local, state or federal level (strongly recommended)
• Experience with the relevant policies, laws and regulations (helpful)

Competencies

• Strong leadership, managerial and communication skills

Past Appointments
  • David Weil (2014 to 2017): Professor of Economics, and the Peter and Deborah Wexler Professor of Management at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business; Co-Director of the Transparency Policy Project at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government; Adviser to the Wage and Hour Division, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Department of Labor, as well as to a number of other government agencies; Mediator and Adviser in a range of labor union and labor/management settings across the globe6
  • Tammy Dee McCutchen (2001 to 2004): Senior Counsel at a global chocolate corporation,  provided counseling on labor and employment matters; clerked for Judge Daniel A. Manion on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; and practiced law in Chicago for eight years7
AGENCY

Department of Labor

Mission: To foster and promote the welfare of job seekers, wage earners and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment and protecting benefits

COMPENSATION

Level IV $155,500 (5 U.S.C. § 5315)1

REPORTS TO

Secretary of Labor

SENATE COMMITTEE

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

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Footnote
  1. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31, May 5, 2017), contains a provision that continues the freeze on the payable pay rates for certain senior political officials at 2013 levels during calendar year 2017.
  2. Reflects direct funding only; excludes funding and full-time equivalents from H-1B fees.
  3. OPM
  4. https://www.dol.gov/whd/about/org/whdchart.htm
  5. OPM
  6. https://www.dol.gov/whd/about/org/dweil.htm
  7. https://www.littler.com/people/tammy-d-mccutchen
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