Walsh Confirmed as DOL Secretary

The Senate has confirmed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to lead the Department of Labor. 

Walsh was confirmed by the Senate March 22 by a vote of 68-29. He is the last of Biden’s cabinet nominees to be confirmed. 

Walsh, a former union leader, has been serving as Mayor of Boston since 2014. Previously, he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 17 years, overlapping with his work as a union official.

During his confirmation hearing, Walsh emphasized his desire to work collaboratively and build partnerships, vowing to work with members from both parties. 

Walsh has a full agenda, including assisting with the implementation of various aspects of the multiemployer plan relief provisions just enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Additionally, he will likely have a key role in overseeing a possible rewrite of the DOL’s final rules on Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments and Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting, following a March 10 announcement by the DOL that it will not enforce the rules. In his written responses to questions from the Senate HELP Committee’s Chair, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Walsh reportedly had noted that he intends to make a reexamination of the rules a priority if confirmed. 

Another question that remains unanswered is whether the DOL will revisit the Trump administration’s Prohibited Transaction Exemption for investment advice fiduciaries. While many believed the Biden administration would move to prevent the exemption from going into effect, the DOL confirmed in a Feb. 12 announcement that it will allow the guidance to take effect as scheduled. But Walsh also indicated to Murray that he would direct the Employee Benefits Security Administration to reexamine the exemption consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act.