Trump Taps Stanton to Head Wage and Hour Division

Author: Michael Cardman, XpertHR Legal Editor

September 5, 2017

The White House intends to nominate Cheryl Stanton to be Administrator of the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

Stanton has been executive director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce since 2013. Before that, she worked as a labor and employment attorney in both the public and private sectors.

"Cheryl is a strong nominee, bringing a combination of government and real-world experience," said Paul DeCamp, formerly an administrator of the WHD and currently a Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice in the Washington, D.C., office of Epstein Becker Green.

If confirmed by the US Senate, Stanton will direct an agency with about 1,700 employees and a budget of about $227 million in enforcing many federal employment laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Under the Obama administration, the WHD proactively initiated more of its investigations, rather than launching them based on receiving a complaint. Under the Trump administration, the WHD plans to shift its focus to "investigating employers with the most serious violations rather than burdening compliant employers with investigations that do not uncover compliance problems."