[Senate Hearing 117-189]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-189
NOMINATIONS OF RAJESH NAYAK,
TARYN MACKENZIE WILLIAMS,
AND DOUG PARKER
=======================================================================
HEARING
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
EXAMINING THE NOMINATIONS OF RAJESH D. NAYAK, OF MARYLAND, TARYN
MACKENZIE WILLIAMS, OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND DOUGLAS L. PARKER,
OF WEST VIRGINIA, EACH TO BE AN ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR
__________
MAY 27, 2021
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
46-769PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS
PATTY MURRAY, Washington, Chair
BERNIE SANDERS (I), Vermont RICHARD BURR, North Carolina,
ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania Ranking Member
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin RAND PAUL, M.D., Kentucky
CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
TIM KAINE, Virginia BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
TINA SMITH, Minnesota MIKE BRAUN, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada ROGER MARSHALL, M.D., Kansas
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado MITT ROMNEY, Utah
TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama
JERRY MORAN, Kansas
Evan T. Schatz, Staff Director
David P. Cleary, Republican Staff Director
John Righter, Deputy Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
STATEMENTS
THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2021
Page
Committee Members
Murray, Hon. Patty, Chair, Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions, Opening statement................................ 1
Burr, Hon. Richard, Ranking Member, a U.S. Senator from the State
of North Carolina, Opening statement........................... 3
Witnesses
Nayak, Rajesh, Silver Spring, MD................................. 6
Prepared statement........................................... 8
Mackenzie Williams, Taryn, Washington, DC........................ 9
Prepared statement........................................... 10
Parker, Doug, San Francisco, CA.................................. 11
Prepared statement........................................... 13
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.
Murray, Hon. Patty:
CWA Letter in support of the Doug Parker Nomination.......... 31
CWA Letter in support of the Rajesh Nayak Nomination......... 32
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Response by Taryn Mackenzie Williams to questions of:
Senator Casey................................................ 32
NOMINATIONS OF RAJESH NAYAK,
TARYN MACKENZIE WILLIAMS
AND, DOUG PARKER
----------
Thursday, May 27, 2021
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in
room 106, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Patty Murray,
Chair of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Murray [presiding], Casey, Baldwin,
Kaine, Hassan, Rosen, Hickenlooper, Burr, Marshall, and
Tuberville.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MURRAY
The Chair. Good morning. The Senate Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions Committee will please come to order. Today
we are holding a hearing on the nominations of Rajesh Nayak to
serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy, Taryn
Mackenzie Williams to serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Disability Employment Policy, and Doug Parker to serve as
Assistant Secretary of Occupational Safety and Health. Ranking
Member Burr and I will each have an opening statement and then
I will introduce the witnesses. And after they give their
testimony, Senators will each have 5 minutes for a round of
questions.
Before we begin, I again want to walk through the COVID-19
safety protocols that are in place today. As you can see, we
are in a large hearing room today and Senators remain six feet
apart. But as I said at our last Committee meeting, I am
talking with Senator Burr and Committee Members about how we
are going to change these protocols going forward given the
change in guidance from the Office of Attending Physician. So
for all our Members' awareness, I expect that following the
break, our hearings will look and operate more closely to how
they did before the pandemic with accommodations for those who
require additional safety measures.
Again, I just really want to thank all of our Clerks and
everyone who worked through all of this to help us all stay
safe and healthy. And again, while we are unable to have the
hearing fully open to the public or media for in-person
attendance, live video is available on our Committee website at
help.senate.gov. And if anyone needs accommodations, including
closed captioning, you can reach out to the Committee or the
Office of Congressional Accessibility Services. We received Mr.
Nayak's formal nomination on April 27th, his Office of
Government Ethics paperwork, including his public financial
disclosures and ethics agreement on May 3rd, and his Committee
paperwork on May 12th.
We received Ms. Williams' formal nomination on April 22nd,
her Office of Government Ethics paperwork on April 30th, and
her Committee paperwork on May 18th. And we received Mr.
Parker's formal nomination on April 12th, his Office of
Government Ethics paperwork on April 15th, and his Committee
paperwork on May 14th. I would like to thank all of our
witnesses for joining us today and also to welcome Mr. Nayak's
wife, Rebecca, Ms. Williams' husband, Reggie, and mother
Shirley, and Mr. Parker's wife, Lee, and her 2 month old
daughter, Rose, who is really being great back there right now.
Thank you all for joining us today. If we are going to end
this pandemic and build back stronger and fairer from the most
unequal economic crisis in recent history, we have to address
the problems COVID put a glaring spotlight on and the
inequities that it has made worse, like job loss, that has
disproportionately hurt women, workers of color, workers with
disability, and workers paid low wages. We have to raise the
Federal minimum wage and eliminate the sub minimum wage for
tipped workers, youth workers, and workers with disabilities.
We have to make sure every worker has paid leave and
quality, affordable childcare. And no worker has to choose
between their family or their health and their paycheck. We
have to eliminate bias and discrimination and ensure all
workers get fair pay, equal opportunity, and the accommodations
they need in the workplace. We also have to make sure
workplaces are safe and not just against pandemics, but free
from unsafe working conditions, environmental hazards, and
sexual harassment and assault. And we need to protect and
strengthen the right to form or join a union and collectively
bargain for better working conditions, wages and benefits.
In short, we have a long list of big challenges ahead. And
to tackle those challenges, we need committed, qualified
leaders working with us at the Department of Labor, leaders who
understand our economy is working great for those at the top,
but not so well for everyone else, and who will do everything
they can to change that. We need people like Mr. Nayak, Ms.
Williams, and Mr. Parker. Mr. Nayak is currently a Senior
Adviser at the Department and has previously served in the
solicitor's office as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and
Deputy Chief of Staff. In those various roles, he has worked on
a broad portfolio including workforce development, worker
protection, counter trafficking, overtime pay, health and
safety, retirement security and more.
He has also worked twice at the National Employment Law
Project, including most recently as deputy CEO. As an advocate
and a policymaker, he has shown time and again his commitment
to empowering workers, supporting families, and advancing
equity. I have no doubt that if confirmed as Assistant
Secretary for Policy, he will do just that. Ms. Williams is a
similarly excellent choice for the role of Assistant Secretary
for Disability Employment Policy. Ms. Williams is a champion
for people with disabilities, a reputation she has earned
through her years of service at the Department's Office of
Disability Employment Policy, where she led agency efforts to
build pathways to competitive, integrated employment for people
with disabilities.
At the White House, where she served as a liaison to the
disability community. At the Center for American Progress,
where she led CAPS efforts to build anti-poverty programs. And
even here on the HELP Committee where she worked for Chairman
Harkin. When Ms. Williams testified before this Committee about
health inequities and COVID-19 response a few months ago, her
knowledge as an expert and passion and advocate for people with
disabilities, qualities which make her so well suited to the
role she is been nominated for, were on clear display.
Finally, we have Mr. Parker, who has worked to protect
workers in his state throughout this pandemic as chief of
California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health,
starting with his move to swiftly issue health guidance back in
February 2020, when there were only 13 cases of COVID-19 in the
country. But his record fighting for workers well-being goes
well beyond this pandemic. He has spent his career fighting for
worker safety as an attorney for the United Mine Workers, a
senior official at the Department of Labor's Mine Safety and
Health Administration, during one of the best streaks of safety
in the industry's history, and the Executive Director of
WorkSafe, a workplace safety advocacy organization.
Mr. Parker is an extremely well qualified nominee to serve
as Assistant Secretary of Occupational Safety and Health, and I
look forward to working with him to protect workers, especially
considering the dangers of this pandemic continues to pose.
Which is why it continues to be so critical that OSHA issued an
emergency temporary standard to protect all workers, especially
frontline workers, from COVID-19. And OSHA ETS is long overdue
and remains very necessary for the tens of millions of workers
still at risk, and I urge the Administration to act now and
issue a standard to ensure all workers are safe in their
workplaces. It is a goal we all share, and it is clear the
nominees before it share it as well. Given their excellent
qualifications and the critical work at hand, I am pleased to
support each of these nominees.
I hope after today's hearing, my colleagues on both sides
of the aisle will work with me to get them quickly confirmed in
a bipartisan way. I look forward to hearing from each of you
about how we can make our economy truly work for working
families in my state, in North Carolina, and across the
country.
Now, before I turn it over to a Ranking Member Burr for his
opening remarks, I ask unanimous consent to put in the record
one letter in support of Mr. Nayak's nomination, and a letter
in support of Mr. Parkers' nomination. So ordered.
[The following information can be found on page 31]
The Chair. Now I will turn it over to Senator Burr.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BURR
Senator Burr. Madam Chair, thank you and, thank you for
scheduling this hearing this morning to examine these
Department of Labor nominees. Congratulations, Mr. Nayak, Ms.
Williams, Mr. Parker, and welcome to your family members that
are behind you. These are important Labor policy positions. The
role of Assistant Secretary for Policy will be involved in
virtually every major decision to come out of the Department of
Labor. The Disability Employment Policy Office plays a key role
in helping get unemployed and underemployed Americans with
disabilities back to work. The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, or OSHA, is tasked with the job of ensuring
safe and healthful working conditions for workers.
As we consider our Nation's labor agenda going forward, we
should recognize that America's fundamentals are in fact
strong. The best way to keep these fundamentals strong is easy,
it is pro-growth legislation and regulatory relief. It is
support for workers in the ways that they want to work in a new
economy. It is not tax increases, it is not increased
regulation, and it is certainly not doing the bidding for trial
lawyers, it is not coercing workers into unions that don't want
to join or preventing the growth of a gig economy where workers
decide their work life. There is no need to fundamentally
restructure our Nation from a free market capitalism to pretend
worker's paradise under the thumb of Washington.
The closures due to COVID-19 pandemic are beginning to end
everywhere. Trillions have been spent, some of it with good
effect. But now some want to spend trillions and trillions
more, all in an effort to fundamentally change the fabric of
this country. Trouble is, it gets a little hard to ask for
trillions more when we haven't even really begun to spend much
of the last round of funding and what we have spent outside of
actual COVID response is, in fact, making things worse. While
restaurants and businesses are desperate to hire workers, some
want to pay people more money to stay home. Then they scratch
their heads at the terrible unemployment numbers that we see.
Just last week, I was told the story of a carpenter who
upgrades residential kitchens and bathrooms, that he has
constant inquiries to take on new business, but he can't find
crews to do jobs. The crew workers are making so much due to
the increased unemployment just by staying at home. It made
sense to provide extra benefits last year when businesses had
to close, and people needed extra help because their jobs
didn't exist. But let me remind everybody, the average across
the country today for unemployment in their state and the
enhanced benefit is $15.42 cents an hour.
For most workers, they are not obligated to pay taxes on
the first $10,000 of it. For my employers in North Carolina
today, they can't get workers that they need to clean rooms to
rent at night and they are offering between $16.00 and $18.00
an hour because that is not enough to surpass what they can
make staying home. We are also faced with the challenge of
reopening the economy post COVID. America will safely open
because of vaccines. Not because OSHA throws a new rule book at
business owners. CDC just recently followed the science and
updated the mask mandate. Science is what we should rely on
when setting standards, and when the science changes so
rapidly, we can't set a static and arbitrary standard for
COVID-19 prevention as the Administration is considering doing.
Last week I wrote to Secretary Walsh and Acting OMB
Director Young to stand down and not issue an emergency
temporary standard. Employers and workers together have
navigated COVID-19 together, making decisions based on the
constantly changing science and guidance provided from CDC and
the Department of Labor. However, the nominee for OSHA position
did exactly the opposite of that. California state's OSHA put
in place an emergency temporary standard in the midst of the
pandemic. Instead of providing employers with clear operational
guidance, I am told that the temporary standard resulted in
confusion to employers as to how to comply.
California OSHA had to post 70 frequently asked questions
to clarify the regulated community of what was expected of
them. On May 20, California OSHA proposed to drastically scale
back the requirements in the standard to align with the
dramatic improvements made with a large number of vaccinated
individuals and dramatic reductions in the infection rate. I
hope the lesson that is learned here is that we shouldn't
nationally just follow what California tried and found to be
wrong. I hope the Administration changes course and listens to
the concerns that I have raised. On the other hand, I would
like to say that we got--we do, we have got some potential
areas of great agreement.
We talk about disability employment policy. We can talk
about how to build upon the bipartisan work already done in
things like the Able Act to help the disabled and their
families save for the future without endangering their current
benefits. Senator Casey and I have worked on it for years. The
nature of work has changed, and disability employment policy
needs to change with it.
For example, virtual work can help people with disabilities
use technology to erase outdated notions of disability for so
many. We also need to help those with disabilities who are
determined to return to work, but worried about the financial
consequences of doing so. Lessons from ticket to work will help
find newer and more effective strategies. We must incentivize a
return to work for those who are willing.
We also need robust continuing disability reviews to make
sure those who are unwilling but capable of work are not simply
using up the resources of those who desperately need it.
Everyone knows a disability benefit abuse story. There should
be a bipartisan commitment to rooting all of that abuse out. It
is just plain stealing from the most vulnerable in this
country.
To our witnesses again today, I welcome you. I look forward
to your testimony, to your answers, and to your approach to the
management of these very important issues in your agency. I
thank the Chair. I yield back.
The Chair. Thank you. I will now formally introduced
today's witnesses. Rajesh Nayak currently serves as the Senior
Advisor to the Secretary of Labor and is a trusted expert
within his field. He grew up in south, central Illinois, earned
his undergraduate degree in public policy from the University
of Chicago, and later received his law degree from Yale. Prior
to his time in the Government, he worked as an attorney at the
National Employment Law Project, the Brennan Center for Justice
at the NYU School of Law, and the Shriver Center in Chicago.
Mr. Nayak previously spent 7 years at the Department of--at
the Labor Department during the Obama-Biden administration and
served in a range of senior roles, including Senior Counsel,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, and Deputy Chief of
Staff. After his time in the Obama administration, Mr. Nayak
returned to NELP as the Deputy Executive Director. Mr. Nayak,
thank you for joining us today.
Next, I will introduce Taryn Mackenzie Williams. She is the
Managing Director for the Poverty to Prosperity Program at the
Center for American Progress, where she is focused on a broad
range of anti-poverty strategies. She attended Brown
University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in public
policy, then Harvard University, where she received a master's
degree in education with the concentration and administration,
planning, and social policy.
Ms. Williams has also previously served as the Research
Coordinator for Leadership Programs at the Institute for
Educational Leadership, the Director of Programs at the
National Association of Urban Debate Leagues in Chicago, a
Policy Advisor on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions, Associate Director for Public
Engagement, and liaison to the Disability Community at the
White House, and as the Chief of Staff of the Office of
Disability Employment Policy. Ms. Williams, thank you for
joining us today.
Doug Parker is currently the Chief of California Division
of Occupational Safety and Health, the state agency responsible
for protecting workers safety. Mr. Parker received his
bachelor's degree from James Madison University and his J.D.
from the University of Virginia Law School. Prior to his
Federal Government service, he worked as a staff attorney for
the United Mine Workers of America and a partner at a labor and
employment law firm in Washington, DC.
He also served in a number of roles in the Department of
Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration during the Obama
administration and eventually rose to the position of Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Policy. After leaving the Government,
he served as the Executive Director of WorkSafe, a legal aid,
nonprofit focused on worker health and safety. Mr. Parker, we
are glad to have you joining us for this hearing as well.
I look forward to hearing from all of you today and working
with you in the future. We will now begin your testimony. And
Mr. Nayak, you may begin.
STATEMENT OF RAJESH NAYAK TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF LABOR
FOR POLICY, SILVER SPRING, MD
Mr. Nayak. Thank you for that introduction, Chair Murray,
Ranking Member Burr, and Members of the Committee, I am honored
to appear before you today as the nominee for the Assistant
Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor. I need to
start by thanking President Biden and Vice President Harris for
giving me the opportunity to earn your approval, and to
Secretary Walsh for his support.
I also want to thank my family, starting with my wife,
Rebecca, who is here today, and who always asks the tough
questions about policy. And to my children, Lyla and Jay, who
are a little too young to be here, but who keep me grounded by
giving me the most important jobs like Daisy troop leader and
lunch bag illustrator. I also need to thank my parents,
Dharmadev and Chitra Nayak, immigrants who arrived here from
India 50 years ago. They were newly married, and they didn't
have much. My father went through medical school on
scholarships and eventually found a home in Effingham, a small
town in South Central, Illinois where I was born, spent my
first 18 years, and made some of my best friends till today.
My parents worked hard to earn the trust of neighbors in a
place where there were only handfuls of immigrant families. My
dad cut short many nights at home to check on patients and my
mom became an active in the community, in addition to all she
did for my brother Mike and me. Thanks to that town and this
Nation, my parents did well, helped us go to great schools, and
gave us the chance to pursue dreams and opportunities that led
me to sit before you today. I am proud of my AAPI heritage and
thankful for the support of the broader Indian American
community as the nominee for this position.
I have worked for most of my career focused on employment
and labor policy. I spent nearly half of the past 15 years in
Government, serving previously the Department as Senior
Counsel, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, and Deputy
Chief of Staff. During that time, I was privileged to play a
lot of different roles, as a lawyer, as a coordinator, as a
manager. I saw the Department's work from many angles.
Most importantly, I got to work with amazing people. The
career staff at DOL are smart, creative, and tremendously
dedicated. I have seen teams go the extra mile time and time
again to fulfill the Department's critical mission of promoting
the welfare of this Nation's workers, job seekers, and
retirees. It has been a highlight of my career to return to the
Department this year on a temporary basis to help transition in
a fantastic new team of leaders. It has been especially
fulfilling to reconnect with those dedicated career staff.
As I hope is obvious, I fully support the Department's
mission and staff and I care deeply about how our policy
impacts workers, and especially workers who are too often left
behind, be they workers of color, immigrant workers, or workers
in small towns and rural communities like where I grew up who
have lost their jobs due to industrialization. More recently, I
was the Deputy Executive Director at the National Employment
Law Project, an advocacy organization that is committed to
protecting the rights of all workers. A common thread through
my recent Government and nonprofit experience is that I have
held management roles where I have had to make tough calls as a
manager and where I have learned what it is like to be the
employer myself who is notified about new policy and who has to
figure out how to implement it.
I know how important it is for the Government to listen to
employers, to hear out their concerns, to consider
flexibilities, to make laws work in practice, and to give
employers and workers alike the clear concrete guidance they
need to understand their rights and responsibilities. I believe
I have the skills and experience to find common sense solutions
that consider the views of employers and workers like.
If confirmed, I will take seriously the responsibility to
pursue a policy that reflects the input of a broad set of
stakeholders and would appreciate the opportunity to hear from
workers and their representatives, employers and industry
groups, interagency colleagues, and Members of this Committee
to find common ground and not to prejudge outcomes. Thank you,
and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Nayak follows:]
prepared statement of rajesh nayak
Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members of the Committee,
I'm honored to appear before you today as the nominee for the Assistant
Secretary for Policy at the United States Department of Labor.
I need to start by thanking President Biden and Vice President
Harris for giving me the opportunity to earn your approval, and to
Secretary Walsh for his support. I also want to thank my family--
starting with my wife, Rebecca, who always asks the tough questions
about policy; and my children, Lila and Jay, who are a little too young
to be here, but who keep me grounded by giving me important jobs like
Daisy Troop Co-Leader and Lunch Bag Illustrator.
I also need to thank my parents, Dharmadev and Chitra Nayak--
immigrants who arrived here from India 50 years ago. They were newly
married, and they didn't have much. My father went through medical
school on scholarships and eventually found a home in Effingham--a
small town in South Central Illinois where I was born, spent my first
18 years, and made some of my best friends still today. My parents
worked hard to earn the trust of neighbors in a place where there were
only handfuls of immigrant families; my dad cut short many nights at
home to check on patients, and my mom became active in the community,
in addition to all she did for my brother Mike and me. Thanks to that
town and this Nation, my parents did well, helped us go to great
schools, and gave us the chance to pursue dreams and opportunities that
led me to sit before you today. I'm proud of my AAPI heritage and
thankful for the support of the broader Indian-American community as
the nominee for this position.
I have worked for most of my career focused on employment and labor
policy. I spent nearly half of the past 15 years in government, serving
previously at the Department of Labor as Senior Counsel, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Policy, and Deputy Chief of Staff. During that
time, I was privileged to play a lot of different roles--as a lawyer,
as a coordinator, and as a manager. I saw the Department's work from
many angles. Most importantly, I got to work with amazing people. The
career staff at DOL are smart, creative, and tremendously dedicated.
I've seen teams go the extra mile time and time again to fulfill the
Department's critical mission of promoting the welfare of this Nation's
workers, job seekers, and retirees.
It's been a highlight of my career to return to the Department this
year on a temporary basis to help transition in a fantastic new team of
leaders. It's been especially fulfilling to reconnect with those
dedicated career staff.
As I hope is obvious, I fully support the Department's mission and
staff, and I care deeply about how our policy impacts workers, and
especially workers who are too often left behind, be they workers of
color, immigrant workers, or workers in rural communities (like where I
grew up) who have lost their jobs due to deindustrialization. More
recently, I was the Deputy Executive Director of the National
Employment Law Project, an advocacy organization that is committed to
protecting the rights of all workers.
A common thread throughout my government and nonprofit experience
is that I've held management roles where I've had to make tough calls
as a manager, and where I've also learned what it's like to be the
employer who is notified about a new policy, and who has to figure out
how to implement it. I know how important it is for the government to
listen to employers, to hear out their concerns, to consider
flexibilities to make laws work in practice, and always to give
employers and workers alike the clear, concrete guidance they need to
understand their rights and responsibilities.
I believe that I have the skills and experience to find common-
sense solutions that consider the views of employers and workers alike.
If confirmed, I will take seriously the responsibility to pursue policy
that reflects the input of a broad set of stakeholders, and would
appreciate the opportunity to hear from workers and their
representatives, employers and industry groups, interagency colleagues,
and members of this committee to find common ground, not to prejudge
outcomes.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
______
The Chair. Thank you, Mr. Nayak.
We will turn to Ms. Williams for her testimony.
STATEMENT OF TARYN MACKENZIE WILLIAMS TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF LABOR FOR DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT POLICY, WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. Williams. Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and
Members of the Committee, it is a privilege to appear before
you as you consider my nomination for Assistant Secretary for
Disability Employment Policy. I want to thank President Biden
and Vice President Harris for the honor of this nomination. I
share their commitment to advancing the rights of people with
disabilities.
I also want to acknowledge my aunts, cousins, family and
friends for their love and encouragement. My husband, Reggie,
who has been by my side for more than 20 years, including
today, thank you for always supporting me, and my mom, who
believe so strongly that I should be able to shape my own
destiny. From childhood, you taught me to find my own voice and
learn to advocate for myself, first with doctors, then with
teachers and classmates, and finally with colleagues. You
shared that it wouldn't be easy as a Black woman in this world,
that there would be times I faced discrimination, times that I
would fail, but that I should never give up on my journey to
find my way in this world. How my mom raised me has shaped who
I am and my career in disability policy.
The conviction that everyone, including people with
disabilities, should have the opportunity to not just learn and
earn, but also to advocate for themselves and fully participate
in all aspects of community life. As I reflect on my career,
there are key moments that have made me who I am today. At the
age of 22, newly out of graduate school, I was denied health
insurance by my small nonprofit employer for my preexisting
condition of ulcerative colitis. I was fortunate that I was
still young enough to qualify for my mother's insurance.
Shortly after I underwent emergency surgery for complications
from that condition. I wondered whether I would be able to keep
my job.
In 2008, I cycled in and out of emergency rooms with more
complications. It was then that I asked for my first set of
accommodations from my employer. I was terrified and certain
that my career could be over. But colleagues who are also
members of the disability community reached out to me. Within
the community, that young woman who had grown up with a chronic
condition became an adult who understood how many of my fears
and aspirations were shared by millions of people with
disabilities living in this country. I am sharing these moments
with you because they helped define my understanding of the
struggles and barriers that so many disabled people and their
loved ones face each day.
I know firsthand how challenging it can be to work as a
person with a disability and to wonder whether my requests for
accommodations will be accepted or if knowledge of my
disability will cause others to question whether I am suited
for a job. I spent 6 years at nonprofits focused on research,
policy, and practice to improve educational opportunities for
all students, and particularly those from disadvantaged
backgrounds. I then went on to a decade of service as a career
public servant at the Department of Labor's Office of
Disability Employment Policy, as a policy adviser on the Youth
Policy Team, Director of the Youth Policy Team, and as Chief of
Staff. I also took on detail assignments, working with the
Senate Help Committee and with the White House as a liaison to
the disability community. Fundamental to my approach is a firm
belief that we must heed what advocates with disabilities tell
us they need in order to be successful.
This is the disabilities communities mantra, nothing about
us, without us. My past 2 years leading a team working on anti-
poverty issues has only deepened my firm commitment to working
on behalf of people with disabilities, many of whom are low
income, to advance policies to address the economic insecurity
of individuals, families, and communities. ODEP's research,
evidence based policies and practices, and experts' technical
assistance will play a critical role in ensuring that people
with disabilities are part of our economic recovery.
Now, more than ever, we must work with the Federal
Government in states, with the private sector, and in
partnership with people with disabilities, members of their
families, and service providers to build a better future. I am
honored by this nomination and the opportunity to once again
work alongside the exceptional staff at the Labor Department
who are committed to advancing employment opportunities and
ensuring fair treatment in the workplace for all workers,
including people with disabilities. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Williams follows:]
prepared statement of taryn williams
Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members of the Committee. It
is a privilege to appear before you as you consider my nomination for
Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy.
I want to thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for the
honor of this nomination. I share their commitment to advancing the
rights of people with disabilities.
I also want to acknowledge my aunts, cousins, family and friends
for their love and encouragement. My husband Reggie who has been by my
side for more than 20 years, including today: Thank you for always
supporting me.
My mom who believed so strongly that I should be able to shape my
own destiny. From childhood, you taught me to find my own voice and
learn to advocate for myself. First with doctors, then with teachers
and classmates, and finally with colleagues. You shared that it
wouldn't be easy as a Black woman in this world, that there would be
times I faced discrimination, times that I would fail, but that I
should never give up on my journey to find my way in this world. How my
mom raised me has shaped who I am and my career in disability policy--
the conviction that everyone, including people with disabilities,
should have the opportunity to not just learn and earn but also to
advocate for themselves and fully participate in all aspects of
community life.
As I reflect on my career, there are key moments that have made me
who I am today. At the age of 22, newly out of graduate school, I was
denied health insurance by my small nonprofit employer for my
preexisting condition of ulcerative colitis. I was fortunate that I was
still young enough to qualify for my mother's insurance. Shortly after,
I underwent emergency surgery for complications from that condition. I
wondered whether I would be able to keep my job. In 2008, I cycled in
and out of emergency rooms with more complications. It was then that I
asked for my first set of accommodations from my employer. I was
terrified and certain that my career would be over before it really got
started. But colleagues who were also members of the disability
community reached out to me. Within the community, that young woman who
had grown up with a chronic condition became an adult who understood
how many of my fears and aspirations were shared by millions of people
with disabilities living in this country.
I am sharing these moments with you because they helped define my
understanding of the struggles and barriers that so many disabled
people and their loved ones face each day. I know firsthand how
challenging it can be to work as a person with a disability and to
wonder whether my request for accommodations will be accepted or if
knowledge of my disability will cause others to question whether I am
suited for a job.
I spent 6 years at nonprofits focused on research, policy, and
practice designed to improve educational opportunities for all students
and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. I then went on
to a decade of service--as a career public servant--at the Department
of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy as a policy advisor
on the Youth Policy Team, Director of the Youth Policy Team, and as
Chief of Staff. I also took on detail assignments--working with the
Senate HELP Committee on Disability Policy and with the White House as
an Associate Director of Public Engagement and Liaison to the
Disability Community.
Fundamental to my approach is a firm belief that we must heed what
advocates with disabilities tell us they need in order to be
successful. This is the disability community's mantra: nothing about
us, without us. My past 2 years leading a team working on anti-poverty
issues has only deepened my firm commitment to working on behalf of
people with disabilities, many of whom are low-income, to advance
policies to address the economic security of individuals, families and
communities.
ODEP's research, evidence-based policies and practices, and expert
technical assistance will play a critical role in ensuring that people
with disabilities are part of our economic recovery. Now more than
ever, we must work across the Federal Government, in states, with the
private sector, and in partnership with people with disabilities,
members of their families and service providers to build a better
future.
I am honored by this nomination and the opportunity to once again
work alongside the exceptional staff at the Labor Department who are
committed to advancing employment opportunities and ensuring fair
treatment in the workplace for all workers, including people with
disabilities.
Thank you.
______
The Chair. Thank you, Ms. Williams.
We will turn to you, Mr. Parker, for your testimony.
STATEMENT OF DOUG PARKER TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH, SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Mr. Parker. Thank you. Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr,
and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to
speak to you today. It is my privilege and honor to be before
you as the Committee considers my nomination to be the
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health. I want to thank President Biden for the opportunity to
serve our Nation in this important role.
I also want to thank my family. I am incredibly
appreciative for the love and support of my wife, Lee Phillips,
who has joined me here today in the Committee room with our 2
month old daughter, Rose. Our other daughter, Evelyn, has been
enjoying Washington, DC this week while I prepare for this
hearing and is staying with friends. I would also like to thank
my parents, who both grew up in western North Carolina during
the Depression and instilled in me the values of community,
family, justice, and faith that have guided me throughout my
life.
My mother was planning to watch these proceedings from the
home where I grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, but recently had a
fall and is in rehab. My older brother, Michael, who has always
supported me in my career in life, is following the hearing
from his home in Germany. My father, who passed away in 2017,
began his career working for an electric utility in Southern
West Virginia where my brother and I were born. He cared deeply
about the health and safety of his fellow employees. His very
first act as a supervisor back in the 1950's was to hold an
employee safety breakfast. He was proud of a career spanning
more than 30 years in which no employee suffered a major injury
at work. I think he would be very proud today to see the
opportunities I will have, if confirmed, to thoughtfully
address the health and safety of America's workers.
Both of my parents instilled in me the value and dignity of
work. While I was in high school, I spent my summers making
tomato stakes in our garage that I would sell to save money for
college. It was a small family business that began as my
brother's Future Farmers of America Project. After college and
a couple of years working in Washington, DC, I returned home to
help my father start another small business, manufacturing and
selling specialized tools for the electric utility industry. I
worked mostly in sales, but filled in as needed as a security
guard, a typist, a general laborer, or whatever else needed to
get done.
I appreciate the challenges faced by small business owners
whose financial risk taking and innovation is what drives
growth and opportunity in this country. I then decided to apply
for and attend law school, where my interest in labor law and
worker's rights took shape. As a labor lawyer and legal aid
advocate, I have had the privilege of working on behalf of coal
miners, warehouse workers, hotel housekeepers and health care
workers. As a public servant, both at the Federal Mine Safety
and Health Administration, or MSHA, and the California Division
of Occupational Safety and Health, CAL OSHA, I have
demonstrated my ongoing commitment to the health and safety of
workers.
During my time at MSHA, I helped to improve the agency's
use of its available enforcement tools to bring mines with poor
safety records into compliance, efforts that helped to usher in
the safest period for miners in our Nation's history. At CAL
OSHA, I have led the agency through the past 14 plus months of
the COVID-19 pandemic. Early in the pandemic, we proactively
developed guidance, model programs, and training tools to help
employers put COVID-19 prevention plans in place.
We have provided compliance assistance to thousands of
employers. When employers have failed to adequately protect
workers from exposure to COVID-19, we have taken action. And in
November, the CAL OSHA Standards Board adopted an emergency
temporary standard to train workers, implement controls to
limit transmission, and contain workplace outbreaks when they
do occur. In both of these Government roles, maintaining a
dialog with stakeholders has been a top priority for me.
One of my first actions at CAL OSHA was to reinstate our
stakeholder advisory committee. And I understand how important
it is to hear input on the issues facing our workplaces. If
confirmed, I will maintain that commitment to stakeholder
dialog. We do not have to choose between a strong economy and
good, safe jobs. Listening to and learning from stakeholders is
how we can ensure both. Thank you and I look forward to your
questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Parker follows:]
prepared statement of doug parker
Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members of the Committee,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. It is my
privilege and honor to be before you today as the Committee considers
my nomination to be the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health. I want to thank President Biden for the opportunity
to serve our Nation in this important role. I also want to thank my
family. I am incredibly appreciative for the love and support of my
wife, Leigh Phillips, who has joined me here today in the Committee
room with our 2 month old daughter Rose. Our other daughter, Evelyn,
has been enjoying Washington, DC this week while I prepare for this
hearing, and is staying with friends.
I'd also like to thank my parents, who both grew up in Western
North Carolina during the Depression and instilled in me the values of
community, family, justice and faith that have guided me throughout my
life. My mother is watching these proceedings from the home where I
grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia. My older brother Michael, who has
always supported me in my career and in life, is following the hearing
from his home in Germany.
My father, who passed away in 2017, began his career working for an
electric utility in Southern West Virginia, where my brother and I were
born. He cared deeply about the health and safety of his fellow
employees. His very first act as a supervisor, back in the 1950's, was
to hold an employee safety breakfast. He was proud of a career spanning
more than 30 years in which no employee suffered a major injury at
work. I think he would be very proud today to see the opportunities I
will have, if confirmed, to thoughtfully address the health and safety
of America's workers.
Both of my parents instilled in me the value and dignity of work.
While I was in high school, I spent my summers making tomato stakes in
our garage that I would sell to save money for college. It was a small
family business that started as my brother's Future Farmers of America
project.
After college, and a couple of years working in Washington, DC, I
returned home to help my father start another small business
manufacturing and selling specialized tools for the electric utility
industry. I worked mostly in sales, but filled in as needed as a
security guard, a typist, a general laborer, or whatever needed to get
done. I appreciate the challenges faced by small business owners, whose
financial risk-taking and innovation is what drives growth and
opportunity in this country.
I then decided to apply for and attend law school, where my
interest in labor law and worker's rights took shape. As a labor lawyer
and legal aid advocate, I've had the privilege of working on behalf of
coal miners, warehouse workers, hotel housekeepers, and health care
workers.
As a public servant, at both the Federal Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA) and the California Division of Occupational
Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) I have demonstrated my ongoing commitment
to the health and safety of workers. During my time at MSHA, I helped
to improve the agency's use of its available enforcement tools to bring
mines with poor safety records into compliance, efforts that helped to
usher in the safest period for miners in our Nation's history.
At Cal/OSHA I have led the agency through the past 14 plus months
of the COVID-19 pandemic. Early in the pandemic, we proactively
developed guidance, model programs and training tools to help employers
put COVID-19 prevention plans in place. We have provided compliance
assistance to thousands of employers. When employers have failed to
adequately protect workers from exposure to COVID-19, we have taken
action. And in November, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board adopted an
emergency temporary standard to train workers, implement controls to
limit transmission, and contain workplace outbreaks when they do occur.
In both of these government roles, maintaining a dialog with
stakeholders has been a top priority for me. One of my first actions at
Cal/OSHA was to reinstate our stakeholder advisory committee, and I
understand how important it is to hear input on the issues facing our
workplaces. If confirmed, I will maintain that commitment to
stakeholder dialog. We do not have to choose between a strong economy
and good, safe jobs; listening to and learning from stakeholders is how
we can ensure both. Thank you and I look forward to your questions.
______
The Chair. Thank you very much, Mr. Parker. Thank you to
all of you again. We will now begin a round of 5 minute
questions. I ask my colleagues to please keep track of the
clock and stay within those 5 minutes. The mission of the
Department of Labor is to, ``foster, promote, and develop the
welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the
United States, improve working conditions, advance
opportunities for profitable employment and ensure work related
benefits and rights.''
Yet we know that during the previous administration, the
Department of Labor didn't fulfill that mission. It took a
series of actions that seriously undermined workers' rights and
it moved in the wrong direction as it finalized rules on joint
employer, independent contractor status, tip protection, and
the overtime threshold. And the Department failed workers and
their families by refusing to issue rules to protect workers
and neglecting to vigorously enforce the laws that are on the
books.
Now we have a Department of Labor with leadership committed
to carrying out the Department's mission to promote the welfare
of all workers and secure their benefits. So this morning, I
would like to hear from each of you how your previous
experience will contribute to the Department's mission and help
you carry out the duties of your job, if confirmed. I will
start with Mr. Nayak.
Mr. Nayak. Thank you, Chair Murray, and thank you for the
time to meet the last couple of days. If I am fortunate to be
confirmed, I would be tremendously excited to take on the role
of Assistant Secretary for Policy. As you know, I have a long
history in labor and employment policy, including 7 years of
the Obama administration. I am excited to help advance the
President's and Vice President's agendas when it comes to
workers, and the Secretary's vision for the Department.
But in rulemaking in particular, the Department does have
to keep an open mind and not prejudge outcomes. The Assistant
Secretary for Policy can help ensure the Department is running
a process that improves policy. If I am fortunate enough to be
confirmed, I envision taking on a few priorities. First,
ensuring the Department is producing high quality economic
analysis. Second, promoting stakeholder engagement, hearing a
range of views, both in the notice and comment rulemaking
period and beyond from a variety of stakeholders.
Third, assessing equity, understanding the impact of
everything the Department does on stakeholders who otherwise
might be left behind. Depending on the context that could be
women, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants,
or a very diverse world of small business owners. I would be
excited to have the chance to play this role for the
Department.
The Chair. Thank you.
Ms. Williams.
Ms. Williams. Thank you for that question. Senator, I got
my start in public service as a policy adviser at the U.S.
Department of Labor working on issues related to youth and
young adults as they transitioned into the workforce. In the
decade of service that followed, I wore many different hats,
but in all of them focused on issues affecting people with
disabilities and did it with expertise grounded in data,
evidence based practice, and the development and implementation
of policies that could break down barriers to disability,
inclusion, and employment.
If confirmed to this role, I would approach it with the
fierce commitment to collaboration that has been the hallmark
of the work that ODEP has done in the past. ODEP is uniquely
positioned to leverage its expertise as it works across the
Department, the broader Federal Government, in states, with
employers both public and private, with service providers,
family members, and most importantly, with people with
disabilities themselves.
The Chair. Thank you.
Mr. Parker.
Mr. Parker. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, for the
question. I began my career after law school as an attorney,
both at the Mine Workers and then in private practice
representing unions and workers, and I had the opportunity not
only to see how a wide range of industries worked, but also to
see the human cost of unfair working conditions and unsafe
working conditions for workers. And really understand from some
of the workers that I worked with individually, the impact on
their families, if they lost their job, if they were injured,
if they were one of the retirees who I represented while they
were struggling to get health insurance back from the coal
company where they worked, understanding the impacts on that.
I have a very strong commitment that is grounded in that
very personal experience for me. During my time in public
service, I worked at the Mine Safety and Health Administration
to inform--reform our enforcement programs there, our
whistleblower program and others. And in CAL OSHA, I have had
similar experiences in reviewing the systems in place at the
agency and really responding in a crisis situation to the
COVID-19 pandemic. And I believe these leave me well qualified
to be the Assistant Secretary.
The Chair. Thank you to each one of you.
Senator Burr.
Senator Burr. Thank you, Madam Chair. I warn all of you, I
don't think you are going to have a prepared answer for my
questions. Mr. Parker, California OSHA, which you led, issued a
standard with little success. For example, NPR wrote, hardly--
excuse me NPR pointed out that California's approach to COVID
was arbitrary, capricious, and not data driven, lacking the
nuance and incentives which outcomes the same or worse--
outcomes were the same or worse of other states.
Now, the President has said by July the 4th, America is
going to be back to normal. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention changed their guidance 2 days after testifying
before this Committee and said, if you are fully vaccinated
against COVID-19, you can resume activities without wearing a
mask or staying six feet apart. My question is sort of simple,
why issue a standard that becomes rigid and unchanging when the
sciences we have learned from Dr. Lewinsky and Dr. Fauci is
constantly evolving and being updated regularly?
Mr. Parker. Senator, thank you for the question and it is
an important one. It is true that in California we did issue an
emergency temporary standard, we identified a compelling need
to do so, but it wasn't where we began. We began with offering
compliance assistance to employers, understanding that they
needed assistance in figuring out how to address COVID-19, a
new and novel hazard in the workplace. So we put out dozens of
compliance documents. We put out, I think we sent a letter to
every employer in the state reminding them of the guidance that
we put up and how they could receive compliance assistance from
us. We----
Senator Burr. NPR is not a conservative news outlet. We
would agree with that, wouldn't we? Let me just restate what
they said that what you did in California was arbitrary,
capricious, not data driven, lacking nuances and incentives,
and the outcomes were the same or worse than other states. So I
appreciate your litany of things that you went through. Do you
regret that you did it, and would you do the same thing in the
role at the Department of Labor as it relates to this standard?
Mr. Parker. I don't regret what we did, Senator, because I
believe that it saved lives in California and did contribute to
the improvement in the situation from being one of the hardest
hit states to the state now with one of the lowest rates. I
don't--I am not familiar with the NPR article or story that you
are referring to. I do know that those very issues were alleged
in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the emergency temporary
standard, and they were soundly rejected by the courts in
California.
Senator Burr. Let me ask you a couple of yes or no
answers--questions. Reports show that the teachers union had a
significant input in return to school guidance recently issued
by the CDC. Media reports suggest that union officials are
outraged that OSHA has not issued an emergency temporary
standard. If you are confirmed, can you assure me that you will
make sure no union has been provided a draft of an emergency
temporary standard or any other guidance issued by OSHA?
Mr. Parker. I can assure you that we won't issue any kind
of document like that if it is not permitted, and if it were
permitted, we would do it on an even handed basis with
stakeholders.
Senator Burr. If you are confirmed, can you assure me that
no union will influence the decision to issue an emergency
temporary standard or any other guidance at OSHA?
Mr. Parker. I can assure you that we would not give unions
any greater influence than other stakeholders and we would
follow the rules and procedures that are in place for the
rulemaking process.
Senator Burr. If you are confirmed, can you assure me that
no union will influence the contents of an emergency temporary
standard or other guidance issued by OSHA?
Mr. Parker. Again, Senator, to the extent that we would
seek input from stakeholders, it would be even handed.
Senator Burr. Well, I appreciate your answers. Let me just
say that when a left of center news outlet says that the
decisions you made were not driven by anything that had to do
with data and that they were capricious, it concerns me as to
what the process will be to determine what this temporary
standard is going to be. If in fact those who have interest in
this one way or the other are influencing that decision, that
would not be looked at very kindly on this Committee. I
appreciate your answers. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Parker. I understand, Senator. Thank you.
The Chair. Senator Casey.
Senator Casey. Thank you, Chair Murray. I want to thank the
panel for being here today and also for your willingness to do
public service. I am going to be directing my questions to Ms.
Williams. I wanted to thank you for the participation that you
had in our, I guess it was March, the--back in March, the
hearing we had on COVID-19 and health disparities. And I
remember engaging with you there.
I appreciate your work on disability policy issues, an area
where we share a lot of common interests and as well as issues
around work and people with disabilities. You had mentioned
that many people with disabilities are low income, and we know
that. In fact, about a quarter of adults with disabilities have
annual incomes below the Federal poverty level. You also
mentioned lack of economic security for people with
disabilities and the need to ensure that they are not left
behind as we recover from both the pandemic and then the
ensuing economic calamity.
You also know that, and we have talked about this in other
contexts, the labor force participation rate, the--I think for
women at one point in 2020 was the lowest in a third of a
century. We know for people with disabilities, that labor force
participation rate has been very low as well. So I guess on,
just two broad questions. One is, how would you address both
low employment? That is one question. And then also
underemployment for people with disabilities.
Ms. Williams. Thank you for that question, Senator. And
thank you for your continued commitment and championing of
inclusion of people with disabilities and disability
employment. It is absolutely the case that people with
disabilities often live in poverty. There is a saying and also
research that shows that disability can be both a cause and
consequence of poverty.
As part of that, we know that workers with disabilities
continue to be unemployed, underemployed, and entirely out of
the workforce at unacceptable rates. I think now, particularly
as we emerge from the pandemic and we are confronting the
collective effort to rebuild our economy, there is an urgent
need for disability employment policies that enable people with
disabilities to pursue careers, to attain good jobs, and to
achieve economic security. I think this is particularly the
case now because of the pandemic.
But frankly, we have had data available since 2009 that
shows that there is work to be done to really address the
unfinished business of the ADA, and that is achieving economic
security for people with disabilities. The mission of ODEP is
to develop and influence policies and practices that increase
both the number and the quality of jobs and employment
opportunities for people with disabilities. And its core
strength is working with Federal partners in the Department of
Labor, across the Federal Government with partners such as the
Department of Education, Health and Human Services, the Social
Security Administration, all Departments that play a key role
in supporting people with disabilities and helping to eliminate
barriers that they face.
ODEP works closely with these Federal partners. It also
does that work in states and localities, with employers, both
private and public sector, and with service providers. If I
were confirmed to this role, I would continue to leverage
ODEP's expertise, its leadership, its experts who are world
class in the areas that cross-cut with disability employment,
in order to ensure that people with disabilities are
prioritized and our economic recovery. I think we can do this.
I know we can do this. And I would commit to working with you,
Senator, and Members of the Committee, to continue to work on
this urgent crisis related to disability employment.
Senator Casey. Thanks very much. I think I will submit a
question for the record about sub-minimum wage. I know it is an
area that you have spent a good deal of time on. We know that
since 1986, Congress eliminated the requirement to pay people
with disabilities at least half of the minimum wage. We have
gotten bipartisan efforts here in Congress to finally address
the so-called special certificates and sub-minimum wage. But I
am out of time, but I will submit a question for the record.
Thanks very much.
The Chair. Thank you.
Senator Marshall.
Senator Marshall. Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. And again
to our guests today, thank you for being here. My first
question to Mr. Parker. On April 26th, OSHA transmitted an
emergency temporary standard related to the COVID-19 to the
White House Office of Management and Budget for review and
approval. A lot has changed in the past several months. Every
American has had an opportunity to get the vaccination.
We are approaching herd immunity. And I am telling you, my
phone is just blowing up from small business owners especially
regarding this. I think of--the people that work outside the
construction industry where there is really no outbreak, so
they can really go back to one of those outside jobs that I am
aware of. It is certainly so hard as one size fits all.
Every county is different in what is going on in one county
versus a different county, versus a different state. The
emergency temporary standard, the bar for that says that COVID
currently presents a grave danger, which is simply not true
anymore. Thank God for the vaccinations, right. And so many
people have already had the virus as well, conferring immunity.
Do you think that we still need that temporary standard,
emergency to every standard out there, or do you think we can
retract that now?
Mr. Parker. Thank you for the question, Senator. I know
that in California we have, as the Ranking Member noted, have
been working on a reauthorization of our emergency temporary
standard, and we have scaled back significant elements of it in
order to reflect the evolving science, to take into account
issues like the number of--the availability of vaccines, which
wasn't the case when we initially issued our emergency
temporary standard back in November in California.
We have recently requested that our standards board, who is
the body that is actually responsible for approving and issuing
the emergency temporary standard, at CAL OSHA we just make
recommendations, but we have recommended that be paused so that
we could consider whether aspects of the recent CDC guidance on
face coverings should be included and if so, to what extent.
We have been focused on ensuring that we act quickly to
adopt the latest science and that we have spent a lot of time
listening to stakeholders and trying to address issues of
complexity, issues of confusion that they might have had in our
initial role. In fact, I personally chaired 4 days of meetings
with stakeholders to get their feedback on these issues.
Senator Marshall. What type of stakeholders would that be?
Like business owners or----
Mr. Parker. Yes. Well, it was a mix, but the vast majority
were business owners and representatives of trade and other
business.
Senator Marshall. Based upon what you know today, do you
feel that COVID currently presents a grave danger to employees?
Mr. Parker. I believe that if Federal OSHA were to issue an
emergency temporary standard, that they would be able to
satisfy that legal standard based on precedent. But I am not an
expert on that precedent. But I do believe that they could meet
that legal standard. Yes, Senator.
Senator Marshall. Are you saying the vaccines don't work?
That we don't we shouldn't have faith in the vaccinations?
Mr. Parker. Not at all, Senator. I believe that science is
definitely, as the CDC has recently recognized, something that
we can rely on and is a key element in our society's fight
against COVID-19. But when you look at--and we have made
tremendous progress, don't get me wrong. But when you look at
the fatality and infection rates among those who are not
vaccinated, those have not improved over the last several
months. And so there is still a substantial number of people in
society and in the workforce who have yet to get a vaccine. And
I just believe that we need to finish the fight before we
stop----
Senator Marshall. Do you realize the mixed message you are
sending to people? One of the reasons for vaccine hesitancy,
one of the reason for people not going back to work is because
of what you are talking about right now. You are sending a
mixed message. You are basically, your actions are saying that
the vaccine don't work, and it is not safe for you to come back
to work when we know there are at least 97 percent effective.
So I am just--you are sending a really big mixed message here.
Mr. Parker. Well, Senator that is certainly not my intent.
And I strongly encourage people to get the vaccine and will
work to incentivize vaccinations as we--in California as we
look to the next version of our emergency temporary standard.
Senator Marshall. Thank you so much. I yield back.
The Chair. Senator Baldwin.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to continue
in this vein of discussion with regard to standards from OSHA
to help guide employers and workers during a pandemic. I happen
to believe that it was outrageous that early on in this
pandemic under the previous administration, that there were
never enforceable standards issued, even emergency temporary
standards.
In fact, everyone could only rely on suggestions and
guidance from CDC and some from the Labor Department, but
mostly from CDC. And last Congress, I was the Ranking Member of
this Committee--Committee on--Subcommittee on Employment and
Workplace Safety. And in that role, I took the lead on
legislation to require OSHA to set an emergency temporary
standard for employers operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Workers and business owners have been waiting for clear,
enforceable standards to keep their workers and their customers
safe from COVID 19.
I want to make clear my position on this issue. But ask
you, Mr. Parker, how did you reach out to both businesses and
workers in California to benefit from their wisdom and input to
help with the establishment of the original emergency temporary
standard?
Mr. Parker. Well, thank you, Senator, for the question.
When we issued our original emergency temporary standard, we
were very much working against the clock. We had to put
something in place as soon as we could in order to combat the
spread and transmission of COVID-19 in workplaces in
California. And as such, we were working as--it is
contemplated, when preparing an emergency temporary standard,
without the same level of notice and comment and stakeholder
input that one would normally receive because it is in fact
done on an emergency footing.
However, we also promised to stakeholders that as soon as
the standard was issued, that we would immediately begin
seeking input from stakeholders to ensure that we considered
their views, considered their input, and their ideas when we
developed the next iteration of the emergency temporary
standard. We had the opportunity under the law that was in
place to leave our emergency temporary standard, as it was for
over a year in California.
But instead, within a month of issuing that standard, we
had a daylong stakeholder meeting to take input on the next
iteration of the rule. And then again, in February, I hosted 3
days of stakeholder hearings to go line by line through the
rule and to gather stakeholder input, ideas, and comments. And
we also took plenty of comments in writing. So that is how we
reached out to stakeholders and took their views into account.
We also, I have to say, worked strongly with the California
Department of Public Health, in lockstep in fact, making sure
that we were reviewing one another's documents, that we were
collaborating, that we were on the same page in terms of our
interpretation of science and what we thought would be a
thoughtful and cautious and protective approach on behalf our
workers.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you. Thank you for that response. I
appreciate the ability to meet with you. Earlier this week, we
talked about meatpacking and food processing plants, and the
spread of COVID in our Nation had a devastating impact on the
workers at some of those facilities.
In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that
1 in 14 migrant workers at a green bean canning plant in
Gillette, Wisconsin died as a result of COVID-19. In addition
to failing to issue an emergency temporary standard, OSHA
consistently failed to conduct serious investigations of unsafe
workplace conditions during the pandemic. Moving forward, how
do you think OSHA should tackle this problem and help workers
who are reporting unsafe working conditions?
Mr. Parker. Thank you, Senator, for the question. It is
critically important that OSHA have the ability to respond to
these types of complaints. It has certainly been a challenge in
California, given the huge number of complaints that have
overwhelmed our system and we have had to develop a triage
process to make sure that we were allocating our resources as
best we could to help the most workers as possible.
I would take a similar approach. I am appreciative that we
are no longer in quite the same level of overwhelming,
complaints received, and so we have more flexibility. And I
would hope that would be the case at Federal OSHA as well.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you. And Madam Chair, I yield back.
The Chair. Thank you. A vote has just been called, and what
I am going to do is call on Senator Braun and Senator Kaine.
Senator Kaine, if you could stay until I get back and then turn
it over to whoever is next on online. So I will be back in
about 5 to 10 minutes.
Senator Braun.
Senator Braun. Thank you, Madam Chair. Enjoyed talking to
all three of you yesterday evening and thanks for the input. I
am going to direct my question to you, Mr. Parker. California
would be emblematic in a way of just kind of being trend
setting in many areas. In the case of being a business friendly
environment, I would say you have got the reputation as maybe
being one of the toughest places to hang your shingle out,
especially from that point of view of being an entrepreneur.
I know my company got there about 10 years ago and really
found it to be kind of in that category of wanting to shoo you
away rather than even to work with you to see how you might
improve your operation and had the great benefit of being able
to compare it. We were such a little company for so many years
and then exploded in growth over the last 20 years. And we have
to say that it is a tough business climate.
I want to continue on the line of questioning that Senator
Burr gave you about being arbitrary and capricious, I think as
it related to the COVID navigation. Do you--here, in Indiana,
and I assume you had something similar to this in California,
did you actually declare that certain businesses were essential
or nonessential? Was that something that was done in
California?
Mr. Parker. Thank you, Senator, for your question. And I am
sorry to hear about the challenges you faced as you brought
your businesses to California. Declaring certain businesses as
essential or not essential was not the function of CAL OSHA,
but the State of California did declare certain businesses
essential.
Senator Braun. I knew that wasn't the case specifically to
your domain, but it would be emblematic of kind of a general
attitude. And in Indiana, where it is a better business climate
and we have got a lot of entities moving into the state, and I
think the proof in the pudding is that in California, many are
going away from it. In the long run, whether it is through a
declaration that you are essential or non-essential--and many
states did do that.
My observation would have been that it was assuming that
businesses did not want to keep their employees safe and their
customers safe. And I think Senator Baldwin cited some
instances in packing plants which were true. My observation
there was, due to the uncertainty of the COVID kind of how it
was going to navigate over the last year and a quarter, that
was maybe warranted. I also noticed that companies quickly did
what would make sense for the safety and health of their
employees and their customers, almost without exception.
In our State of Indiana, which has got a good business
climate. It still has got bureaucratic by saying you are
essential or not. It should have been who can remain open and
keep their employees safe, not categorizing a business one way
or the other. So in your new post, do you think OSHA in general
has been, and related to your experience in California, over-
the-top, overbearing? Have you noticed that businesses are the
exception to the rule that would treat their employees in a way
that wouldn't keep them safe?
Do you think the heavier hand of Government sometimes needs
to be lightened so that you don't have a result like we did in
navigating through COVID, where we can't tell the difference in
which approach ended up with better results other than it hurt
businesses? And I think it is reflective in many states like
California, where the outcome was very bad on the commerce side
and no better on the safety side.
Mr. Parker. Senator, in California, our approach was to
begin with compliance assistance, not with, as you say, the
heavy hand of enforcement. We understood that businesses were
in need of assistance to know what they needed to do. And we
had businesses and associations banging on our door asking us,
what do we need to do? And I give those businesses a lot of
credit for wanting to do the right thing.
I do believe that represents the majority of the businesses
in the state. Our approach to regulation was to develop a rule
that would allow businesses to operate as safe as feasibly
possible. So we did not approach the issue in terms of who is
open and who is not at CAL OSHA. We wanted to put rules of
safety in place for any business that was continuing to
operate.
Senator Braun. I am glad to hear that point of view. And I
think that in my experience of being an entrepreneur, a CEO for
37 years prior to becoming a Senator, that in many instances,
and especially looking at the differences between states, and
generally speaking on the Federal Government, that sometimes a
regulatory reach is way over the top when it then generalizes
across all businesses. And in my observation, the businesses
that don't do things well are the exception rather than the
rule. Thank you.
Senator Kaine. Thank you, Senator Braun. And to the
witnesses, congratulation for your nominations. Mr. Parker, I
have to acknowledge you are James Madison and UVA grad, and as
a reward for that, I am not going to ask you more questions.
You have been getting a lot of airtime this morning. I am going
to direct my questions at Mr. Nayak and Ms. Williams. And it is
sort of one topic and maybe you could kind of each take 2
minutes on the topic.
As you pointed out, for example, how COVID had a
disproportionately tough effect on folks with disabilities in
the employment space. But I wonder whether some of the
strategies that we have embrace during COVID, remote work and
using technology and employers finding, wow, employees can do
work in ways we might have thought nontraditional and be super
productive. I wonder if the COVID experience might have taught
us some things that might open up some opportunities for folks
who struggle with disabilities to actually, get more deeply
involved in exactly the kind of jobs they want.
I would love to hear you talk about that. And I am going to
direct a similar question to Mr. Nayak. I worry a lot about
folks who are ex-offenders, who are often really tough to
employ. Virginia has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the
Nation, but it is still way too high at 23 percent. One of the
reasons we are low is that we in recent years have tried to do
more to equip people when they are incarcerated with skills
that will enable them to get employment later. But I found an
interesting thing occurring as I recently traveled around
Virginia.
People are talking about, it is tough to get folks back to
work. I am starting--I wouldn't have hired ex-offenders before,
but I am starting to do that now, and I am finding that I am
able to get some really good workers. So I am wondering maybe
for each of you, has the COVID experience and maybe coming out
of it, learning to work in new ways, it is hard to find great
people to work.
It might open the aperture of employers to hire in new ways
and might have opened up some opportunities for folks with
disabilities and folks who have been incarcerated. Ms.
Williams, do you want to start first, maybe?
Ms. Williams. Thank you for that question, Senator. And it
is true that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on
people with disabilities, and that we need to continue to
prioritize the needs of people with disabilities and our
economic recovery efforts, both at the national level and also
at the state level. But I also think, as you point out, that we
have an opportunity. And perhaps it is more than an
opportunity.
Perhaps we have a duty to use what we have learned during
the pandemic, the different ways that we have had to learn how
to work and how to move, not only throughout the country, but
throughout the globe to take steps to build a workforce that is
more inclusive of people with disabilities. Throughout the
pandemic, ODEP I know has leverage its expertise, particularly
in the area of accommodations and remote workplace policies, to
ensure that people with disabilities could stay connected to
employment.
I think a lot of employers are finding that those policies
are universally applicable to their workplaces. So I do think
we have an opportunity to learn, and I do think that ODEP has
an opportunity to leverage its expertise and the collaborative
partnerships it has developed to help build that workforce of
the future.
Senator Kaine. Thank you for that. And Mr. Nayak, about our
ex-offender community.
Mr. Nayak. Yes. And thank you so much, Senator, for that
question. It is a really excellent one. I think one thing we
have learned in this pandemic for sure is just how different
communities are impacted differently by, the same events. And
that has not an intentional thing. It is just something that is
kind of built into our world. Our workforce development system
is so important. It can provide real opportunity to connect
people with jobs and to help Americans who want more training,
get that training.
Putting those two together, I do think that going back to
thinking about who is impacted by our workforce system, how we
can do better outreach to various communities, including people
who have criminal records, who are in need of opportunities,
and really working with, engaging with both employers and
organizations, workers and worker organizations to think
about--and civil rights organizations and others, to think
about how to really connect folks with those opportunities.
In rural areas, as you said, there are folks who need jobs
and there are folks who are looking for jobs. The workforce
system is just a really, vital connector to help people get the
skills and resources they need, to get into apprenticeship
programs, to get into other programs aimed at dislocated
workers and others.
As Congress looks at reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act, I feel like there are a lot of lessons
from the pandemic and from the last almost, half decade of
employment WIOA, it will be really important to build in, along
with the stakeholder results.
Senator Kaine. Thank you for that. And should you be
confirmed, I would really like to work with you on this issue
with the ex-offender community. Oftentimes, these issues, they
get put into kind of a criminal justice mindset and then they
may be more Judiciary Committee, but I think they are really
appropriate for this Committee, too.
If you are going to deal with a population that has had
difficulty finding the best work, the time to really make
headway is when the unemployment rate starts to drop, because
then employers are really looking for good workers and may be
more willing to, consider folks that 2 years ago they weren't
looking to hire. So I would love to work with you should you be
confirmed on this. And now I believe I will. Oh, and the Chair
is back.
The Chair. Thank you very much.
Senator Hassan.
Senator Hassan. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member
Burr. Thanks to our nominees for being here today. Thank you
for being willing to serve and to your families for supporting
you in this. As our economy continues to recover from the
pandemic, we need strong leadership at the Department of Labor
who will ensure safe workplaces for all workers. And I have a
couple of questions that really follow-up on some of the things
Senator Kaine was just talking about. I want to start with a
question to Mr. Nayak. Some workers are going to face permanent
dislocation as a result of the pandemic.
We obviously need to support high quality workforce
development to help them get back to work in good paying jobs
and help businesses get the skilled workers that they need.
This Committee is working on bipartisan solutions to update and
expand key workforce laws. And the President has included
substantial support for workforce development in the American
jobs plan. I have long supported something called career
pathway programs.
These programs use industry partnerships with higher
education to help workers who have fallen out of the labor
force to make sure that they can receive educational
credentials while they are also earning an income.
To support these efforts, I introduced the Gateway to
Careers Act with Senators Young, Kaine, and Collins, a
bipartisan bill to expand career pathway programs as well as
provide wraparound supports for learners who face barriers to
completion, supports like helping access affordable housing or
covering transportation costs.
Mr. Nayak, following up a little bit on your answer just
now to Senator Kaine, how could the Department of Labor help
scale up workforce development efforts, including career
pathway programs, so that our most vulnerable workers can
reenter the workforce and help our economy recover from the
pandemic?
Mr. Nayak. Thank you so much, Senator, for that question. I
think it is really important to think about how these excellent
proposals to increase the workforce training program and to
scale up, can be informed by a lot of different sources.
One clearly, like if legislation like that were to pass, it
is really important for the Department to, in implementing it,
get stakeholder input. The Department should be talking with
folks like you and your colleagues, but also business and
industry groups, workers and worker organizations, and
Governors, folks who have been involved on the ground, have
seen these projects working, to talk about what worked, what
didn't, how to get it to scale.
I think that any sort of effort that doesn't include those
stakeholders is going to be a little less likely to succeed.
The other thing that I found really important in my time in the
Department previously was really working hard to engage across
agencies. Understanding that, the Department of Labor has a
really important place to play in the workforce system, but so
does the Department of Education, so does the Department of
Commerce, so does the Department of Health and Human Services.
Building those interagency relationships, building those
networks together where we can all work together with our
stakeholders and think about actually scaling up these programs
is really vital. If I am lucky enough to be confirmed, I would
love the chance to continue the conversation.
Senator Hassan. Well, I would look forward to that as well.
And that interagency collaboration is really critical as when
we are talking about providing wraparound supports to people,
too. So I would look forward to that. Ms. Williams, I want to
talk with you a little bit, and I appreciated your statement
just now. Not only that making our workforce more--a more
inclusive place is the right thing to do, it is our duty to do.
We have discussed today that there is a lot of work to do
to ensure that workers with disabilities have access to
competitive, integrated employment opportunities. And I
emphasize competitive and integrated here. Workers with
disabilities often require supports and services from
employment specialists and direct support professionals to
succeed in the workplace.
While direct support professionals play a critical role,
they are often difficult to hire and retain because their wages
are low. We don't recognize the work as we should, and there
are other workforce challenges involved, too. So, Ms. Williams,
can you explain the importance of supporting direct support
professionals to increase employment opportunities for workers
with disabilities?
Ms. Williams. Thank you for that question, Senator. And you
are right, it is absolutely critical that we support direct
service professionals in their efforts to really help prepare
talent, all talent, but particularly in this case, talent with
disabilities to be ready for the workforce.
When I started at ODEP, one of the very first things that
we worked on was related to helping to grow the knowledge,
skills, and abilities of direct service providers and
professionals in the area of disability inclusion. And in fact,
it was when I left the Department, one of the last things that
I did was to continue to work with those professionals because
they are a critical tool for the support of disability
inclusion. And I commit to continuing that work.
Senator Hassan. Well, thank you very much. And I know I am
over time. I will just urge my colleagues to learn more about
the work that direct support professionals do. They are some of
the most creative and committed people I have ever known. And
if we can boost their wages, we really could make a big
difference for a lot of people. And Mr. Parker, I had a
question for you, which I will submit for the record. Thank
you, too, for your willingness to serve.
The Chair. Thank you.
Senator Rosen.
Senator Rosen. Thank you, Chair Murray, Ranking Member
Burr. And like everyone else has said, I am so appreciative of
all the nominees for your time today, for your work, and for
your willingness to serve not just our Nation, but our
country's workers. And so I want to talk a little bit about the
blind and visually impaired.
Ms. Williams, I appreciate you being here today and sharing
so much about your personal experience, which helps us to
understand the barriers that people with disabilities and
chronic illness face when it comes to employment and training.
And as you likely know, orientation and mobility training is
part of vocational rehabilitation for workers who are blind or
visually impaired.
Just this week, my office learned from advocates in my
state that there is not a single orientation and mobility
specialist in Northern Nevada. The only specialists in the
state or in Las Vegas. A travel from Reno or a more rural area
of our State to Southern Nevada is not only time consuming, but
it can be very expensive.
Ms. Williams, can you talk about how the Department can
coordinate with the Rehabilitation Services Administration or
other offices or agencies to better serve workers with
disabilities in areas where there just aren't access to
vocational services like our rural areas, probably across the
country?
Ms. Williams. Thank you for that question, Senator. And
ODEP has a long history of coordinating with Federal partners
to promote work-based learning experiences and to ensure that
all youth and adults with disabilities get access to the
training that they need.
That collaboration has included close work and partnerships
with the Department of Education and specifically RSA, the
Vocational Rehabilitation System, the Department of Health and
Human Services, and also working very closely with the Social
Security Administration, all key actors in the delivery of
supports and systems to all youth and adults with disabilities.
If confirmed to this role, I would commit to continuing on
that long history that ODEP has of collaborating with partners,
both in other Federal Departments, but also with our own
Department, with the Employment and Training Administration, to
ensure that all youth and adults with disabilities, including
those who are blind and visually impaired, are getting access
to the supports that they need in order to get connected to the
workforce and to be on a pathway into, not only just a good
job, but to a career.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. I would like to move on now to
Mr. Nayak and talk about the role of the Department in the
economic recovery. Now, you worked at Department of Labor from
2010 to 2017, so you began your time there during the midst of
the last economic recession. So I would like to ask you a few
questions based on your experience, because the economic
recovery is uneven across the country.
In Nevada, our unemployment rate in April was still at 8
percent because our economy rely so heavily on tourism, which
depends on consumer confidence to travel, including
international travel. So how can the Department focus its
resources on supporting workers in specific geographic areas or
sectors that are hardest hit?
Mr. Nayak. Thank you, Senator, for that question. The
pandemic has upended our economy and our workforce just as it
has all our lives. And while I say our I want to acknowledge
the study after study has shown that people of color and Black
and immigrant communities in particular have borne the economic
brunt of the pandemic's effects, just as Black Americans have
borne the brunt of the health effects. But you ask a really
good question about thinking about bringing us out.
I think a lot of us are deeply concerned about how women in
particular have been impacted by the pandemic. One study
suggested that mothers work hours have fallen four to five
times as much as fathers, and women's unemployment increased by
2.9 percent more than men.
I know the Biden administration is very concerned, and the
kinds of investments in the American jobs plan and the American
families plan, from childcare to paid family leave and medical
leave, are key to really giving women the chance to reenter the
workforce.
Again, I put in a plug here for the workforce system
because how those investments are distributed, thinking about
ways to target them geographically in the right way is a key
part of getting those investments out into the workforce.
Senator Rosen. Well, thank you. And I look forward to
working with you, if you are confirmed, to apply the lessons
you learned from the last recession, an economic downturn,
coupled with the current statistics that we have now to move
our country forward. Different states, different areas may have
different challenges and we have to respond in the most
appropriate ways that will work best. Thank you, Madam Chair.
The Chair. Thank you.
Senator Hickenlooper.
Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to
thank all of the participants today for not just your time
today, but for your public service. And I wanted to ask a
question of Mr. Nayak first. I have been--I started out in
small business and I have been really focusing on the small
business industry and the sector partnerships and working to
try and figure out how to create apprenticeship training
programs for the specific workforce needs of individual small
businesses, such as promoting apprenticeships through regional
training networks for employers' required skills or partners
act would do.
I am also interested in expanding access to these types of
businesses, especially in rural areas, with less access to
traditional resources, and sometimes in densely but underserved
urban neighborhoods as well. Would you be willing to help and
make a commitment and help us work on these things with not
just myself but our colleagues to again build some muscle into
these partnerships and create better access for rural
businesses and to better train tomorrow's workforce?
Mr. Nayak. Thank you, Senator, for that question. I really
enjoyed having the chance to talk with you about the importance
of workforce development efforts earlier this week. I am
excited about proposals like yours to create and expand
industry and sector based partnerships because they can help
launch new apprenticeship and training programs. We know that
apprenticeships and other work based learning programs are a
win-win. They allow folks who participate to earn while they
learn and get training, and a foot in the door to bolster their
future opportunities.
Meanwhile, employers get workers with the training and the
specialized skills that they need to hit the ground running.
And as a bonus, these programs can, as you are suggesting, be
targeted to populations in most need. That might be out of
school youth, dislocated workers, or that may be thinking about
actually building up the workforce in more rural areas. This is
another place where I think stakeholder input is really vital.
The Department should be engaging with members and our
colleagues, but also with, again, business and industry groups,
really thinking about workers and workers' organizations, and
Governors. I know from our conversation that you and your
colleagues, Governors had some really important lessons learned
here. If I am lucky enough to be confirmed, I would absolutely
love the chance to continue that conversation.
Senator Hickenlooper. Great. I appreciate that. We also
talked a lot about stackable credentials, and I think I will
skip that question and put it into the record. But I really did
enjoy your perspective that we can do more to support those,
some of the innovative programs, through community colleges and
different industry sectors to create those stackable credential
platforms that really well serve the needs of kids. I will just
submit that full question. We have so little time.
Mr. Parker, the number of OSHA inspectors has fallen to
really the lowest point in probably 50 years. And it would take
OSHA 106 years to visit every workplace once. A recent OIG
report pointing out that the whistleblower investigations has
fallen below the numbers that OSHA itself said was numbers that
would be needed to run the program.
How will you assure that the agency has staff and training
to make sure that they can carry out OSHA's mission? And how
can we in the Senate help make sure that you are able to fill
this mission?
Mr. Parker. Thank you, Senator, for the important question.
It is a critical issue in OSHA that it have the sufficient
number of inspectors available to conduct its important work.
We have faced a similar issue in California, so I bring that
experience of evaluating systems to determine how we can be
more effective in doing hiring to the table and addressing this
issue at Federal OSHA.
It would involve working closely with the Department of
Labor and the Office of Administration and Management to
evaluate the process and identify the issues, be they in the
area of recruitment, be they in the area of delays in the
hiring process, or prospective employees simply not accepting
positions at OSHA.
I would have to be in the role and learn more in order to
figure out how best to address it. But I am committed to doing
so, and I believe it should be the top priority, if confirmed.
I also think it is important not to disregard administrative
support vacancies that may be occurring in the agency because
that is a way to immediately develop increased productivity in
the inspectorate that is present currently.
Senator Hickenlooper. I appreciate that and appreciate your
candor. Again, I thank all the all the participants in the
panel for your time and your service. And yield the floor back
to the Chair.
The Chair. Thank you very much. I have a few more questions
I want to ask you. And I will start with Ms. Williams. The
Office of Disability Employment Policy has an important role in
promoting quality employment opportunities for people with
disabilities.
Though the pandemic has caused significant disruption in
many workplaces, it has also led to a number of employers
adopting inclusive workplace policies like telework, flexible
schedules, assistive technology. Talk to us about what lessons
we can take from this pandemic to make workplaces more
equitable and inclusive moving forward, especially for our
workers with disabilities.
Ms. Williams. Thank you for that question, Senator. I think
as we emerge from the pandemic and think about what employers
need to help not only rebuild the economy, but to ensure that
they have access to the best talent, we have an opportunity to
really learn from the experiences of private and public sector
employers throughout the pandemic.
ODEP has, as part of the work that it does, a number of
employer focused technical assistance centers that have worked
to develop evidence based practices and policies in the areas
not only of accommodation policy, but also in the areas of
accessible technology, ensuring that people with disabilities
are able to access to technology throughout the employment
process, and in working directly with employers, large size
employers, midsize employers, and small businesses to ensure
that from the recruitment to the hiring to the retention and
advancement processes that they have in place, people with
disabilities are included.
As I look to how we might rebuild, I want to ensure that we
are leveraging those partnerships that we already have with
employers, and that we are taking a critical eye toward the
lessons learned from the pandemic, including around
accommodations for policies such as workplace flexibility and
use of technology, because I truly think that will help us to
close the ongoing gap that exists in the workforce between
workers with disabilities and workers without disabilities. And
if I may, I would add that those policies that we are talking
about would not just support people with disabilities, but as
we have found out throughout this pandemic, they are policies
that can support everyone in ensuring that they can stay
connected to work.
The Chair. Thank you. I totally agree with that. Thank you
for that answer. The past year has shown us how reliant we all
are on our front line workers, many of them who have been left
behind by policies that have not kept up with the challenges
that workers face on the job. Too many of our front line
workers, especially women and workers of color, lack adequate
protection and rights.
It is really essential that we address these problems as we
now recover from this pandemic by strengthening workers' rights
and raising wages and expanding access to paid leave for all
workers. And I want to hear from each of you, if confirmed, how
you will work to ensure that our frontline workers have the
workplace protections and supports they need. And I will start
with you, Ms. Williams.
Ms. Williams. Thank you for that question, Senator. Again,
I think it is so critical as we move out of the pandemic and we
think about rebuilding our country and rebuilding the economy,
that we are paying particular attention to the experiences of
front line workers and to the inequities that continue to exist
in our country and in the workforce.
For individuals who are multiple marginalized, that
includes people with disabilities, that includes people with
disabilities who are also people of color. I think if we are
focused on their experiences, and as leaders if we are
committed to meeting and listening to the experiences of all
stakeholders, then we can bring to bear all of our resources or
evidence based practices, our policy development in order to
ensure better outcomes in our workforce.
The Chair. Thank you.
Mr. Parker.
Mr. Parker. Thank you, Madam Chair. When I began at CAL
OSHA, I commissioned two studies, one of them was to determine
how many inspectors were needed for the agency to fully carry
out its mission and all its essential and required duties to
protect not only the safety but the health of workers.
Then the other study that I commissioned in partnership
with our ALRB, our Agricultural Review Board, was to look at
how we could do a better job conducting outreach with immigrant
low wage workers, particularly in the agricultural sector. And
I think that those two approaches that were recommended out of
those studies illustrate the things that we have to do at OSHA.
One, we have to be able to build trust with the communities
that are most affected by worker health and safety issues, and
most affected by injury, illness, and death. And then we also
have to be able to deliver the goods once those workers have
the trust in us to come forward and take the risks that are
involved in complaining about a work that is unsafe or to find
out more information about how they can have a better
workplace.
The Chair. Thank you.
Mr. Nayak.
Mr. Nayak. Thank you, Madam Chair, for the question. I
really appreciate that the President has made equity a
cornerstone of his administration. And it is important for all
of us to think about how policies impact everyone, including
folks who are too often left behind. And that includes, as we
have learned over the last year, especially many of those
frontline workers.
Again, though, depending on the context, that might be
workers of color, immigrants, people with disabilities and
women, even workers in rural communities like the place I grew
up that have been hit hard by deindustrialization. That is one
reason why I favor more analysis and really considering a lot
of options.
One part of the Assistant Secretary for Policy in the
Office that is very exciting to me is ASP the home of the
Department's Chief Evaluation Office, which conducts rigorous,
relevant evaluations in an independent and transparent way. The
CEO's role is to help assess whether the Department's programs
are effective, for example, in the workforce system.
They want to use evidence from evaluations to inform future
looking policy and practice. And if confirmed, I would be
excited to work with that Office to build more equity analysis
into their work.
The Chair. Thank you. Thank you to all of our witnesses. I
really appreciate your being here and look forward to working
with each and every one of you on these important goals. I want
to thank all of my colleagues who joined us today for a very
thoughtful discussion.
Mr. Nayak, Ms. Williams, Mr. Parker, thank you for taking
time to be here today as well and answer all of our questions.
For any Senators who wish to ask additional questions,
questions for the record will be due tomorrow, May 28th, 5 p.m.
The hearing record will remain open for 10 business days
for Members who wish to submit additional materials for the
record. The Committee is adjourned. Thank you.
Additional Material
Communication Workers of America,
May 26, 2021.
Hon. Patty Murray, Chair,
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chair Murray:
On behalf of the officers and members of the Communications Workers
of America (CWA), I am writing in strong support of the nomination of
Doug Parker to serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Health and Safety. Parker's years of experience have demonstrated that
he can restore dignity and respect for the Nation's workers and
employers' respect for our basic worker safety laws.
Millions of workers depend every day on OSHA to ensure that
employers fulfill their legal obligations to comply with OSHA
standards. The pandemic is not over--workers still need protections and
there must be enforceable workplace mitigation measures in place to
fully stop the spread of COVID-19. The pandemic has shown just how
important it is that workers have a strong advocate for safety and
health leading OSHA.
Parker has proven to be a seasoned leader who can bring OSHA back
to its proper role as the chief enforcer of essential workplace
safeguards against workplace injury and disease. He is currently the
Chief of California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/
OSHA), where he has developed and implemented an emergency regulation
to prevent workplace transmission of COVID-19. Prior to his time at
Cal/OSHA, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety
and Health and the Executive Director for Worksafe, a California-based
non-governmental organization advocating safety, health and justice for
workers. His previous experience with worker health and safety issues
will serve him well at OSHA.
I strongly urge you to support and swiftly confirm Doug Parker as
the next Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Dan Mauer,
Director of Government Affairs,
Communications Workers of America (CWA).
______
Communication Workers of America,
May 26, 2021.
Hon. Patty Murray, Chair,
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chair Murray:
On behalf of the officers and members of the Communications Workers
of America (CWA), I am writing in strong support of the nomination of
Rajesh Nayak to serve as Assistant Secretary for Policy at the
Department of Labor (DOL).
Nayak has had a long career at DOL, currently serving as Senior
Advisor and previously serving in various capacities during the Obama-
Biden administration for seven years. During his time at DOL, he helped
enact landmark rules advancing workers' rights to overtime pay, health
and safety, and retirement security, overhauled the department's
enforcement of workplace protections and coordination with state
regulatory agencies and advised the Secretary of Labor on the
Department's workforce development, worker protection, and counter-
trafficking programs. Outside of working for the Executive Branch, he
has focused his career on building worker power. He worked as an
attorney at NELP, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law,
the Shriver Center in Chicago and has been a Fellow at the Labor &
Worklife Program at Harvard Law School.
In short, Nayak is extremely qualified for this new position at the
Department of Labor and has demonstrated his dedication to uplifting
and defender worker rights. Under the leadership of Secretary Walsh,
DOL is working to reverse the anti-worker policies passed under the
last Administration and is focused on promoting a worker-friendly
agenda that supports the right to organize, strengthened safety and
health on the job, and higher wages. These important policies require
staff with experience and desire to give working families a voice in
the development of policy--all qualities Nayak possesses.
I strongly urge you to support and swiftly confirm Rajesh Nayak as
the next Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Department of Labor.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Dan Mauer,
Director of Government Affairs,
Communications Workers of America (CWA).
______
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Response by Taryn Mackenzie Williams to questions of Senator Casey
senator casey
Since 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act has allowed people with
disabilities to be paid below the minimum wage. When the act was first
passed, it allowed people with disabilities to be paid as low as half
the Federal minimum wage. In 1986, Congress eliminated the requirement
to pay people with disabilities at least half of the minimum wage rate.
That has resulted in some workers with disabilities being paid pennies
an hour. I and my colleagues in the House, Chairman Bobby Scott and
Congresswoman McMorris Rogers, have introduced legislation to phaseout
the use of the special certificates that allow businesses to pay people
with disabilities below minimum wage.
Question 1. Ms. Williams, do you agree that phasing out
certificates that allow business to pay people with disabilities below
the minimum wage is good policy? If so, how do we make sure people with
disabilities are supported during the transition from subminimum wage
to competitive integrated employment?
Answer 1. I share the President's commitment to legislation that
would phaseout subminimum wages for people with disabilities. And, if
confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of ODEP, I would commit to working
with you, other Members of Congress, and with stakeholders in the
disability community as we explore options to reform the Section 14(c)
certificate program. Although the Department's Wage and Hour Division
administers the program, I would commit to doing what ODEP has in the
past. That is, contributing its expertise to support the successful
transition of workers with disabilities to competitive integrated
employment (CIE).
Since 2012, ODEP has provided technical expertise to 27 states to
help align policy and funding to increase CIE. Five years ago, ODEP
expanded its efforts to include assistance to service providers that
hold certificates to help them move toward competitive integrated
employment. At this time, there is a robust network of 2700 state
representatives, advocates with disabilities, and service providers
working together to share practices and implement policies that ensure
that workers with disabilities are supported in this transition out of
subminimum wage and into CIE. If confirmed, I would commit to
leveraging ODEP's expertise and ongoing technical assistance efforts to
address this issue.
______
[Whereupon, at 11:41 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]