[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S1855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Nomination of David Weil

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, right now, we are in the midst of a 
strong economic recovery and record job growth.
  But despite the progress we have made, the fact remains that during 
this pandemic, corporations and rich CEOs made huge profits, while 
workers still struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table.
  If we want to build back an economy that works for everyone, not just 
those at the very top, then we need be taking action to lower costs, 
like Democrats have been pushing for, and we need leaders at the 
Department of Labor who are committed to ensuring workers get every 
cent of the paychecks they earn and holding corporations accountable 
when they try to take advantage of workers and commit wage theft.
  Dr. David Weil has a long history as a champion for workers, and I 
come to the floor today to make clear: He is the exact right person to 
lead the Wage and Hour Division of the DOL.
  Dr. Weil is an exceptional choice for this role with just the right 
experience for the job; in fact, he has already served in this position 
under the Obama administration. During his past tenure, he proved 
himself a capable leader, with a steadfast commitment to a simple goal: 
ensuring workers across the country are paid the wages they earn.
  It was under his leadership that the Wage and Hour Division boosted 
its efforts to enforce the critical set of laws that protect workers 
against employers undercutting the minimum wage, failing to pay 
overtime, forcing workers to work ``off the clock,'' and so much more.
  These are protections that workers depend on, especially workers who 
earn low wages, women, and people of color who most often face wage 
theft.
  So we have got to make sure corporations are following them--and that 
is exactly what David Weil did. He cracked down on corporations who 
violated the law and denied workers the pay they were owed, and at one 
point, the division even uncovered an investigation into garment 
factories that secured $1.3 million in back pay for cheated workers.
  While leading the Agency, he also worked to expand overtime pay for 
12 million more workers, close loopholes to help stop employers from 
misclassifying workers in order to pay them less, and crack down on 
Federal contractors who weren't following the law and paying fair 
wages. It has been frustrating to see the previous administration 
undermine these efforts and reverse this progress, but confirming David 
Weil to return to the Wage and Hour Division is an important step to 
put workers first and get us back on the right track. A vote for Dr. 
Weil is a vote to put wages back in workers' pockets and a vote to hold 
corporations accountable for wage theft.
  So I urge all my colleagues to join me today in sending Dr. Weil back 
to the DOL.

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