[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 46 (Thursday, March 8, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14062-14063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5740]



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Part V





Department of Labor





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Office of the Secretary



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Order of Succession to the Secretary of Labor and Continuity of 
Executive Direction; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 46 / Thursday, March 8, 2001 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

[Secretary's Order 2-2001]


Order of Succession to the Secretary of Labor and Continuity of 
Executive Direction

1. Purpose

    To provide for succession to act as Secretary of Labor in case of 
death or resignation of the Secretary, or if the Secretary is otherwise 
unable to perform the functions and duties of the office, including in 
case of absence or sickness; to provide lines of succession for 
executive continuity within the Department and its Agencies during 
vacancies arising in a period of national emergency or in the course of 
business; and to identify the first assistant to officers of the 
Department whose appointment to office is required to be made by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

2. Authority and Directives Affected

    This Order is issued pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act 
of 1998 (the FVRA) (codified generally at 5 U.S.C. 3345, et seq.); the 
Act of March 4, 1913, as amended; the Act of April 17, 1946; 
Reorganization Plan No. 6 of 1950; Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958; 
Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1973; Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950; 
Disaster Relief Act of 1974; Executive Order 12656; Executive Order 
12148, as amended; and Executive Order 10513, to the extent it is not 
overridden by the FVRA.
    Secretary's Order 5-93 is canceled. All agency delegations in 
conflict with this Order and its Attachment are hereby superseded.

3. Background

    Prior to the enactment of the FVRA, the order of succession of 
officers to act as Secretary of Labor in periods of vacancy was 
determined, in part, by reference to an order of the Secretary. This 
line of succession worked effectively for decades. Secretary's Order 5-
93 (October 13, 1993), the latest Secretary's Order issued under 
Executive Order 10513, established the following order of succession: 
the Deputy Secretary; the Solicitor of Labor; the Assistant Secretary 
for Administration and Management; then, the other Assistant 
Secretaries appointed by the President in the order of the respective 
dates of their commissions [in the event that two or more of their 
commissions bear the same date, succession will follow the order in 
which they have taken their oaths of office]; the Commissioner of Labor 
Statistics; the Director of the Women's Bureau; and the Deputy Under 
Secretary for International Affairs. However, the FVRA has established 
a new framework for identifying the order of succession to the position 
of Secretary of Labor, as well as other positions within the 
Department.

4. Order of Succession

    In case of absence, sickness, resignation, or death and during 
periods of national emergency declared by the President, the functions 
and duties of the officers of the Department of Labor and their 
respective responsibilities for operational management will be 
performed in an acting capacity by the incumbents of the positions 
designated:

a. To the Secretary of Labor

    (1) Deputy Secretary of Labor.
    (2) Assistant Secretaries and the Solicitor of Labor in the order 
of the respective dates of their commissions; or in the event that two 
or more of their commissions bear the same date, in the order in which 
they shall have taken their oath of office.

b. To All Other PAS Positions and Heads of Other Principal 
Organizational Units

    (1) Within the Department of Labor are offices and agencies headed 
by officers whose appointment to office is required to be made by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate (PAS). In 
the event of a vacancy in any of these PAS positions, the FVRA provides 
that except in certain narrow circumstances, the ``first assistant [to 
the PAS position] shall perform the functions and duties of the [PAS 
position] temporarily in an acting capacity'' (subject to certain time 
limitations), unless and until the President makes an alternative 
designation under the FVRA. The functions and duties of the PAS 
officers of the Department and the operational management of the 
respective agency will be performed by the incumbent first assistant to 
the PAS position, as designated in the Memorandum attached to this 
Order.
    (2) In the event that (a) there is a vacancy in the position of the 
first assistant, or (b) the first assistant position is occupied by a 
person who is statutorily barred from serving as an acting officer, the 
operational management of the agency headed by the PAS shall be 
performed by the person whose designation closest follows that of the 
first assistant, unless and until the President makes an alternative 
designation under the FVRA. However, the ``functions and duties'' of 
the PAS may not be performed by any person other than the person 
serving in an acting capacity (or, in the absence of an acting officer, 
by the Secretary pursuant to the FVRA). The ``functions and duties'' 
are those non-delegable responsibilities (a) established by law 
(statute or regulation); and (b) required to be performed by, and only 
by, the PAS.
    (3) The Memorandum described in Section 3(b)(1) above, shall 
include succession to the heads of other Departmental organizational 
units which report to the Secretary.
    (4) Nothing in this Order or the Memorandum shall: (1) be construed 
to override the provisions in the FVRA with respect to the Inspector 
General or the Chief Financial Officer [5 U.S.C. 3349(e)]; or (2) limit 
the Secretary's authority to reassign functions or duties of officers 
unless otherwise precluded by law or regulation.
    (5) That Memorandum shall be published in the Federal Register and 
codified in the Department of Labor Manual Series. It is also subject 
to periodic revision by the Secretary, as necessary, and is effective 
on the date indicated above.

5. Effective Date

    This Order is effective immediately.

    Dated: January 18, 2001.
Alexis M. Herman,
Secretary of Labor.
January 18, 2001.

Memorandum for DOL Executive Staff

    From: Alexis M. Herman.
    Subject: To Provide for the Order of Succession for Executive 
Continuity.
    This memorandum is issued pursuant to Secretary's Order 2-2001 
and the authorities cited therein, in order to provide lines of 
succession in case of absence, sickness, resignation, or death of 
agency heads and during periods of national emergency declared by 
the President and to provide for ongoing operational management of 
agency programs and personnel.
    Functions and duties and ongoing operational management 
responsibilities of the officers of the Department whose appointment 
to office is required to be made by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate (PAS), will be performed in an 
acting capacity by the below designated ``first assistants,'' unless 
and until the President makes an alternative designation under the 
Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 [FVRA].\1\ Functions and duties 
are those non-delegable responsibilities established by law (statute 
or

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regulation) and required to be performed by, and only by, the PAS.
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    \1\ The first assistants are designated below as the position 
immediately following the PAS position title.
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    In the event that the first assistant does not serve or is 
barred from serving, unless and until the President makes an 
alternative designation under the FVRA, the person whose designation 
closest follows that of the first assistant shall perform the 
operational management of the agency. However, the functions and 
duties of the PAS may not be performed by any person other than the 
person serving in an acting capacity, in accord with FVRA (or, in 
the absence of an acting officer, by the Secretary pursuant to the 
FVRA).
    The Bureau of International Labor Affairs, which is not covered 
by the statute, (because it is not headed by a PAS position) is 
included in this memorandum for the purpose of consolidating the 
presentation of the Department's program for establishing orderly 
internal succession in the event of vacancies.
    This memorandum supersedes all inconsistent agency delegations. 
Agency Heads shall assure that agency delegations, position 
descriptions, and other pertinent documents are maintained 
consistently with the designations provided below.
    This memorandum shall be published in the Federal Register and 
codified in the Department of Labor Manual Series. This memorandum 
is subject to periodic revision by the Secretary, as necessary, and 
is effective on the date indicated above.

Agency Head Succession

F. PAS Positions
Deputy Secretary of Labor
    Designation to be made by Presidential direction, as provided in 
5 U.S.C. Sec. 3345.
Solicitor of Labor
    Deputy Solicitor
    Deputy Solicitor for Planning and Coordination
    Deputy Solicitor for Regional Operations
    Associate Solicitor
Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget and Strategic and 
Performance Planning
Assistant Secretary for the Employment Standards Administration
    Deputy Assistant Secretary
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Federal Contract Compliance
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Workers' Compensation Programs
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Programs
    Deputy Director for Workers' Compensation Programs
Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration
    Deputy Assistant Secretary \2\
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    \2\ This Deputy Assistant Secretary position is responsible for 
the formulation of policies and development of multi-year goals, 
objectives and strategies, among other responsibilities.
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    Deputy Assistant Secretary
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations
    Associate Deputy Secretary
Assistant Secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations
Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration
    Deputy Assistant Secretary \3\
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    \3\ This Deputy Assistant Secretary position is responsible for 
Congressional and intergovernmental liaison and national litigation, 
among other responsibilities.
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    Deputy Assistant Secretary
    Associate Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Policy
    Deputy Assistant Secretary
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory Economics and Economic 
Policy Analysis
    Associate Assistant Secretary
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Congressional and 
Intergovernmental Affairs
    Deputy Assistant Secretary
    Associate Assistant Secretary
    Internal Management and Support
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Disability Policy
    Deputy Assistant Secretary
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public Affairs
    Deputy Assistant Secretary
    Associate Assistant Secretary
    Director of Information and Public Affairs
Assistant Secretary for the Pension and Welfare Benefits 
Administration
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy
    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations
Assistant Secretary for the Veterans' Employment and Training 
Service
    Deputy Assistant Secretary
    Director for Operations and Programs
Director of the Women's Bureau
    Deputy Director \4\
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    \4\ This position is first assistant pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 14.
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    Deputy Director for Operations
Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division
    Deputy Administrator for Policy
    Deputy Administrator for Operations
Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
    Deputy Commissioner
Chief Financial Officer
    Deputy Chief Financial Officer
Inspector General
    Deputy Inspector General
G. Non-PAS Position
Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs of the Bureau of 
International Labor Affairs
    Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Policy
    Associate Deputy Under Secretary and Director of International 
Economic Affairs.
[FR Doc. 01-5740 Filed 3-7-01; 8:45 am]
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