Information contained in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.
President Obama has nominated T. Michael Kerr to serve as the assistant secretary for administration and management at the Department of Labor (DOL), and M. Patricia Smith as DOL solicitor.
Kerr currently serves as assistant to the secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in charge of finance and administration. He has also conducted political and legislative work for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) both before and after working for the Carter administration in the White House Office of Consumer Affairs and the Legislative Office of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kerr is also an alum of the Clinton administration, where he spent eight years at the DOL first in the office of Secretary Reich, then for Secretary Herman in the Employment Standards Administration as deputy assistant secretary for workers’ compensation programs, deputy assistant secretary and as administrator of the Wage and Hour Division.
Kerr graduated from Tufts University and holds a Masters Degree in City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2005 he was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Smith, the nominee to serve as labor solicitor, works as the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor and co-chairs the New York State Economic Security sub-cabinet. In this position, she oversees the state’s DOL and serves as advisor to New York’s governor on workforce and labor policy. Prior to holding this position, Smith spent 20 years in the Labor Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office, the last eight as Bureau Chief. Smith’s job included overseeing labor law litigation in state and federal courts. In 1996 and 1997, Smith argued and won two Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) cases before the United States Supreme Court. Prior to working in the Attorney General’s office, Smith worked for a variety of legal services organizations representing unemployment claimants, minimum wage workers, individuals in federal job training programs, and job seekers.
Smith graduated from Trinity College, and earned a law degree from the New York University School of Law.