Three moderate Senate Democrats made waves March 30, joining Republic members of the chamber in voting down President Joe Biden's pick for wage and hour administrator at the Department of Labor, David Weil. He was the first Biden nominee to fail to move through the confirmation process.

Weil is not an unseasoned candidate; rather, the role would have been a reprise of his time in the same position during the Obama administration, from 2014 to 2017. Support for Weil's candidacy was then divided along party lines, with no moderate Democrats demuring.

Disagreement over Weil's candidacy was even more contentious this time around. Biden initially selected him for the position last June, but the decision to advance his nomination deadlocked in an 11-11 tie in the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Such a circumstance requires the full Senate to vote for the candidate to proceed, which never happened last year.

Biden renominated Weil in January. While he narrowly made it through the HELP committee on an 11-10 vote, the Senate voted 47-53 to block a final vote on his candidacy, effectively ending his nomination.

Why is the Brandeis University economics professor so controversial among politicians? That can largely be chalked up to his views on gig workers and their classification as independent contractors — an issue that has riled some employers and business associations.

Weil has been an outspoken advocate for classifying more workers as employees. In 2019, he...

Read Full Story: https://www.hrdive.com/news/the-senate-rejected-bidens-wage-hour-pick-what-do...