President Obama has nominated Thomas E. Perez to be Secretary of Labor. If Perez is confirmed, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is expected to continue to be active, particularly in the area of enforcement. OSHA is part of the DOL, and its administrator reports to the Secretary of Labor.

Perez has served as the assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division since October 2009 and was director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration.

Previously, Perez served as Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which enforces workplace safety, wage and hour, and other worker protection laws.

If confirmed, Perez will replace Hilda L. Solis, who resigned from her position at the DOL in January 2013.