Tag Archives: Labor Department

The Department of Labor has announced that the minimum wage of employees working on federal contracts covered by an executive order signed in 2014 will increase from $10.95 to $11.25 per hour starting Jan. 1, 2022. DOL proposed rules to implement the current administration’s order, which will extend the new minimum pay to federal contract employees with disabilities and phase out the tipped minimum wage by 2024.

The Department of Labor has created a new office to strategically lead the modernization of the country's unemployment insurance system. The Office of Unemployment Insurance (UI) will work with partner agencies and state governments to implement a UI system modernization strategy. fforts contained in the strategy include the oversight of $2 billion in fraud prevention funds. 

Paul Blahusch, chief information security officer at the Department of Labor (DOL), said they are working on a new implementation approach that builds on zero trust architecture in compliance with the White House’s cybersecurity order. The department has started restructuring to meet the EO’s deadlines that include the development of agency-wide plans for zero trust systems and implementation within 60 days. 

President Biden has signed an executive order to direct the director of the National Economic Council and the national climate adviser to create within 120 days a government-wide strategy to identify climate-related financial risk to government assets, programs and liabilities. In early May, the president also issued an executive order that calls for the creation of the climate change support office within the State Department.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released new guidelines on ensuring the cybersecurity of systems that are key to protecting $9.3 trillion in retirement benefits for over 34 million participants in contribution plans. DOL said Wednesday that the Employee Benefits Security Administration‘s (EBSA) guidance includes cybersecurity best practices and is geared toward plan sponsors and fiduciaries, participants and record keepers.

President Biden has nominated former Department of Justice (DOJ) officials Maryanne Donaghy and Seema Nanda to assume leadership roles at the departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Labor (DOL), respectively. Donaghy received a nomination for assistant secretary for accountability and whistleblower protection at the VA while Nanda was nominated to serve as DOL solicitor. 

Marty Walsh, mayor of Boston, has received Senate confirmation to serve as the 29th secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL). The Senate on Monday voted 68-29 to approve Walsh’s nomination for the top role at DOL. Walsh has been mayor of Boston since 2014. He was a member of the Laborers' Union Local 223 and led the Boston Trades Council. 

The Department of Labor (DOL) has received $9.6 million in funding from the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) program to help update the department’s data management platform. The General Services Administration (GSA) said Friday it will use the TMF funding to improve the accessibility and availability of department data for other agencies as well as developers, researchers and the press.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and corporate investigators said they believe the operation of cyber attackers allegedly linked to Russia extended far beyond compromising SolarWinds’ Orion software and found that about 30 percent of victims in the private and government sectors were not using the software, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The software licensing metric in the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard will now be retired after all 24 agencies received an ‘A’ in the category in its 11th iteration. “FITARA remains an effective tool at catalyzing IT advancement across the enterprise of the federal government. Let’s ensure we use it to continue to raise the bar," said Rep. Gerry Connolly.