Brandeis Dean Nominated To Join Marty Walsh At Labor Department

WALTHAM, MA — President Joe Biden tapped a Brandeis dean to serve in the United States Department of Labor alongside former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

Biden nominated David Weil to be administrator of the Wage and Hour Division last week. Weil is no stranger to Washington — or that position. He held it in President Barack Obama’s labor department from 2014 to 2017.

Since then, he's served as dean of the Heller School at Waltham's Brandeis University.

"I have said before that the only reason I would consider leaving Heller would be if I received a call from the White House, and despite the challenges of this year, that sentiment remains true,” Weil said in a letter to the school administration notifying them of the nomination. “Working as a part of this amazing community is an honor, and I am extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished since I arrived in 2017."

The administrator of the wage and hour division oversees enforcement of labor standards, such as the minimum wage, overtime, child labor, employee categorization and family medical leave. The nomination will require confirmation by the Senate, and Weil said he intends to continue in his role as dean until the process is complete.

Weil has decades of experience researching labor, employment, labor policy, and advising government agencies on policy related to labor, according to the school. And he co-founded the Transparency Policy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government that examines how information disclosure can be used to improve private and public decisions.

Brandeis President Ron Liebowitz congratulated Weil on his nomination in a letter to the university community.

"David has been an exemplary leader here at Brandeis, and the U.S. government would be fortunate to once again benefit from his leadership,” Liebowitz said.