E&W Blog

Today, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing with Inspector General of the Department of Labor (DOL) Anthony P. D’Esposito to examine findings that the Biden-Harris DOL improperly shared confidential investigative information with outside lawyers and advocacy groups. The Inspector General found DOL failed to protect confidential investigative information, could not track what was shared or with whom, shared sensitive investigative information with outside lawyers before lawsuits even began, and lacked basic safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest.

Subcommittee Chairman Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) explained that the Committee’s oversight efforts prompted the Inspector General’s investigation.

“In November 2024, the Committee uncovered an incident involving the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of an ERISA investigation that confirmed what many in the employee benefits community had long suspected: DOL was sharing confidential information with class action law firms to support private lawsuits.  The Committee immediately requested that the DOL OIG investigate this matter. Initially, the Committee’s concerns focused on the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s use of common interest agreements. The OIG subsequently expanded its review to examine similar practices and missteps within the Wage and Hour Division, and the Office of the Solicitor,” he explained.

The OIG confirmed the Committee’s concerns. In the published report detailing its investigation, the OIG found that the Biden-Harris DOL shared confidential information with outside lawyers to potentially skew court cases—raising serious questions about fairness and public trust.

“Weaponization of the government is real. Sometimes it gets a lot of attention, sometimes it doesn’t. But this is one of these examples where we can see nefarious actors who are looking out for an agenda, not for the American people,” Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) concluded.

Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) highlighted an example in which a Biden appointee and senior counsellor to then-Acting-Secretary of Labor Julie Su entered a common interest agreement with DOL before joining DOL and then shared that information with his previous employer, Yale Law School. That individual is now a professor at Yale, raising questions about the motive behind the agreement.

“[This is] the exact kind of blind spot that we’re flagging thanks to the work of this Committee and why we have recommended that staff participat[ing] in these agreements be required to sign an affidavit affirming that they will abide by post-employment,” Mr. D’Esposito explained.

OIG didn’t just investigate; they made recommendations to prevent these instances from happening again. These recommendations have been readily accepted by leadership at the Trump DOL.  

The Inspector General told Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) how the Biden-Harris DOL operated with no rules or accountability—creating the perfect environment for improper information sharing.

“The real issue…is that there were no guardrails in place and that the people who were executing these common interest agreements weren’t even sure as to what a common interest agreement was,” Mr. D’Esposito said.

Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN) highlighted his bill, the Ethical Investigations and Integrity Act, legislation that he said he would be introducing later in the day. The bill would establish protocols for DOL to protect any confidential information shared with outside attorneys in connection with potential civil action involving laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division.

Bottom line: Committee Republicans are holding agencies accountable for these failures and standing up for the workers and businesses they serve.