Senator Hassan Meets with Labor Secretary Nominee

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, met virtually today with President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh:

“I was glad to meet with Mayor Walsh to discuss his plans to help create jobs and protect workers’ rights amid this unprecedented public health and economic crisis,” Senator Hassan said. “We discussed my bipartisan bill to strengthen job training and expand support services to help more Granite Staters and Americans get good-paying jobs. We also spoke about the importance of providing job training to people in recovery for substance misuse, ensuring that workplaces are safe for their employees, and ending the unethical practice of paying subminimum wages to Americans with disabilities. As this pandemic continues to devastate small businesses and families in New Hampshire and across the country, I look forward to working with the Department of Labor and my colleagues in both parties to provide additional support to workers and help ensure that everyone who works hard can get ahead and stay ahead.”

As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Senator Hassan is working across the aisle to strengthen job training, expand career pathway programs, and protect workers. Senator Hassan recently led a group of her colleagues in reintroducing the bipartisan Gateway to Careers Act to help support career pathways strategies, which combine work, education, and support services to help individuals earn recognized postsecondary credentials. The legislation is the first bill that Senator Hassan introduced in the 117th Congress. Last year, Senator Hassan joined in introducing legislation to protect U.S. workers from COVID-19. The Senator also joined her colleagues in urging the Trump administration’s Department of Labor to take immediate, strong action to protect workers from COVID-19 exposure, illness, and death on the job. Furthermore, as Governor of New Hampshire, Senator Hassan signed into law legislation banning employers from paying workers with disabilities at a lower rate than the minimum wage, making New Hampshire the first state in the nation to ban sub-minimum wages.

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