Indian-American civil rights lawyer Seema Nanda is the new solicitor for the Department of Labour, the US Senate recently confirmed. 48-year-old Nanda is a former CEO of the Democratic National Committee and has also served in the Department of Labour during the Obama Administration. The Senate approved her with 53-46 votes on Wednesday, July 14, 2021.
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Applauding the Senate vote, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus chair Judy Chu said, “I am thrilled to congratulate Seema Nanda on her confirmation to serve as Solicitor for the Department of Labour. Whether it’s risks from coronavirus, rising temperatures from climate change, or unscrupulous employers, workers continue to face difficult challenges every day.”
She claimed that this is why it is so noteworthy that US President Joe Biden chose somebody like Nanda, who comes from such experience as the Solicitor of Labour.
“Her office will play a central role in fighting legal battles and challenges. With experience as the deputy solicitor and chief of staff at the Department of Labour under Secretary Tom Perez, I know that Seema will be a champion for workers’ rights and vulnerable communities from the very start,” Judy Chu was quoted as saying.
Nanda earlier served as chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and deputy solicitor at the US Department of Labour in the Obama-Biden administration. She has also spent more than 15 years in several roles in government service, such as a labour and employment attorney.
Nanda led what has now been named the Office of Immigrant and Employee Rights Section of the US Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Here, she served as a supervising attorney in the Division of Advice at the National Labour Relations Board and worked as an associate in private practice in Seattle.
Nanda, who grew up in Connecticut and is a graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School, led the Democratic National Committee as the CEO after the Obama-Biden administration. She has also served as the COO and executive vice president at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
At present, Nanda is a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labour and Worklife Programme.
