Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania State Senate today confirmed Governor Josh Shapiro's nomination of Nancy A. Walker as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I).
Since taking on the role of Acting L&I Secretary, Walker has led the department's efforts to build a resilient Unemployment Compensation (UC) system, prioritize enforcement of Pennsylvania's 13 labor laws, and strengthen Pennsylvania's economy by empowering workers to pursue opportunities like registered apprenticeships that lead to family-sustaining jobs.
"I am deeply grateful for Governor Shapiro's confidence and the full support of the Pennsylvania Senate. It is a tremendous honor to lead L&I in serving the people of Pennsylvania," said Walker. "I am inspired every day by the determination and creativity of the L&I team to create meaningful change and promote the growth of our workforce and economy. We have accomplished a lot in the past five months – the updates we've implemented to the UC system have us on track to clear the entire claims backlog in August and by prioritizing labor law enforcement, we are better protecting workers across Pennsylvania. I look forward to building on this progress as we continue working to deliver for all Pennsylvanians."
From the first day of her tenure as Acting Secretary, Walker set into motion a strategy to bolster the UC system's efficiency, responsiveness, and dependability so that it serves as the reliable safety net Pennsylvanians need and deserve during times of both low and high unemployment. Under Walker's leadership, L&I has resolved thousands of pandemic-era UC claims since January and is on track to clear the backlog entirely in August.
To deliver the customer-service experience that Pennsylvanians expect and deserve, under Secretary Walker's leadership, L&I has hired more than 200 additional UC interviewers to staff service centers and answer calls. UC staff are now answering emails in real time – within 24 hours. L&I also launched a chat option for UC claimants with questions – and served more than 5,200 people that way in April.
Early in her tenure, Walker made the decision to indefinitely extend UC Connect, a popular program that offers in-person customer service for UC claimants at Pennsylvania CareerLink® locations. In April, L&I served 3,516 individuals in person – at a CareerLink® in their community – for a total of 40,673 since the program's launch in May 2022.
Walker has also prioritized the Department's responsibility to enforce Pennsylvania's labor laws and remain vigilant against potential exploitation of the workforce, especially regarding child labor. In line with this, Governor Shapiro's budget proposal includes additional resources for investigators in the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, which the Department intends to utilize effectively in holding employers accountable.
Under Walker's leadership, L&I has confronted modern-day workforce challenges with innovative programs that eliminate workers' barriers to employment and help employers find the talent they need to be successful.
Walker's professional background includes serving as the first Chief Deputy Attorney General of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General's Fair Labor Section. As a private-practice attorney, Walker focused on labor and employment law in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.
For more information about the Department of Labor & Industry, please visit www.dli.pa.gov.
###
EDITOR'S NOTE: A high-resolution photo of Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy Walker is available upon request for use in your story.