Donald Trump appoints Keith Sonderling as Deputy Labor Secretary

After just five months away, lawyer Keith Sonderling is returning to the federal government for a second-in-command spot at the U.S. Department of Labor.

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Sonderling, who worked as an administrator at the Department of Labor during Trump’s first term, to serve as the agency’s Deputy Secretary under Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

Sonderling, a 42-year-old Republican, will work with Chavez-DeRemer, a former Congresswoman from Oregon, “to put our Country and Workers FIRST,” Trump said Wednesday on his Truth Social platform.

Sonderling reacted to the appointment on X.

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with (Chavez-DeRemer) on your vision to create opportunities for workers and help restore the American dream for working families,” he wrote.

DeRemer, in turn, said on X that Sonderling “has the experience and skills necessary to carry out (Trump’s) goal of unleashing economic opportunity for American businesses and workers.”

Congratulations and well-wishes came from all levels of government. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, lauded Sonderling’s “great reputation and extensive experience in labor policy,” adding, “I look forward to meeting with him and the committee considering this nomination.”

Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, also a Republican, wrote that he was “thrilled‘ by Sonderling’s appointment.

“Proud that Keith is from Boca Raton and an honored Spanish River alum. Congratulations Keith, and moreover to America who will benefit from your leadership at (the U.S. Department of Labor),” he added.

Born in New York, Sonderling earned his Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University in 2008 and worked on labor and employment law at the West Palm Beach-based Gunster law firm for nearly a decade, becoming a partner.

During that stretch, former Gov. Rick Scott appointed Sonderling to serve on the Judicial Nominating Commission of the 4th District Court of Appeal. Sonderling’s peers on the panel elected him Chair in 2016.

He joined the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division in September 2017, serving in various roles over the next three years, including Acting Administrator, Deputy Administrator and Senior Policy Adviser.

In July 2019, Trump tapped Sonderling to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency that enforces workforce anti-discrimination laws. The Senate confirmed him to the post more than a year later, by which time the former President had named him Vice Chair.

Sonderling’s EEOC tenure ran from September 2020 to August 2024 and was marked by a heavy focus on artificial intelligence in the workplace, including an expansion of the agency’s outreach on AI and added scrutiny on its potential to increase discrimination.

He voted on a party line in April against a Commission decision that said employers who refuse to accommodate transgender workers’ bathroom and pronoun preferences are committing unlawful workplace harassment. The decision passed 3-2.

He also voted alongside fellow Republican Andrea Lucas against another EEOC decision supporting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which among other things requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to pregnant workers.