Punching In: Labor Department Watchdog Pressed on His Future

Monday morning musings for workplace watchers

Will the Watchdog Stay? | DEI Whiplash

Parker Purifoy: The Department of Labor’s inspector general, Anthony D’Esposito, won’t say whether he plans to run for his old congressional seat again this year.

D’Esposito dodged questions from lawmakers and reporters when he appeared before the House Committee on Ways and Means about whether he is campaigning to retake New York’s 4th Congressional District seat, which lies entirely within Nassau County on Long Island.

He sat as a witness at a hearing Thursday about unemployment insurance funds that are tied up in financial institutions and potentially linked to fraud. Things got heated when he was asked about his future.

“I’m here on this panel today answering your questions as the inspector general,” he said, bristling at Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) when she asked him about a Newsday articlethat reported he was planning to resign his position at the DOL and announce his run for Congress.

“I hope if you are indeed doing this that you do resign,” Chu said, adding that he is bound by the Hatch Act which restricts certain political activities for government employees.

“I am well aware of the Hatch Act,” D’Esposito said.

The inspector general is currently heading an investigation into both Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who is accused of committing travel fraud and having an affair with her bodyguard, and the secretary’s husband Shawn DeRemer, who allegedly assaulted at least two female department employees late last year.

D’Esposito’s office has trumpeted investigations into fraudulent unemployment benefits payments, but he refused to answer questions about the secretary probe.

In his exchange with lawmakers at the hearing, the IG also rebuffed questions about lower staffing levels and budget cuts at the department, saying it would do “more with less.”

“We are embracing technology and utilization of different resources and actually to get this job done unlike places like New York City, where they’re cutting 5,000 hard-working NYPD cops,” said D’Esposito, who is a former New York City Police Department officer. “So if we want to talk about defunding police and defunding criminal investigators, we should look no further than Democrats like in New York.”

He later told Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) that he was not aware of petitions collecting signatures for his candidacy and that he is not actively campaigning.

Last month, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called for an Office of Special Counsel investigation into D’Esposito for potentially violating the Hatch Act.

Blumenthal’s letterto Acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer pointed to Federal Election Commission filings that show D’Esposito’s political action committee gathered over $20,000 in 2025 and his campaign website is still active.

“This reporting is extremely concerning, as it would seem to indicate that Mr. D’Esposito withheld information about his intentions from Congress during his confirmation process,” he said.

D’Esposito told reporters after Thursday’s hearing that he was intent on “serving as the Inspector General of the Department of Labor.”

“What people write is what people write,” he said.

Anthony D’Esposito departs a House Republican Conference meeting at the US Capitol.

Photo by Bonnie Cash/Getty Images

Rebecca Klar: Former EEOC officials are cautioning Fortune 500 companies from rolling back their diversity initiatives after they got a warning message from the commission’s Republican chair on these programs.

The EEO Leaders group were pushing back on a letter that Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas sent company heads about ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion programs aren’t discriminatory.

Despite rising scrutiny from the EEOC, lawful DEI programs can help support employers’ responsibilities under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and be a form of risk management, the former officials said in an open letter.

“We are concerned that recent efforts by the EEOC may discourage you from engaging in lawful efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. We urge you to avoid pulling back from this work,” they wrote.

“The law has not changed. Your obligations—and your options—remain intact,” they added.

The letter specifically highlighted that collecting workforce demographic data, providing training to advance DEI, and supporting employee resource groups “remain permissible under the law.”

It’s the latest statement the group has put out in response to action taken by Lucas.

The group counts among its members former Democratic commissioners, including two fired by President Donald Trump last year, as well as former EEOC general counsel and legal counsel officials.

In addition to Lucas’s letter to Fortune 500 companies, subpoena enforcement action revealed the agency is investigating Nike Inc. and Northwestern Mutual Fund for diversity efforts. The agency is also suing a Coca-Cola distributor over a women’s retreat that a man said he and other male employees were not invited to attend.

Some companies already rolled back diversity efforts since the rising scrutiny from the administration. Honeywell International Inc., CoStar Group Inc., and Williams-Sonoma last year stopped telling shareholders in 10-K reports that they were using diverse slates to fill job vacancies.

Recently, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. removed diversity targets from a regulatory filing, joining other Wall Street firms that opted out of specific diversity goals.

We’re punching out. Daily Labor Report subscribers, please check in for updates during the week, and feel free to reach out to us.