Outgoing Labor Secretary Highlights "Great Progress"

In a "Memorandum to the American People" (the "Exit Memo"), Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez stated that the DOL "made great progress" during the past eight years. He highlighted DOL achievements concerning the minimum wage, equal pay, enforcement efforts that secured back wages for workers across the country, and the conflict of interest rule.

In the Exit Memo, Secretary Perez stated that the " conflict of interest rule" is an "historic step" toward protecting the "savings of America's workers." He said the rule ensures that "professionals providing retirement investment advice have to give advice that's in the best interest[s] of their clients and not divert their clients' hard-earned income into their own pockets through hidden fees and conflicted advice." Secretary Perez cited a report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, which found that "retirement savers" lose approximately $17 billion annually as a result of such conflicted advice.