Cabinet

The Honorable Jessica K. Looman brings extensive national experience leading agencies and organizations focused on protecting workers, expanding economic security, and advancing workforce development initiatives to the Commonwealth of Virginia. She looks forward to implementing Governor Spanberger’s vision of growing an economy that will continue to ensure Virginia is a place for business to be able to create good jobs and where we value every single Virginian that works hard every day.

Ms. Looman was appointed by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, leading the federal labor standards enforcement agency from 2021 to 2025. At the U.S. Department of Labor, Ms. Looman was entrusted with protecting the nation’s foundational federal labor standards laws for 165 million workers at 11 million workplaces nationwide. Her leadership prioritized strategic enforcement of minimum wage and overtime protections for low-wage and vulnerable workers, combating child labor exploitation, addressing the misclassification of employees as independent contractors, preventing retaliation against workers, and modernizing the administration of the federal Davis-Bacon construction prevailing wage program.

Ms. Looman also served as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, overseeing energy, insurance, and financial institution regulation. She previously served as Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, where she was responsible for the strategic coordination of the agency’s five worker protection divisions.

Most recently, Ms. Looman has served as a Senior Fellow with the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, focused on developing best practices and supporting state and local governments in protecting workers’ rights, providing guidance on strategic enforcement, child labor, proactive compliance efforts, and building interstate collaboration among enforcement agencies. Ms. Looman also served as Executive Director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, and is a 30-year member of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA).