U.S. Department of Labor Announces Appointments to the Administrative Review Board

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced three appointments to the Administrative Review Board (ARB). The three members – William Thomas Barto, James A. Haynes, and Daniel T. Gresh – were appointed for two-year terms.

The ARB issues final agency decisions for the U.S. Secretary of Labor in cases arising under a wide range of worker protection laws, primarily involving environmental, transportation, and securities whistleblower protection; H-1B immigration provisions; child labor; employment discrimination; job training; seasonal and migrant workers; and federal construction and service contracts. The ARB's cases generally arise upon appeal from decisions of Department of Labor Administrative Law Judges or the Administrator of the Department's Wage and Hour Division. Depending upon the statute at issue, the parties may appeal the ARB's decisions to federal district or appellate courts and ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella led the selection process and made recommendations accepted by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta.

"The ARB's mission is to issue legally correct, just, and timely decisions," said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella. "After a rigorous selection process, these members' expertise will be a valuable complement to the Department of Labor's overall mission to protect the American workforce."

The newly appointed members and the expertise they represent are:

William Thomas Barto will serve as the chair of the ARB. Barto most recently has served as Administrative Law Judge for the U.S. Department of Labor, where he has presided over formal adversarial hearings concerning a wide variety of labor-related matters, including claims arising under the Black Lung Benefits Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, and dozens of other labor-related statutes and regulations involving whistleblower complaints, immigration, child labor, employment discrimination, and federal construction and service contracts. Barto received a Master of Laws from the Judge Advocate Generals School, a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University.

James A. Haynes will serve as a member of the ARB. Haynes most recently served as an Appellate Administrative Law Judge for the Employees Compensation Appeals Board where he issued over 11,000 decisions and orders. Haynes received a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Daniel T. Gresh will serve as a member of the ARB. Gresh is an attorney for the ARB where he participates in reviews of appeals of complaints filed under a broad range of federal administrative labor laws, including financial, environmental and transportation employee protection statutes; immigration, child labor, employment discrimination and job training laws; contract and wage compliance laws, the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, the Davis-Bacon Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Gresh received a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts from Villanova University.