Paul DeCamp, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Law360 Employment Authority, in “Ex-DOL Officials Become Go-To Attys in Wage Rule Attacks,” by Max Kutner. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
When industry groups challenge U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour rules, they often choose as counsel former agency officials, who say their prior knowledge gives them a unique ability to take on regulations. …
In the Fifth Circuit, Paul DeCamp of management-side firm Epstein Becker Green is among counsel for restaurant industry groups that are challenging a tipped worker rule. DeCamp was DOL Wage and Hour Division administrator under former President George W. Bush. …
"You Know the History"
Government experience can give attorneys a fuller understanding of the rulemaking process, DOL veterans said.
"People who have not worked in an agency don't necessarily fully grasp the considerations that go into rulemaking and establishing enforcement policy," said DeCamp, the former Wage and Hour Division administrator. "So, having the agency experience maybe gives me a more realistic and complete picture of what drove the agency to do what it did."
That fuller picture also enables such attorneys to approach an argument with comfort, DeCamp said.
"Because I know how the department works, I'm not guessing," he said. "I don't feel like I have a lot of blind spots. I don't feel like if I make an argument, I'm going to get surprised by the policy argument or the legal argument that the department makes in response."
That understanding can come up in the courtroom strategy, as an attorney with agency experience can offer background information beyond what the briefing covers, DeCamp said.
When dealing with the DOL's Field Operations Handbook, for example, "I can say what it looks like, I can say how many volumes it was on the shelf and talk about how the agency personnel use that document," he said. "It's not necessarily something that occupies a lot of any particular argument, but from time to time, a judge may be curious about one of these things." …
Former officials also must figure out how to best address their previous experience if it comes up in court.
DeCamp said he might allude to his DOL experience, but he tries to keep the focus on the case.
"I will, if I think it's appropriate in the argument, mention something along the lines of, 'When I was at the department, this is how this issue got handled,'" he said. "But I don't try to make it about me, because the case is never about me and I never want to draw attention away from the client and the client's issue."
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