Commissioner
Department of Labor and Workforce DevelopmentDavid J. Socolow, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, leads a staff of 3,600 public servants dedicated to promoting economic growth and job creation by providing crucial services to the workers and employers of the state.
The department works to further the development of New Jersey’s world-class workforce through the statewide One-Stop Career Center system; provides almost $3 billion per year in vital income security to workers who are unemployed or unable to work due to illness, accident, or injury; equitably enforces New Jersey’s labor laws and standards; analyzes the state’s labor market and demographic information; helps disabled individuals succeed in the workplace, and protects the health and safety of workers on the job.
Prior to being appointed to lead the department by Governor Jon S. Corzine on January 17, 2006, Mr. Socolow had led the department’s Unemployment Insurance program since 2002, managing more than 1000 employees. During that time, he promoted initiatives to make New Jersey’s unemployment insurance system more responsive while improving customer service using advanced technology, including eliminating the waiting week for unemployment insurance benefits and implementing automatic filing for federal extended benefits.
Since taking the helm at the department, Commissioner Socolow played a key role in crafting New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance program, which Governor Corzine signed into law on May 2, 2008. Starting in July 2009, the legislation will extend the state's existing Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program to provide up to six weeks of insurance benefits for workers taking leave to bond with a newborn or newly-adopted child or to provide care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition.
Commissioner Socolow also is taking a leadership role in Governor Corzine’s multi-agency approach to prevent employers from misclassifying their employees as independent contractors or paying unreported cash wages. Such employers undercut their law-abiding competitors and reduce their business costs by evading taxes and shirking their duty to provide social insurance for their workers, including unemployment and temporary disability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance.
Under Commissioner Socolow’s direction, the Department has targeted New Jersey’s Customized Training Program to support the development of more competitive workers and businesses in key economic sectors in support of Governor Corzine’s Economic Growth Strategy, including a special focus on basic skills literacy grants to incumbent workers and enhanced promotion of apprenticeship training.
In addition, Commissioner Socolow has worked with the Legislature to update New Jersey’s Prevailing Wage Act with stronger enforcement tools, and he chairs the New Jersey Minimum Wage Advisory Commission, which recommended in its first annual report an increase in the state’s minimum wage and an annual cost-of-living increase indexed to inflation.
Mr. Socolow previously worked at the U.S. Department of Labor as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary. He also served on Capitol Hill as Chief of Staff to Congressman Robert Andrews of New Jersey, a senior member of the House Committee on Education and the Labor. Additionally, Mr. Socolow was a legislative representative for the national AFL-CIO.He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his Master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University. Mr. Socolow was raised in central New Jersey and currently resides in Moorestown with his wife and two children.
