The New York State Department of Labor is pleased to announce that Roberta Reardon, who was nominated to serve as Commissioner by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in October 2015, was today confirmed by the New York State Senate.

“My highest priorities as Commissioner will be to continue the great work and momentum of the Governor, the Department of Labor, and the Legislature,” said Commissioner Reardon. “Governor Cuomo’s nomination and the Senate’s confirmation have both humbled me and given me great hope for the future.”

Commissioner Reardon will oversee the Department of Labor’s more than 3,300 employees serving within various divisions throughout New York State.

The Department plays a major role in strengthening the state’s economy by connecting job seekers with employers looking to hire. The Department offers many free services to businesses and job seekers alike in order to reduce New York’s unemployment rate and expand economic opportunity. In addition, the Department administers the state’s Unemployment Insurance system, investigates cases of wage theft and Unemployment Insurance fraud and oversees public employee safety and health.

Before coming to the Department of Labor, Commissioner Reardon previously served as Special Liaison for Common Sense Economics at the AFL-CIO and as Founding Co-President of SAG-AFTRA, a 165,000-member union for the entertainment industry. She was the National President of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), and is member of the board of the Actors Fund of America, and a former member of the Board of Trustees for the AFTRA Health and Retirement Fund and the New York City Labor Council.

Commissioner Reardon graduated from the Cornell Industrial and Labor Relations School’s New York State AFL-CIO/Cornell Union Leadership Institute and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wyoming. She is a Worker Institute Fellow at Cornell University and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Actors Fund of America. She has been honored with the Jewish Labor Committee’s 2009 Human Rights Award as well as the New York City Central Labor Council’s 2012 Award for Service to the Labor Movement.