DOL’s Westby to Retire; Bartolomeo Proposed as Successor

State Department of Labor commissioner Kurt Westby will retire by the end of June, with Gov. Ned Lamont planning to nominate former Democratic state legislator Danté Bartolomeo, the agency’s deputy commissioner, as his successor.

Westby was named commissioner in 2018, succeeding Scott Jackson, who was moved from the agency by then Gov. Dannel Malloy to lead the Department of Revenue Services.

Jackson left DRS in January 2020 to take the position of chief administrative officer with the City of New Haven.

Westby, a former consultant with the Service Employees International Union who also held leadership roles with the SEIU and Connecticut AFL-CIO, was appointed DOL deputy commissioner in 2016.

Bartolomeo, who served two terms in the state Senate representing the 13th District, was appointed deputy commissioner in January 2019.

Lamont praised Westby’s leadership at DOL, noting the expansion of the agency’s apprenticeship program, stronger partnerships with the state’s workforce development boards, and administering the historic level of unemployment claims during the height of the pandemic.

Bartolomeo will serve as interim commissioner until the General Assembly acts on Lamont’s pending nomination.