State Employment Security chief takes job with Biden Administration
The head of the Washington state Employment Security Department, who has come under fire for the agency’s handling of the surge of unemployment claims during the pandemic, is headed to Washington D.C.
Commissioner Suzi LeVine will leave at the end of January to take a position with the Biden Administration, effective Feb. 1.
The move marks a return to a federal appointment for LeVine, who had previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under the Obama Administration. She previously worked for Microsoft and Expedia.
LeVine, 51, was appointed to the ESD position in July 2018, and helped create the new statewide Paid Family and Medical Leave program.
“I wish Suzi the very best in her next adventure. Her dedication and hard work will add value to the Biden-Harris administration,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement.
“In our state, she led the Employment Security Department through an extremely challenging time and I never doubted that she had the best interests of working Washingtonians at the heart of all her endeavors.”
Taking LeVine’s place in the role of acting commissioner will be Cami Feek, the current Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer. Gov. Inslee will name a permanent replacement for LeVine at a later date.
LeVine oversaw the agency during a period of dramatic change and extraordinary crisis. She came under heavy criticism for the agency’s handling of the wave of unemployment claims filed by jobless workers during the pandemic as well as a massive fraud scheme that siphoned off some $600 million in benefits last spring.
“I have loved every minute of my job here at ESD, even the ones that have been the most difficult,” said Commissioner LeVine in a news release.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 12:32 PM with the headline "State Employment Security chief takes job with Biden Administration."
