Govenor names attorney labor commissioner

• Weiler

Forum Communications Co. photo by Teri Finnerman. Tony Weiler, right, answers questions with Gov. Hoeven at a press conference Thursday.

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BISMARCK — A Bismarck attorney will serve as the state’s next labor commissioner.

Gov. John Hoeven announced Thursday that Tony Weiler will begin his duties Sept. 7. Weiler, 40, will replace Lisa Fair McEvers, who has served in the position for five years. In May, Hoeven appointed her to serve on the East Central Judicial District Court in Fargo.

“Tony will be a great asset for the Department of Labor and will serve the people of North Dakota with professionalism and distinction,” Hoeven said in a statement. “His broad legal experience will provide a strong foundation as he works to protect the rights of North Dakota’s citizens.”

Weiler said he talked with Hoeven about the position 10 years ago when Hoeven became governor. When he learned Fair McEvers was leaving the post, he again expressed interest.

“I think it’s a good opportunity to come back into public service,” Weiler said. “I think that the commissioner of labor has an opportunity to educate the public, that is employers and employees, on what is available to them as far as wage and hour issues, equal employment issues, housing issues.”

The North Dakota Department of Labor is responsible for enforcing the state’s labor and human rights laws and for educating the public about these laws, according to its website.

The department also licenses employment agencies operating in North Dakota and can verify the status of independent contractor relationships. The department has a dozen employees.

Weiler has worked as an attorney with the Maring Williams Law Office in Bismarck since 2002, where he focused on personal injury, business and corporate law.

He previously worked as a general practice attorney with Wheeler Wolf Law Firm in Bismarck and worked as a labor standards inspector with the state Labor Department, charged with wage and hour law enforcement.

Weiler, who is not related to Bismarck legislator Dave Weiler, is originally from Fort Yates.

He attended the University of North Dakota School of Law, receiving a juris doctor in 1998. After law school, he served as a law clerk for Dale Sandstrom with the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Hoeven said Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple was involved with the labor commissioner selection, and three people were interviewed for the post. Dalrymple would become the state’s next governor if Hoeven is elected to the U.S. Senate this November.

Weiler said he looks forward to getting started and working with the public.

“I hope to be someone who can listen to them and give them an opportunity to air their grievances and continue to help people,” he said.

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