OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERALMR. LUIZ A. SANTOS, DEPUTY INSPECTOR GENERAL
Luiz A. Santos was sworn in as Deputy Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Inspector General (OIG) on January 16, 2022, after serving in an acting capacity since June 2020. In this role, Mr. Santos shares leadership of a nationwide, independent oversight organization with an annual budget of $97 million and a dedicated team of more than 300 professionals, including criminal investigators, auditors, attorneys, subject-matter experts, and management professionals. The OIG's mission is to detect and deter waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in DOL programs, while promoting economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in DOL operations.
As Deputy Inspector General, Mr. Santos oversees more than $87 billion in annual federal funding for essential programs, such as unemployment insurance, worker safety and health, training and reemployment services, pension and health care benefits, wage and hour standards, and economic statistics. He also directs criminal investigations into labor racketeering corruption and the influence of organized crime in employee benefit plans, internal union affairs, and labor-management relations. His office also collaborates with other law enforcement partners on human trafficking matters.
Active in the Inspector General community, Mr. Santos currently serves as a U.S. delegate to the International Public Sector Fraud Forum (IPSFF), representing the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) alongside experts from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance to exchange leading practices on combating public sector fraud.
Mr. Santos has over 15 years of leadership experience in the federal oversight community. He was first appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2017 as the DOL-OIG Assistant Inspector General for Congressional and Public Relations. In this capacity, he served as the OIG’s de facto Chief of Staff, providing strategic counsel to the Inspector General while also overseeing the agency's independent reporting and liaison activities with Congress, the press, GAO, CIGIE, OMB, and other government entities. He joined the DOL-OIG in 2009 as part of the OIG’s Office of Management and Policy, where he focused on agency-wide strategic planning, performance reporting, policy development, and cross-functional projects spanning human resources, budget, information technology, procurement, and administrative operations.
Mr. Santos began his federal career in 2008 after being selected for DOL’s prestigious MBA Fellows Program, a two-year leadership development program where he supported several DOL agencies, including OSHA, the Civil Rights Center, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, and the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Prior to entering federal service, Mr. Santos spent over 10 years in the private sector in the U.S. and abroad, specializing in business administration, project management, and communication.
Throughout his federal career, Mr. Santos has received numerous awards, including several Secretary’s Exceptional Achievement Awards, DOL-OIG Excellence and Special Achievement Awards, and the inaugural DOL Willard Wirtz Legacy Award. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s in Business Administration from Suffolk University in Boston, as well as international certifications as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Project Management Professional (PMP). He is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute.
