Governor Gary Locke appointed Paul Trause as the new director of the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries. Trause most recently served as deputy commissioner of the state Employment Security Department.

Trause replaces L&I director Gary Moore, who will now serve as the state’s first director of labor relations within the Office of Financial Management.

“Paul is a proven leader and I am confident he will do a great job in his new position,” Locke said. Trause, 54, will oversee the 2,700 employees at L&I. The agency oversees Washington’s 163,000 employers and two million workers, including ensuring workplace safety, providing worker’s compensation benefits and setting workers’ compensation rates.

“I am extremely honored to be selected by the governor to serve in this role,” he said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to address the many challenging issues at L&I, and I look forward to working with the people at L&I as well as the business and labor communities.”

Trause earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University and his law degree from J.D. Cornell University Law School.

Trause is paid $113,000 annually.