Commissioner's Office

Phone:  (651) 284-5010 or 1-800-DIAL-DLI (1-800-342-5354)
Fax:  (651) 284-5721
Email:  dli.communications@state.mn.us

Commissioner's Office
443 Lafayette Road N.
St. Paul, MN  55155

Phone:  (651) 284-5010
Driving directions

Commissioner Ken Peterson

Ken Peterson was appointed commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry by Governor Mark Dayton in December 2010. Previously, he served in the same position from 1988 to 1990. With Petersen's reappointment, Governor Dayton noted the commissioner "brings exceptional experience and expertise back to the agency he has led before."

Peterson has served in other leadership roles at the state and city levels.

From 1999 to 2007, he worked at the Minnesota Attorney General's Office as its deputy attorney general for government operations and supervised attorneys representing government agencies such as the Department's of Human Services, Finance, Labor and Industry and Transportation. Peterson also served as deputy commissioner for utility regulation of the state Department of Public Service, as director of St. Paul's Department of Planning and Economic Development, and as chief of staff in the St. Paul mayor's office.

In addition to public service, Peterson has worked in private law practice and as an associate professor of public administration at Metropolitan State University. He started his legal career on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota.

Peterson grew up in Osakis, Minn., and is a graduate of Hamline University (B.A.); George Washington University (J.D.); and Harvard University (MPA).

Deputy Commissioner Kris Eiden

Kris Eiden is an attorney who has worked in both the private and public sectors.

Eiden served as chief deputy attorney general in the Minnesota Attorney General's Office from 2003 to 2007, and deputy attorney general for four years prior to that. She was an attorney in private practice from 1991 to 1998, primarily representing regulated businesses. Most recently, Eiden taught paralegal students at a local business college.

Eiden is a graduate of St. Cloud State University (B.A. in public administration) and from William Mitchell College of Law (J.D.).

Assistant Commissioner Jessica Looman

Jessica Looman helps direct the work of the Construction Codes and Licensing Division and the Apprenticeship, Labor Standards and Research and Statistics units.

Previously, she served as General Counsel of the Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota for more than 10 years. While there, Looman addressed important workplace issues such as drug and physical testing, workers' compensation, prevailing wage, apprenticeship training, workforce diversity, unemployment insurance and misclassification of workers.

Looman is a graduate of George Washington University (B.A. in political science) and from the University of Minnesota Law School (J.D.).