Pillen appoints interim commissioner for Nebraska Department of Labor

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen announced Tuesday that he has appointed Katie Thurber as interim commissioner for the Nebraska Department of Labor. 

She steps into the top labor spot John Albin left when he retired Dec. 20, after serving the state Labor Department in a variety of roles over 35 years.

Thurber joined the Labor Department in 2012 as an administrative hearing officer and was soon named legal counsel. She has been the general counsel since 2017 and in 2023 also became deputy commissioner of operations.

Prior to the Labor Department, Thurber was an attorney with the firm of Simmons Olsen in Scottsbluff.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama before graduating from the University of Nebraska College of Law.