TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The Kansas Senate has confirmed Gov. Sam Brownback's appointment of a former legislator as the state's labor secretary.

The vote Thursday on Lana Gordon's appointment was 38-0.

Brownback made the appointment last month, after Gordon had served as interim secretary for four months. Gordon took over the secretary's duties after Brownback abruptly removed Karin Brownlee from the post in September without comment.

The Department of Labor has about 460 employees and a budget of roughly $495 million.

Gordon, of Topeka, served 12 years in the Kansas House before deciding not to seek re-election last year. She had been placed in a district with two other incumbents when three federal judges redrew the state's political boundaries last year to ensure equal political representation.