Thomas E. Perez was nominated by President Obama to serve as the nation's 26th Secretary of Labor, and was sworn in on July 23, 2013.
Previously Perez served as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. The Civil Rights Division enforces federal laws that prohibit discrimination and uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all who live in America. During his tenure of nearly four years, Perez oversaw the effort to restore and expand the division's achievements. Under his leadership as Assistant Attorney General, the division successfully implemented the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act; expanded equal housing opportunity by bringing and settling the largest fair-lending cases in history; protected schoolchildren from discrimination, bullying and harassment; dramatically expanded access to employment, housing and educational opportunities for people with disabilities; protected the right to vote for all eligible voters free from discrimination; took record-setting efforts to ensure that communities have effective and democratically accountable policing; and safeguarded the employment, housing, fair lending and voting rights of service members. He also expanded the division's partnerships across federal agencies to address cross-cutting challenges in human trafficking, employment discrimination and fair lending, among others.
Perez has spent his entire career in public service. He previously served as the Secretary of Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. From 2002 until 2006, he was a member of the Montgomery County Council. He was the first Latino ever elected to the Council, and served as Council president in 2005. Earlier in his career, he spent 12 years in federal public service, most as a career attorney with the Civil Rights Division. As a federal prosecutor for the division, he prosecuted and supervised the prosecution of some of the Justice Department's most high profile civil rights cases, including a hate crimes case in Texas involving a group of white supremacists who went on a deadly, racially-motivated crime spree.
He later served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under Attorney General Janet Reno. Among other responsibilities, he chaired the interagency Worker Exploitation Task Force, which oversaw a variety of initiatives designed to protect vulnerable workers. He also served as special counsel to the late Senator Edward Kennedy, and was Senator Kennedy's principal adviser on civil rights, criminal justice and constitutional issues. For the final two years of the Clinton administration, he served as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Perez was a law professor for six years at the University of Maryland School of Law and was a part-time professor at the George Washington School of Public Health. He received a bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1983. In 1987 he received both a master's of public policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Ann Marie Staudenmaier, an attorney with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, and their three children.
Secretary Thomas E. Perez's Posts
-
When Tribes Compete, Tribes Can Succeed
December 4, 2014 at 6:17 PM ESTU.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez discusses the Labor Department's work for tribal communities.
-
Keeping Up with the Cabinet: Equality, Fairness, and Opportunity
December 3, 2014 at 1:50 PM ESTThe Labor Department is issuing a rule to implement Executive Order 13672, which was signed by President Obama in July, to ensure that federal contractors and subcontractors do not discriminate against employees or applicants based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
-
Keeping Up on the Minimum Wage
November 7, 2014 at 3:26 PM ESTIt’s been almost two years since President Obama first called for an increase in the national minimum wage. He believes more strongly than ever that no one who works full-time should have to raise a family in poverty.
-
How $10.10 Would Affect You:
October 10, 2014 at 3:26 PM ESTThe White House released a short whiteboard video today explaining why we need to give Americans a raise -- and Secretary Perez sent this message to the White House email list to highlight the video.
-
Community Colleges: The Secret Sauce
September 29, 2014 at 12:05 PM ESTThe program is called TAACCCT -- that stands for Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training. As acronyms go, I’m not going to say it’s our very best work. But as a commitment to building a 21st century workforce, as a tool to prepare people for the jobs of today and tomorrow, it is second-to-none.
-
Guess Who’s Leading on Paid Leave? (Hint: Not Us)
September 22, 2014 at 10:36 AM ESTThe United States is distressingly behind the curve on paid family leave.
-
Pride and Opportunity
July 21, 2014 at 4:01 PM ESTPresident Obama signs an executive order extending workplace protections to LGBT employees of federal contractors and of the federal government.
-
Giving Working Families a Voice
July 16, 2014 at 12:04 PM ESTAs we lean in on paid leave and these other issues, we need everyone – unions, employers, workers, and policymakers – working together on win-win solutions to make our families stronger, our workplaces more productive, and our economy more competitive in the 21st century.
-
States Lead on Minimum Wage. Is Congress Listening?
July 7, 2014 at 12:40 PM ESTCongress is back in session, and if members have been listening to their constituents they will move quickly to raise the federal minimum wage, which has lost 20 percent of its purchasing power since the 1980s. But absent action from Capitol Hill, states are taking up the slack.
-
Justice and Identity
July 1, 2014 at 8:45 AM ESTAs we celebrate Pride Month and approach the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, the Labor Department is reaffirming its commitment to equal opportunity for all.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- next &rsaquo
More White House Profiles
Advisor on Violence Against Women
Director of Progressive Media and Online Response
Director of Online Engagement for the Office of Digital Strategy
Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Director of the Office of Management and Budget