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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
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Add Your Name: America Deserves a Raise
April 2, 2014 at 1:45 PM EDTSecretary of Labor Tom Perez explains the importance of raising the minimum wage for American workers.
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The Incredible Email I Got Today
March 28, 2014 at 6:53 PM EDTSecretary Thomas E. Perez talks with 11-year-old Jesseca, who came out to a rally in Cleveland to show her support for raising the minimum wage, and giving millions of workers the dignity and respect a hard day’s work deserves.
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Add Your Name: It's Time to Raise the Wage
March 5, 2014 at 6:02 PM EDTNo one working full time in this country should have to raise a family in poverty. We can raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10, and we should.
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Good for Workers, Good for Business: #RaiseTheWage
January 24, 2014 at 7:01 PM EDTSecretary Perez visits business owners from across the country to discuss the importance of a federal increase in the minimum wage.
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Three out of Four Americans Agree: It’s Time to Raise the Wage
January 15, 2014 at 5:31 PM EDTRaising the minimum wage isn’t just pro-worker; it’s pro-economic growth. Putting money in the pockets of working families, as Henry Ford explained, means they’ll spend it on goods and services, which in turn helps businesses thrive and create more jobs.
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Our New Year’s Resolution
December 31, 2013 at 1:00 PM EDTSecretary Perez on our efforts with state and local governments, business leaders, workforce professionals and others to tap the pool of talent represented by people with disabilities.
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Fast Action
November 22, 2013 at 6:22 PM EDTIn 1968, in the thick of the farmworkers’ struggle to gain basic rights and relief from brutal mistreatment, Cesar Chavez didn’t just march or strike or demonstrate − he fasted in order to raise awareness about his movement and highlight the importance of nonviolent resistance. Today, a new generation of activists is going without all food except water – this time to bring attention to the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform.
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A Labor Day Opportunity
August 30, 2013 at 12:15 PM EDTFor 100 years, the Department of Labor has played a critical role in creating opportunity and moving the nation forward.
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