Employers, Beware of Labor Secretary Nominee Thomas Perez
Thomas Perez was nominated Monday to be part of President Obama’s second term team, as Secretary of the Department of Labor. He would replace Hilda Solis, who resigned from the post in January.
Perez’s recent resume suggests he will likely be a real challenge to employers. Perez, 51, formerly worked as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). As a federal prosecutor for the Civil Rights Division, Perez personally prosecuted and supervised the prosecution of some of the department’s highest-profile civil rights cases. In addition, Perez chaired the Interagency Worker Exploitation Task Force, an agency that oversees initiatives intended to protect vulnerable workers.
Perez also led Justice Department efforts to reach fair-lending settlements with banks on behalf of alleged victims of unfair mortgage-lending practices, and stepped-up efforts to protect the rights of veterans.
It should come as no surprise that Perez has strong labor support. James P. Hoffa, general president of the Teamsters, called Mr. Perez “the right choice” because of his history of advocacy. “In these difficult economic times,” Mr. Hoffa said, “workers need a fighter at the Labor Department who will stand up for them, and they are getting just that with Thomas Perez.”
If he is confirmed as Secretary of Labor, Perez is expected to push strongly to finalize long-pending regulatory measures like the controversial "Right To Know" and "Persuader" rules as well as the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regulations on veterans and disabled, including the controversial 7% goals requirement. His experience with wage and hour cases in the DOJ, he can be expected to pursue FLSA issues very aggressively.
To nobody’s surprise, Perez’s nomination has caused controversy. He has a reputation for stirring the pot. For example, a Justice Department inspector general’s report found that the voting rights section of the DOJ was torn by “deep ideological polarization,” with liberal and conservative factions in sharp conflict. However, the report also shows that the divisions date back to the George W. Bush administration, meaning they predate Mr. Perez’s arrival at the DOJ (he was confirmed in October 2009).
Republicans criticize Perez as a radical legal activist who, while at the DOJ, tried to help illegal immigrants avoid detection and receive public benefits. “This is an unfortunate and needlessly divisive nomination,” said Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama. “The top priority of the secretary of labor should be to create jobs and higher wages for American workers. But Mr. Perez has aggressively sought ways to allow the hiring of more illegal workers. Mr. Perez has also had a controversial tenure at the Department of Justice, where he has demonstrated a fundamentally political approach to the law.”
Perez, a first-generation Dominican-American, brings impeccable educational credentials and state-level experience to the post. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 1983, his Master’s in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1987, and his Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law in 1987. He also served as Maryland’s labor secretary from 2007 to 2009. He will diversify a cabinet that critics have labeled disproportionately white and male.
Perez’s appointment must still be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He needs a simple majority of votes, which he will likely get from that Democrat-controlled body for confirmation. But it appears he may be a thorn in employers’ sides should he become our next Secretary of Labor.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal 3/18/13, Employment Law 360, The New York Times 3/18/13