Thomas Perez (American American Politician) Biography

Quick Info

Profession	American Politician
Nationality	American
Date of Birth	07/10/1961
Age	64 years
Birthplace	Buffalo, New York, U.S.

Latest News about Thomas Perez

05/2025

Tom Perez joined Mayer Brown as a partner in the Public Policy, Regulatory & Government Affairs practice and Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice in Washington, D.C. He brought extensive experience from his recent role as Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House, where he served from 2023 to 2025.

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Bio/Wiki

Real Name	Thomas Edward 'Tom' Perez
Nickname	Tom
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Libra
School	Canisius High School, Buffalo, New York, USA
College	Brown University, Rhode Island, USA, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Physical Stats & More

Height	5' 11"
Weight	78 kg
Eye Color	Brown
Hair Color	Grey

Educational Qualification(s)

Bachelor of Arts	International Relations and Political Science, Brown University, 1983
Juris Doctor	cum laude, Harvard Law School

Personal Life

Religion	Roman Catholicism
Ethnicity	Dominican
Address	200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC 20210
Hobbies	Reading, Traveling, Cooking

Relationships & More

Marital Status	Married
Wife	Ann Marie Staudenmaier
Children	Rafael Perez Susana Perez Amalia Perez

Family

Father	Rafael Perez
Mother	Grace Perez

Career

Political Journey	Worked as a Principal Secretary to Democratic Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy from 1995 to 1998 Council of Montgomery County, Maryland from 2002 to 2006 Council President from 2004 to 2005 Maryland Secretary of Labor in 2007 Nominated by President Barack Obama to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice in 2009 Nominated to be Secretary of Labor by President Barack Obama on 18 March 2013 Federal prosecutor and civil rights lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice from 1989 Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice from 1988 to 1995, chairing the interagency Worker Exploitation Task Force Special Counsel to U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy from 1995 to 1998, serving as principal adviser on civil rights, criminal justice and constitutional issues Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the final two years of the Clinton administration Law professor for six years at University of Maryland School of Law and part-time professor at George Washington School of Public Health Montgomery County Council member from 2002 to 2006 Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, sworn in on 08 October 2009 United States Secretary of Labor from 23 July 2013 to 20 January 2017 Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2021 Law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House from 2023 to 2025 Partner at Mayer Brown law firm in Washington, D.C., in the Public Policy, Regulatory & Government Affairs practice and Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice from 2025
Major Achievements	Principal architect of Maryland's sweeping package of state lending and foreclosure reforms during the foreclosure crisis Led efforts to target Maryland companies engaging in workplace fraud and misclassification of employees as independent contractors Helped implement the Workplace Fraud Act of 2009 Issued the Home Care Rule requiring minimum-wage and overtime compensation for home care workers, effective 01 January 2015 Issued the Persuader Rule requiring employers' attorneys to publicly disclose advice given to persuade against unionization Oversaw the longest streak of private sector job growth on record during his tenure as Secretary of Labor Settled two major labor disputes involving 20,000 West Coast port workers and 40,000 workers for a major mobile network provider Landed three of the largest settlements in the history of the Fair Housing Act from mortgage lenders Investigated the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida Launched a record number of probes into unconstitutional police practices Advocated for Muslims in the workplace and championed the Americans with Disabilities Act Established new worker safety rules including an updated standard for silica dust Established rules to raise wages, provide paid sick leave, and ensure employment protections for federal contractor employees Settled two major labor disputes involving 15,000 West Coast port workers and 40,000 Verizon workers Established a Veterans employment website to assist veterans with locating and utilizing employment resources

Political Journey

Worked as a Principal Secretary to Democratic Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy from 1995 to 1998
Council of Montgomery County, Maryland from 2002 to 2006
Council President from 2004 to 2005
Maryland Secretary of Labor in 2007
Nominated by President Barack Obama to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice in 2009
Nominated to be Secretary of Labor by President Barack Obama on 18 March 2013
Federal prosecutor and civil rights lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice from 1989
Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice from 1988 to 1995, chairing the interagency Worker Exploitation Task Force
Special Counsel to U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy from 1995 to 1998, serving as principal adviser on civil rights, criminal justice and constitutional issues
Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the final two years of the Clinton administration
Law professor for six years at University of Maryland School of Law and part-time professor at George Washington School of Public Health
Montgomery County Council member from 2002 to 2006
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, sworn in on 08 October 2009
United States Secretary of Labor from 23 July 2013 to 20 January 2017
Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2021
Law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House from 2023 to 2025
Partner at Mayer Brown law firm in Washington, D.C., in the Public Policy, Regulatory & Government Affairs practice and Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice from 2025

Major Achievements

Principal architect of Maryland's sweeping package of state lending and foreclosure reforms during the foreclosure crisis
Led efforts to target Maryland companies engaging in workplace fraud and misclassification of employees as independent contractors
Helped implement the Workplace Fraud Act of 2009
Issued the Home Care Rule requiring minimum-wage and overtime compensation for home care workers, effective 01 January 2015
Issued the Persuader Rule requiring employers' attorneys to publicly disclose advice given to persuade against unionization
Oversaw the longest streak of private sector job growth on record during his tenure as Secretary of Labor
Settled two major labor disputes involving 20,000 West Coast port workers and 40,000 workers for a major mobile network provider
Landed three of the largest settlements in the history of the Fair Housing Act from mortgage lenders
Investigated the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida
Launched a record number of probes into unconstitutional police practices
Advocated for Muslims in the workplace and championed the Americans with Disabilities Act
Established new worker safety rules including an updated standard for silica dust
Established rules to raise wages, provide paid sick leave, and ensure employment protections for federal contractor employees
Settled two major labor disputes involving 15,000 West Coast port workers and 40,000 Verizon workers
Established a Veterans employment website to assist veterans with locating and utilizing employment resources

Favourites

Favourite Politician	Not Known

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. Both of his parents were first-generation immigrants.
2. His father served in the U.S. Army after World War II.
3. His mother immigrated to the United States in 1930.
4. He is the youngest among five siblings.
5. He worked as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
6. He also served as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
7. He was viewed as a strong contender to be Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 Presidential Election.
8. He made regular 'house calls' or onsite trips as Secretary of Labor to obtain personal feedback and listen to workers' experiences.
9. His confirmation as Secretary of Labor in 2013 was the first Senate confirmation vote in history in which a cabinet member's confirmation received a party-line vote.
10. He grew up in Buffalo where he learned the values of a union town: hard work, integrity, service, and perseverance.
11. He joined the Sigma Chi fraternity at Brown University.

Thomas Perez American Politician American Buffalo, New York, U.S.