Thomas E. Perez
Tom Perez is a nationally recognized consumer advocate and civil rights lawyer who was appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley in January 2007 to serve as the Secretary of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR). Secretary Perez spent 12 years in federal public service, primarily at the Department of Justice. He was a federal prosecutor for the DOJ Civil Rights Division and served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under Attorney General Janet Reno, chairing the interagency Worker Exploitation Task Force, which oversaw initiatives designed to protect vulnerable workers. Also, Secretary Perez served as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Perez is a graduate of Brown University (1983), Harvard Law School (1987), and the John F. Kennedy School of Government (1987). Secretary Perez is currently a part-time faculty at the George Washington School of Public Health, and previously taught at the University of Maryland School of Law. From 2002 until 2006, Secretary Perez was a member of the Montgomery County Council.
