NWLC Calls for Swift Nomination Process for Tom Perez, Nominee for Secretary of Labor

Today the President announced the nomination of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Tom Perez to the position of Secretary of Labor.  

The following is a statement by Nancy Duff Campbell and Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-Presidents of the National Women’s Law Center:

“Tom Perez’s twenty-year career in public service demonstrates a commitment to civil rights and to enforcing core legal protections upon which women, and all Americans, rely,” said Nancy Duff Campbell.  “Under his leadership the Civil Rights Division has reinvigorated enforcement of federal laws against discrimination.  Among other things, it litigated groundbreaking Title IX sexual harassment complaints against public schools, colleges, and universities; challenged discriminatory barriers for women working in nontraditional fields in state and local government, investigated gender discrimination by law enforcement agencies; brought numerous cases to enforce the Fair Housing Act’s prohibition of gender discrimination; and protected women’s ability to obtain reproductive health care without harassment or intimidation under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.”

 “The Department of Labor serves a critical role in ensuring opportunities for women in the workplace,” said Marcia D. Greenberger. “It enforces the federal guarantee that workers can take job-protected family and medical leave, wage and hour protections that protect workers from exploitation and abuse, and rules requiring federal contractors to advance equal opportunity in their workforces, among other crucial protections.  It also houses the Women’s Bureau, whose mission is to improve the status and working conditions for wage-earning women.  The next Secretary of the Department of Labor will have the opportunity to continue the important progress toward fairer workplaces for women, and for all workers. We look forward to a prompt and timely confirmation process.”

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