Elaine Debra Kaplan (born December 18, 1955) is a judge of the

United States Court of Federal Claims The United States Court of Federal Claims (in case citations, Fed. Cl. or C.F.C.) is a United States federal courts, United States federal court that hears monetary claims against the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government. It ...

. She served as General Counsel of the

United States Office of Personnel Management The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the United States federal civil service. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight, and support, an ...

from 2009 to 2013, and as acting director of the office in 2013.

Early life and career

Kaplan was born in 1955 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1976 from

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

. She received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

, ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'', in 1979, from the

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

. She began her career as a staff attorney in the Solicitor's Office of the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

. From 1984–98, she worked for the

National Treasury Employees Union The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) is an independent labor union representing 150,000 employees of 35 departments and agencies of the United States Government. The union specializes in representation of non-supervisory federal employees ...

(NTEU), with increasing levels of responsibility. In 1998, she was unanimously confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

to serve as the head of the

United States Office of Special Counsel United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

and served five years in that position. From 2003 to 2004, she served as of counsel at the law firm of Bernabei and Katz. From 2004–09, she served as Senior Deputy General Counsel at the NTEU. From 2009–13, she was the General Counsel of the United States Office of Personnel Management. Kaplan took the office of Acting Director in April 2013, after Director John Berry's four-year term expired.

Claims court service

On March 19, 2013, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

nominated Kaplan to serve as a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims, to the seat vacated by Judge Christine Odell Cook Miller. The

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

held a hearing on her nomination on May 8, 2013, and reported her nomination to the floor by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

on June 6, 2013. Her nomination was confirmed on September 17, 2013 by a 64–35 vote. She took the oath of office from Chief Judge Patricia E. Campbell-Smith on November 6, 2013. On March 2, 2021, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

designated Kaplan as Chief Judge.

Personal life

Kaplan is open about her

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

identity.

References

External links

*
United States Court of Federal Claims page on Elaine D. Kaplan
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Elaine Debra 1955 births Living people Binghamton University alumni Directors of the United States Office of Personnel Management Georgetown University Law Center alumni Judges of the United States Court of Federal Claims American lesbians LGBTQ appointed officials in the United States LGBTQ judges American LGBTQ lawyers LGBTQ people from New York (state) New York (state) Democrats Lawyers from Brooklyn United States Article I federal judges appointed by Barack Obama United States Department of the Treasury officials 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American women judges

Early life and career

Claims court service

Personal life

See also

References

External links