Eugene Scalia (born August 14, 1963) is an American lawyer who served as the 28th
United States Secretary of Labor during the final 16 months of the
first Trump administration
Donald Trump's first tenure as the president of the United States began on January 20, 2017, when Trump First inauguration of Donald Trump, was inaugurated as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president, and ended on January ...
from 2019 to 2021. Scalia previously served as the
United States Solicitor of Labor under President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. He is a son of the late
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
Associate Justice
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...
.
Scalia was described by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as "a skilled lawyer with a broadly conservative, pro-business and anti-regulatory agenda". As Secretary of Labor, he reversed
Obama-era labor and employment regulations.
He returned to become a partner at
Gibson Dunn at the end of his tenure.
Early life and education
Scalia was born on August 14, 1963, in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
, the second of nine children of future Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...
and Maureen (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
McCarthy) Scalia.
He attended the
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where he was known colloquially as "Gene" and graduated in 1981. Scalia became an editor of the school newspaper, ''U-High Midway'', and had his column called "Blind Side". He also participated in soccer and debate; during his time as a student, Scalia was elected vice-president of the school's disciplinary board, beating classmate
Arne Duncan, who would later be appointed
U.S. Secretary of Education.
Scalia enrolled at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
, where he graduated in 1985 with 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 ...
(B.A.) with distinction in
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and a minor in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. He worked for the U.S. government for two years, then attended the
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...
, where he became editor-in-chief of the ''
University of Chicago Law Review
The ''University of Chicago Law Review'' ( Maroonbook abbreviation: ''U Chi L Rev'') is the flagship law journal published by the University of Chicago Law School. Up until 2020, it utilized a different citation system than most law journals—the ...
''. He graduated in 1990 with 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 ...
(J.D.), ''
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 ...
''.
Early legal career
Scalia first entered government service in the
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...
as an aide to
William J. Bennett, the
U.S. Secretary of Education, from 1985 to 1987.
From 1992 to 1993, he served as Special Assistant to
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
William P. Barr.
Scalia was in private practice in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California.
In 2000, his firm,
Gibson Dunn, represented
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
before the U.S. Supreme Court in ''
Bush v. Gore
''Bush v. Gore'', 531 U.S. 98 (2000), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W ...
''.
Solicitor of Labor
He served as the
Solicitor of Labor, having been appointed by President Bush in April 2001 and assuming the position in January 2002 following a
recess appointment
In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...
.
At the time, he was accused by Democratic senators and labor groups of being hostile to workers and criticized for his articles criticizing
ergonomics
Ergonomics, also known as human factors or human factors engineering (HFE), is the application of Psychology, psychological and Physiology, physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Primary goa ...
.
A group of former career officials within the Department of Labor have since described Scalia as having been "very supportive of enforcement litigation to vindicate the rights of workers, both at the trial and appellate levels". In 2019, ''The New York Times'' wrote that Scalia "is perhaps best known for his opposition to a regulation that would have mandated greater protections for workers at risk of repetitive stress injuries".
The regulation was repealed by Congress in 2001.
Private legal practice
During his career in private practice, Scalia has defended major corporations against financial and labor regulations.
Writing in ''The New Yorker'',
Eyal Press said: "as a corporate lawyer, Scalia has repeatedly hindered the efforts of workers to secure benefits or defend their rights."
After leaving the Bush administration, he helped Wall Street firms oppose financial oversight and criticized banking regulations put in place under Obama.
Scalia argued for the plaintiffs in ''Wal-Mart v. Maryland'' in July 2006, which invalidated a state law under which large companies with at least 10,000 employees would have been required to spend at least 8% of their payroll on employee healthcare.
Following his term as Secretary of Labor, Scalia returned to private practice at
Gibson Dunn, where he is co-chair of the firm's
administrative law
Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...
and regulatory practice group.
Secretary of Labor (2019–2021)
Nomination and confirmation
On July 18, 2019, President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
announced he would nominate Scalia to be the next Secretary of Labor.
On September 26, 2019, the Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 53–44. Scalia was sworn in by Vice President
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
on September 30. Scalia is the only person to have served as both Solicitor and Secretary of Labor.
During his tenure in the Department of Labor, he weakened some labor and employment protections, drawing criticism from organized labor leaders.
Janet Herold, an Obama-era career appointee to the Labor Department, spearheaded a number of employment discrimination lawsuits against major technology companies, including the
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational computer technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Co-founded in 1977 in Santa Clara, California, by Larry Ellison, who remains executive chairman, Oracle was ...
. In 2019, Herold filed a complaint in which she alleged that Scalia had abused his authority by intervening to settle a 2017 Labor Department lawsuit in which Oracle was being investigated for allegedly underpaying women and people of color.
Scalia encouraged a settlement figure between $17 million and $38 million, which Herold considered too low. Oracle went on to win the case, with the Department of Labor deciding not to appeal the decision. The Department of Labor dismissed Herold's complaint against Scalia, saying that Herold's "retaliation allegations rest on erroneous speculation regarding matters she is not in a position to know" and that Scalia had not participated in settlement discussions with Oracle. Herold was fired by Scalia in January 2021 after refusing to accept a transfer to a non-legal position.
References
External links
Eugene Scalia at Gibson Dunn*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scalia, Eugene
1963 births
Living people
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American lawyers
American people of Italian descent
Lawyers from Cleveland
Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
Lawyers who have represented the United States government
People associated with Gibson Dunn
First Trump administration cabinet members
United States Department of Labor officials
University of Chicago Law School alumni
United States secretaries of labor
University of Virginia alumni
Washington, D.C., Republicans
Wharton School alumni