Eugene Scalia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eugene Scalia
Official portrait, 2019
28th United States Secretary of Labor
In office September 30, 2019 – January 20, 2021
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Patrick Pizzella
Preceded by	Alexander Acosta
Succeeded by	Marty Walsh
25th United States Solicitor of Labor
In office January 11, 2002 – January 17, 2003
President	George W. Bush
Secretary	Elaine Chao
Preceded by	Henry Solano
Succeeded by	Howard M. Radzely
Personal details
Born	(1963-08-14) August 14, 1963 (age 62) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Patricia Larsen ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	7
Parents	Antonin Scalia (father) Maureen McCarthy (mother)
Education	University of Virginia (BA) University of Chicago (JD)

Eugene Scalia (born August 14, 1963) is an American lawyer. He served as the 28th United States Secretary of Labor from 2019 to 2021. This important role meant he was in charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, which helps workers and businesses. Before that, he was the United States Solicitor of Labor under President George W. Bush. The Solicitor of Labor is the main lawyer for the Department of Labor.

Eugene Scalia is the son of Antonin Scalia, who was a famous Justice on the Supreme Court. People have described Eugene Scalia as a skilled lawyer who generally supports businesses and less government rules. After his time as Secretary of Labor, he went back to working as a lawyer in a private firm.

Early Life and Education

Eugene Scalia was born on August 14, 1963, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the second of nine children born to Antonin Scalia and Maureen Scalia. He went to the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where he was known as "Gene." He finished school there in 1981.

While in school, Scalia was an editor for the school newspaper, U-High Midway. He also wrote his own column called "Blind Side." He played soccer and was part of the debate team. He was even elected vice-president of his school's disciplinary board. He won against Arne Duncan, who later became the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Scalia then went to the University of Virginia. He earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in economics in 1985. He also studied political science. After working for the U.S. government for two years, he attended the University of Chicago Law School. There, he became the main editor of the University of Chicago Law Review. He earned his law degree, called a Juris Doctor (J.D.), in 1990.

Early Legal Career

Scalia started his career in government service. From 1985 to 1987, he worked for the United States Department of Education. He was an assistant to William Bennett, who was the U.S. Secretary of Education at the time. Later, from 1992 to 1993, he was a special assistant to William Barr, the Attorney General.

Scalia also worked as a lawyer for private companies in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California. In 2000, his law firm, Gibson Dunn, represented George W. Bush in a big case before the U.S. Supreme Court called Bush v. Gore.

Solicitor of Labor Role

In 2001, President George W. Bush chose Eugene Scalia to be the United States Solicitor of Labor. He officially started this job in January 2002. As Solicitor, he was the top lawyer for the U.S. Department of Labor.

At that time, some people, including Democratic senators and labor groups, said he was not supportive enough of workers. They also criticized him for articles he wrote about certain worker safety rules.

However, some former officials from the Department of Labor said that Scalia was very supportive of taking legal action to protect workers' rights. In 2019, The New York Times mentioned that Scalia was known for being against a rule that would have given more protection to workers who might get injuries from doing the same movements over and over. This rule was later removed by Congress in 2001.

Private Legal Work

During his time working as a private lawyer, Eugene Scalia often defended large companies. He helped them in cases against government rules about money and workers.

One writer in The New Yorker magazine said that Scalia, as a corporate lawyer, often made it harder for workers to get benefits or protect their rights. After he left the Bush administration, he helped big financial companies fight against new rules that were put in place to oversee them. He also spoke out against banking rules that were created during the Obama administration.

In July 2006, Scalia argued a case called Wal-Mart v. Maryland. In this case, he represented the companies. The case successfully stopped a state law that would have made large companies pay at least 8% of their payroll for employee healthcare.

After serving as Secretary of Labor, Scalia returned to his law firm, Gibson Dunn. He now helps lead the firm's group that deals with government rules and laws.

Secretary of Labor (2019–2021)

Becoming Secretary

On July 18, 2019, President Donald Trump announced that he wanted Eugene Scalia to be the next Secretary of Labor. On September 26, 2019, the Senate voted to approve his nomination by a vote of 53 to 44. Scalia was officially sworn into office by Vice President Mike Pence on September 30. Eugene Scalia is the only person who has been both the Solicitor of Labor and the Secretary of Labor.

During his time as Secretary, some labor and employment protections were changed. This led to criticism from leaders of worker organizations.

Janet Herold, a lawyer who worked for the Labor Department during the Obama administration, had filed lawsuits against big technology companies, including Oracle Corporation. In 2019, Herold claimed that Scalia had used his power unfairly. She said he got involved in a 2017 lawsuit where Oracle was being investigated for possibly paying women and people of color less. Scalia suggested a settlement amount that Herold thought was too low. Oracle later won the case, and the Department of Labor decided not to appeal. The Department of Labor said that Herold's claims against Scalia were based on wrong ideas and that Scalia had not been part of the settlement talks with Oracle. Herold was later fired by Scalia in January 2021 after she refused to move to a different job.

Images for kids

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  Scalia being sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Labor in 2019

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  Scalia speaks at a press conference regarding coronavirus in the White House Press Briefing Room in April 2020