( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama on Monday will announce Thomas E. Perez , U.S. assistant attorney general heading the Justice Department 's civil rights division , as his nominee for the next secretary of the Department of Labor , according to a White House official . A former federal prosecutor and an official in his home state of Maryland , Perez was sworn into his current post in October 2009 . CNN 's Jessica Yellin reported earlier this month that Obama would name Perez to the Cabinet position . If approved , he would take the position recently held by Hilda L. Solis , a former congresswoman who resigned in January . In a letter to colleagues announcing her departure , Solis said she 'd `` taken our mission to heart . '' `` As the daughter of parents who worked in factories , paid their union dues and achieved their goal of a middle class life , and as the first Latina to head a major federal agency , it has been an incredible honor to serve , '' she wrote . Perez , who is himself Hispanic , and his office have been active in several high-profile cases in recent years . They include : . -- In 2010 , Perez launched a probe into the law enforcement tactics of Maricopa County , Arizona , Sheriff Joe Arpaio after the controversial sheriff 's hard line anti-immigration policies led to accusations of civil rights violations . The Justice Department determined that Arpaio had engaged in `` pattern or practice of wide-ranging discrimination against Latinos and retaliatory actions against individuals who criticized '' his department 's activities . Arpaio condemned the investigation as politically motivated and a `` witch hunt '' provoked by the Obama administration 's disfavor of the state 's controversial immigration law . -- In October 2010 , Perez filed a legal brief in response to a lawsuit brought by local landowners trying to prevent the construction of a mosque in Murfreesboro , Tennessee . In the friend-of-the court brief , Perez argued that practicing Islam is a freedom protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution . -- Perez also became involved in a controversial 2008 voting rights case after it drew attention from Republican lawmakers and became the target of a Justice Department Inspector General 's report that slapped the department 's voting rights section for having a lack of professionalism and pervasive warring between employees who disagreed politically . The case stemmed from a complaint against members of the New Black Panther Party who stood outside a polling station in Philadelphia on Election Day dressed in boots and berets and carrying a nightstick . Though civil charges for attempted voter intimidation were filed by the Bush Administration , they were dropped against three of four defendants after President Obama came in to office . Republicans called foul -- accusing the department 's political leadership of getting involved in the decision . Though Perez had not yet been confirmed when the decision was made , he said in testimony to Inspector General Michael Horowitz in May 2010 that politics played no part in the decision . Horowitz was not satisfied with Perez 's account of the situation , saying in his report that Perez should have tried to get more information before testifying . Perez was not accused of any wrongdoing , but he has been criticized for not doing enough to improve what the Inspector General described as a dysfunctional department with persistent ideological polarization spanning two administrations . Before rising to the Justice Department position , Perez led Maryland 's Department of Labor , Licensing and Regulation . This office is charged with `` safeguarding workers , protecting consumers , providing a safety net and cultivating a thriving workforce , '' according to its website . Perez also was on the Montgomery County Council from 2002 to 2006 . He had earlier spent 12 years as an attorney in the Justice Department 's civil rights division , rising to become deputy assistant attorney general during the 1990s . Perez also worked for late Sen. Edward Kennedy , a Massachusetts Democrat , and spent the final two years of President Bill Clinton 's administration as head of the Health and Human Services Department 's civil rights office . CNN 's Greg Botelho contributed to this report .
Thomas Perez will be the nominee for labor secretary . In the Justice Department 's civil rights division , he had been involved in high-profile cases . He will replace Hilda Solis , who resigned in January . He was a prosecutor and elected official in Maryland .