Edward Hugler (JD '76) named U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor

January 30, 2017 | By Kylie Larkin -- Pepperdine Law alumnus Edward Hugler (JD '76) has been named the United States Acting Secretary of Labor.

Via the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Secretary:

Edward Hugler was designated to serve as the acting secretary of labor, effective January 20, 2017. He also has been serving as the acting assistant secretary of labor for administration and management, leading the department's presidential transition activities.

He is the deputy assistant secretary for operations in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM). In this role, he provides day-to-day management to 800 employees in the national office and six regional offices. He has overall leadership responsibility for policy and operations encompassing business operations and procurement, information technology, human resources management, civil rights, emergency management, security, administrative services, and employee safety and health.

Hugler's 39-year career with the Department of Labor began in 1978 as a staff attorney in the Office of the Solicitor's Mine Safety and Health Division, where he rose quickly into the division's management ranks as counsel for regulations and legal advice and later as deputy associate solicitor. Hugler was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1989 as deputy administrator for coal mine safety and health in the department's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). He subsequently served as MSHA's deputy assistant secretary for operations and as its administrator for metal and nonmetal mine safety and health. In 1999, Hugler assumed leadership of the department's Year 2000 Project Team in OASAM, coordinating the department's transition of information technology across the century date line.

He received Presidential Rank Awards for Meritorious Service in 1993 and 2000, the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service in 2005, and the Service to America Medal for Management Excellence in 2015.

Hugler graduated with a B.A. from the University of Maryland and earned a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law.