On behalf of labor unions, pension & benefit funds and employees, Jose Javier pursues actions in state and federal trial courts, in state appellate proceedings and in arbitration on a wide range of matters including employment, labor, tort, contract, civil rights and constitutional matters. Including as general counsel to labor unions, Jose Javier also provides strategic advice to clients on a wide range of legal matters.
In addition to his twenty-years of experience in law practice, Jose Javier draws on a career in public service. Most recently, until January 2025, Jose Javier served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training at the U.S. Department of Labor after being nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. There, he led the federal agency at the center of the U.S. public workforce system.
For eight years, Jose Javier also served in the Florida Legislature, after first being elected to the Florida House in 2012 and then to the Florida Senate in 2016. In the Florida Senate, Jose Javier served as Vice Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Rules Chair for the minority conference. He was recognized for his effective advocacy and distinguished himself as a forceful advocate for workers, consumers and the environment.
Jose Javier has taught Florida constitutional law, advanced employment courses and trial practice as an adjunct law school faculty member at three Florida law schools (University of Florida Levin College of Law, St. Thomas University College of Law and Florida International University College of Law). Jose Javier and his wife Sonia are raising their two sons in Miami.
Admissions
- Florida Bar
- District of Columbia Bar
- US District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida
Education
- Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude, 2006
- Brown University, B.A., Intl. Relations, magna cum laude, 2000