Before joining the Supreme Court in October 1991, Clarence Thomas held six jobs in 17 years: assistant attorney general of Missouri, corporate attorney at Monsanto, legislative assistant to U.S. Senator John Danforth, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The path took him through state government, private industry, Capitol Hill, two federal agencies, and a federal appeals court before his nomination to the high court.
Law School and Bar Admission
Thomas graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1971 with a degree in English and from Yale Law School with the Class of 1974. He was admitted to the Missouri bar that same year.
Missouri Assistant Attorney General (1974–1977)
Thomas’s first job out of law school was in the office of Missouri Attorney General John Danforth. He spent three years there, working in state government litigation under a mentor whose career moves would shape his own for the rest of the decade.
Corporate Attorney at Monsanto (1977–1979)
When Danforth left to run for the U.S. Senate, Thomas joined the Monsanto Company in St. Louis as a corporate attorney. For two years he handled antitrust matters, bankruptcy, and product liability cases, monitored federal regulatory compliance, and negotiated contracts for PCB disposal.1U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Clarence Thomas
Legislative Assistant to Senator John Danforth (1979–1981)
Thomas followed Danforth to Washington in 1979 as a legislative assistant. His portfolio covered energy and environmental policy and matters before the Federal Trade Commission, all tied to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He drafted legislative language, analyzed regulatory proposals, and advised the senator on infrastructure and resource bills.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Department of Education (1981–1982)
In 1981 Thomas moved to the executive branch as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, leading the Office for Civil Rights. The office enforces federal anti-discrimination laws, including Title IX, in educational institutions that receive federal funding. He held the role for less than a year before being named to a larger agency post.1U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Clarence Thomas
Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1982–1990)
President Reagan named Thomas the eighth Chairman of the EEOC on May 6, 1982. He held the position until March 8, 1990, which made him the longest-serving chairman in the agency’s history.1U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Clarence Thomas
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting workplace discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, and other protected categories. Thomas managed a large federal workforce and oversaw the processing of thousands of discrimination charges each year. His most consequential policy change steered the agency away from its traditional reliance on class-action lawsuits and toward individual case litigation. Under that approach, employers found guilty of discrimination were no longer routinely required to set hiring goals and timetables for affected groups. Nearly eight years running the agency gave him extensive management experience and a working knowledge of administrative law.
Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1990–1991)
President George H.W. Bush nominated Thomas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on October 30, 1989, to fill the seat vacated by Robert Bork. The Senate confirmed him on March 6, 1990.2Federal Judicial Center. Thomas, Clarence
The D.C. Circuit hears a heavy volume of cases involving federal agency authority and constitutional questions. Thomas served there for roughly 19 months. When Justice Thurgood Marshall retired in 1991, Bush nominated Thomas to the Supreme Court on July 8, 1991, and he took his seat as an Associate Justice on October 23, 1991.3Justia. Justice Clarence Thomas