Seth D. Harris (born October 12, 1962) was the 11th United States Deputy Secretary of Labor, and served for six months as the Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor and a member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet. Nominated by President Obama in February 2009, Harris was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2009, and became acting Secretary of Labor following the resignation of Hilda Solis in January 2013. Harris was also a member of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation's Board of Directors. Harris stepped down from his post on January 16, 2014. Since leaving the Obama Administration, Harris has been a Visiting Professor at the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs and a Distinguished Scholar at Cornell University's School of Industrial & Labor Relations, and a lawyer in Washingt