HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Corbett completed his cabinet by announcing that he intends to nominate Julia K. Hearthway as secretary of the Department of Labor and Industry.
“Julia Hearthway has devoted most of her career to public service, serving four years as an assistant district attorney in Montgomery County and then spending nearly two decades in the Attorney General’s office,” Corbett said. “I have first-hand experience of Julia’s knowledge and work ethic, and I know she will be a valuable asset to the Department of Labor and Industry.”
An attorney from Pottstown, Hearthway has worked for the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General since 1993 and has served as a chief deputy attorney general since 2001. In this role, she has managed the office’s Insurance Fraud Section, which investigates and prosecutes all criminal insurance fraud matters.
Hearthway, 54, also serves as chair of the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority, a quasi-governmental agency that funds and coordinates a statewide strategy to fight auto theft in Pennsylvania.
From 1986 to 1990, Hearthway was an assistant district attorney for the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. She has also been an attorney in private practice.
Hearthway earned her undergraduate degree at Stephens College and her law degree at Rutgers University School of Law. She lives in Chester County with her husband. They have two adult children.
Established in 1913, the Department of Labor & Industry administers benefits to unemployed individuals, oversees the administration of workers’ compensation benefits to individuals with job-related injuries, and provides vocational rehabilitation to individuals with disabilities. The department prepares job seekers for the global workforce through employment and job training services for adult, youth, older workers, and dislocated workers.  It also enforces various laws and safety standards in the workplace and administers state programs for community service by young Pennsylvanians.
The department also promotes economic development and an improved business climate through a variety of initiatives and programs to help Pennsylvania’s workforce remain globally competitive.
