Edward Sylvester, 81; Enforced U.S. Rules on Equal Opportunity
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Edward C. Sylvester, 81, a high-ranking official in the Department of Labor in the Johnson administration, died Feb. 12 of respiratory failure at a nursing home in Washington, D.C.
In 1965, Sylvester was named the first director of the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance. In that post, he was responsible for enforcing federal standards of equal opportunity. Any firm or labor union that practiced discrimination was subject to losing its federal contracts.
Sylvester left the Labor Department in 1968 to become assistant secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (now Health and Human Services).
In 1972, he joined Sen. George S. McGovern’s presidential campaign as national coordinator.
A native of Detroit, Sylvester graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in engineering. He served in the Army in Europe and the Pacific during World War II.
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