[1] From 1995 to 1998, Schäfer taught private and public law at the Deutsche Angestellten-Akademie [de] in Marburg.

[1] From November 2005 until 2009, he was secretary of state for Jürgen Banzer, minister of labour, family and health.

[4][5] On 27 March 2020, he announced, together with the minister of economy, Tarek Al-Wazir, the state's financial help in the COVID-19 pandemic for freelancers and small businesses.

")[3] On the morning of 28 March 2020, his body was found next to the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line near Hochheim am Main, and police speculated that he had killed himself.

[6][7][8] Schäfer's death came "as a shock", as days prior he had expressed that his work was "a pleasure and an honour".