Meet Trump’s Pick for the U.S. Department of Labor - CEO Andrew Puzder

President-elect Donald Trump tapped Andrew Puzder to lead the U.S. Department of Labor (“USDOL”) in his administration, an appointment that could have important implications for employers in terms of the USDOL’s recent hardline enforcement policies on joint employer relationships and independent contractor status. It also may signal how vigorously the USDOL will defend certain regulatory changes made under the current administration, such as the revised Persuader Rules (which significantly hinder an employer’s ability to use law firms during a union organizing campaign) and the amendment to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s “White Collar” exemptions (which more than doubles the minimum salary an employee must be paid in order to qualify for an overtime exemption). Both of these regulatory changes were blocked by federal courts last month and remain unenforceable unless the USDOL successfully appeals the federal courts’ injunctions.

Mr. Puzder has been CEO of CKE, which owns fast food chains Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., since September 2000. CKE has 75,000 employees in the U.S. and nearly 100,000 worldwide. Mr. Puzder was an outspoken critic of the Labor Department under the Obama administration. He wrote multiple Wall Street Journal op-eds against any increase in the minimum wage or changes in overtime rules. Mr. Puzder has advocated for employers to consider automation in the face of rising employee costs.  Concerning automation, Mr. Puzder commented, “[machines are] always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there's never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex, or race discrimination case." Mr. Puzder has written about how overregulation from Obamacare has held back the restaurant industry and has made the case for less regulation in the labor market.  In 2010, Mr. Puzder released a book with professor David Newton entitled “Job Creation: How it Really Works and Why Government Doesn’t Understand It.” Leading up to the 2012 election, Mr. Puzder was an economic advisor and spokesman for the Romney Campaign for President. This election cycle, Mr. Puzder was an advisor and fundraiser for the Trump campaign.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss how the change in the administration could affect your business, please contact John Vreeland, Esq., Chair of the firm’s Wage and Hour Compliance Group, at (973) 535-7118 or jvreeland@genovaburns.com, or Aaron C. Carter, Esq. at (973) 646-3275 or acarter@genovaburns.com.