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| The questions Trump's labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder must answer | The questions Trump's labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder must answer |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Andrew Puzder, Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, is one of corporate America’s foremost spokesmen on labor issues. As chief executive of the CKE fast-food chain that owns Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s, Puzder has lambasted proposals to raise the minimum wage, to require rest breaks and to extend overtime pay to more workers. He has also denounced Obamacare, a program that has made health insurance available to millions of low-wage and moderate-income workers. | Andrew Puzder, Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, is one of corporate America’s foremost spokesmen on labor issues. As chief executive of the CKE fast-food chain that owns Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s, Puzder has lambasted proposals to raise the minimum wage, to require rest breaks and to extend overtime pay to more workers. He has also denounced Obamacare, a program that has made health insurance available to millions of low-wage and moderate-income workers. |
| The Senate health, education, labor and pensions committee will hold its repeatedly delayed confirmation on Puzder’s nomination on Thursday. Here are some questions that the committee’s members should ask. | |
| Question one | Question one |
| Mr Puzder, you have been named to run an agency that was split off from the commerce department in 1913 to give American workers a voice in the cabinet. Considering that you have long been a strong voice for business, opposing many proposals to lift workers, could you truly serve as a voice for workers in the cabinet or would you in effect just be a second commerce secretary who advocated for business? | Mr Puzder, you have been named to run an agency that was split off from the commerce department in 1913 to give American workers a voice in the cabinet. Considering that you have long been a strong voice for business, opposing many proposals to lift workers, could you truly serve as a voice for workers in the cabinet or would you in effect just be a second commerce secretary who advocated for business? |
| When Trump nominated you, his transition team said: “Andy Puzder has firsthand experience saving and creating thousands of jobs, and he has an extensive record of fighting for workers.” But since you took the helm of CKE in 2000, the chain has reduced the number of outlets in the US to 3,000, from 3,500, while focusing its expansion efforts overseas. | |
| Question two | Question two |
| Mr Puzder, since these numbers indicate that you have significantly reduced the number of CKE jobs in the US since becoming CEO, can you please explain why you should be considered a job creator? | |
| The law that created the labor department states that its mission is to “promote and develop the welfare of working people, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment.” Many Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s employees complain of low wages and scant benefits, and your company recently eliminated its employer match to its employees’ 401(k) plans. | The law that created the labor department states that its mission is to “promote and develop the welfare of working people, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment.” Many Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s employees complain of low wages and scant benefits, and your company recently eliminated its employer match to its employees’ 401(k) plans. |
| Question three | Question three |
| Mr Puzder, considering that CKE is a low-wage, low-benefits employer and that you have repeatedly fought against legislative proposals to lift wages, can you explain how you have worked – and how you would work – to promote the welfare of working people and improve their working conditions? | Mr Puzder, considering that CKE is a low-wage, low-benefits employer and that you have repeatedly fought against legislative proposals to lift wages, can you explain how you have worked – and how you would work – to promote the welfare of working people and improve their working conditions? |
| The US Department of Labor has found one or more wage and hour violations at nearly 60% of the Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s restaurants it has inspected, according to Bloomberg BNA. That is a dismayingly high percentage although CKE’s percentage of violations was lower than that of most major fast-food companies. Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s workers have talked of – and numerous lawsuits have pointed to – egregious wage and hour violations at CKE restaurants: workers being cheated out of overtime, managers erasing hours employees have worked, employees being ordered to work during mandated rest breaks, employees being ordered to clock out but remain on the premises in case they’re needed if more customers come in. | The US Department of Labor has found one or more wage and hour violations at nearly 60% of the Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s restaurants it has inspected, according to Bloomberg BNA. That is a dismayingly high percentage although CKE’s percentage of violations was lower than that of most major fast-food companies. Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s workers have talked of – and numerous lawsuits have pointed to – egregious wage and hour violations at CKE restaurants: workers being cheated out of overtime, managers erasing hours employees have worked, employees being ordered to work during mandated rest breaks, employees being ordered to clock out but remain on the premises in case they’re needed if more customers come in. |
| Question four | Question four |
| Mr Puzder, putting aside the debate over whether a fast-food company should be considered a joint employer of its franchisees, are you and your company partly responsible for the widespread wage and hour violations found at Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s restaurants, including those at your franchisees’ restaurants? | Mr Puzder, putting aside the debate over whether a fast-food company should be considered a joint employer of its franchisees, are you and your company partly responsible for the widespread wage and hour violations found at Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s restaurants, including those at your franchisees’ restaurants? |
| Question five | Question five |
| Mr Puzder, like many fast-food companies, CKE maintains that it is not responsible for wage violations at its franchisees’ restaurants. Can you provide documentation showing that CKE has threatened to discipline or penalize franchisees after they were found to violate wage laws? | Mr Puzder, like many fast-food companies, CKE maintains that it is not responsible for wage violations at its franchisees’ restaurants. Can you provide documentation showing that CKE has threatened to discipline or penalize franchisees after they were found to violate wage laws? |
| A recent article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek quotes you as saying: “More government is not the solution to every problem, it’s the problem to every solution. They punish us for being in business to make a profit.” | A recent article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek quotes you as saying: “More government is not the solution to every problem, it’s the problem to every solution. They punish us for being in business to make a profit.” |
| Your Twitter feed, too, suggests you have little time for government regulation. | Your Twitter feed, too, suggests you have little time for government regulation. |
| Question six | Question six |
| Mr Puzder, considering this statement and considering the history of wage and hour violations at Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s, why should anyone feel confident that you would carry out one of the labor secretary’s main responsibilities: to vigorously enforce the nation’s wage, hour and occupational safety laws? And will you vigorously enforce the nation’s wage laws against the fast-food industry, which has one of the worst records on compliance? | Mr Puzder, considering this statement and considering the history of wage and hour violations at Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s, why should anyone feel confident that you would carry out one of the labor secretary’s main responsibilities: to vigorously enforce the nation’s wage, hour and occupational safety laws? And will you vigorously enforce the nation’s wage laws against the fast-food industry, which has one of the worst records on compliance? |
| Question seven | Question seven |
| You have repeatedly denounced proposals to raise the minimum wage, but have said that you don’t oppose a “modest” increase in the minimum wage. Mr Puzder, can you tell us what higher federal minimum wage, what dollar level, you would support? | You have repeatedly denounced proposals to raise the minimum wage, but have said that you don’t oppose a “modest” increase in the minimum wage. Mr Puzder, can you tell us what higher federal minimum wage, what dollar level, you would support? |
| A 2014 federal audit of Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s restaurants in the south-west and midwest found that one in three employees was undocumented, according to a report in the Huffington Post. As a result of that audit, CKE’s franchisee for those regions discharged 1,200 workers. | |
| Question eight | Question eight |
| Mr Puzder, did you know that Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s restaurants employed so many undocumented workers, and what steps did you take, both before and after this 2014 audit, to ensure that company-owned and franchisee-owned restaurants comply with laws that prohibit employers from hiring undocumented immigrants? | Mr Puzder, did you know that Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s restaurants employed so many undocumented workers, and what steps did you take, both before and after this 2014 audit, to ensure that company-owned and franchisee-owned restaurants comply with laws that prohibit employers from hiring undocumented immigrants? |
| You have acknowledged having hired an undocumented housekeeper for several years, without knowing that she was undocumented. Putting aside the question of whether she was undocumented, assuming that you thought that she was working legally, you still unlawfully failed to pay required social security and unemployment insurance taxes for her. | You have acknowledged having hired an undocumented housekeeper for several years, without knowing that she was undocumented. Putting aside the question of whether she was undocumented, assuming that you thought that she was working legally, you still unlawfully failed to pay required social security and unemployment insurance taxes for her. |
| Question nine | Question nine |
| Mr Puzder, as labor secretary your job will be to enforce the nation’s labor laws, so how do you explain that you unlawfully failed to pay required employment taxes for your housekeeper? | Mr Puzder, as labor secretary your job will be to enforce the nation’s labor laws, so how do you explain that you unlawfully failed to pay required employment taxes for your housekeeper? |
| Two-thirds of female fast food workers at restaurants operated by CKE experienced sexual harassment at work, a rate much higher than the industry average, according to a recent advocacy survey. | Two-thirds of female fast food workers at restaurants operated by CKE experienced sexual harassment at work, a rate much higher than the industry average, according to a recent advocacy survey. |
| Your fast-food chain has become well-known for running nearly pornographic ads to attract young male customers, ads that have included Kate Upton, Paris Hilton and a naked Charlotte McKinney. | Your fast-food chain has become well-known for running nearly pornographic ads to attract young male customers, ads that have included Kate Upton, Paris Hilton and a naked Charlotte McKinney. |
| Question 10 | Question 10 |
| Mr Puzder, given these reports and considering that many people believe that these ads unapologetically treated women as sex objects, can you assure female employees at the labor department and female workers across the US that you will treat women with respect? | Mr Puzder, given these reports and considering that many people believe that these ads unapologetically treated women as sex objects, can you assure female employees at the labor department and female workers across the US that you will treat women with respect? |
| You have at times made numerous statements showing contempt for workers in the CKE system. You said, Hardee’s was “hiring the best of the worst. It’s kind of the bottom of the pool.” A recent Bloomberg BusinessWeek article noted that in your first memo to Hardee’s managers, you wrote: “No more people behind the counter unless they have all their teeth.” You also complained to a trade publication about Hardee’s workforce, saying: “You go into a store, and there’s a guy with a dirty shirt who is rude, and then you remodel the store, but the customers still go in and find a guy with a dirty shirt who is rude.” | You have at times made numerous statements showing contempt for workers in the CKE system. You said, Hardee’s was “hiring the best of the worst. It’s kind of the bottom of the pool.” A recent Bloomberg BusinessWeek article noted that in your first memo to Hardee’s managers, you wrote: “No more people behind the counter unless they have all their teeth.” You also complained to a trade publication about Hardee’s workforce, saying: “You go into a store, and there’s a guy with a dirty shirt who is rude, and then you remodel the store, but the customers still go in and find a guy with a dirty shirt who is rude.” |
| In an interview last year, you talked almost gleefully about the idea of replacing humans with robots. You said: “They’re 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.” | In an interview last year, you talked almost gleefully about the idea of replacing humans with robots. You said: “They’re 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.” |
| Question 11 | Question 11 |
| Considering that you and the Trump administration boast that you’re a job creator, doesn’t this statement show that you’re happy to be a job destroyer instead of a job creator? | Considering that you and the Trump administration boast that you’re a job creator, doesn’t this statement show that you’re happy to be a job destroyer instead of a job creator? |
| You have at times made numerous statements showing contempt for workers in the CKE system. You said, Hardee’s was “hiring the best of the worst. It’s kind of the bottom of the pool.” A recent Bloomberg BusinessWeek article noted that in your first memo to Hardee’s managers, you wrote: “No more people behind the counter unless they have all their teeth.” You also complained to a trade publication about Hardee’s workforce, saying: “You go into a store, and there’s a guy with a dirty shirt who is rude, and then you remodel the store, but the customers still go in and find a guy with a dirty shirt who is rude.” | |
| Question 12 | Question 12 |
| Mr Puzder, the nation’s labor secretary is supposed to be an advocate for workers, but considering these sneering remarks, can you assure Americans that you view workers with respect? | Mr Puzder, the nation’s labor secretary is supposed to be an advocate for workers, but considering these sneering remarks, can you assure Americans that you view workers with respect? |
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