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Meet Trump's likely pick for Labour Secretary Andrew Puzder

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen his head of Labour as Andrew Puzder, according to the Was...
Newstalk
Newstalk

18.43 8 Dec 2016


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Meet Trump's likely pi...

Meet Trump's likely pick for Labour Secretary Andrew Puzder

Newstalk
Newstalk

18.43 8 Dec 2016


Share this article


President-elect Donald Trump has chosen his head of Labour as Andrew Puzder, according to the Washington Post.

The fast food CEO opposes many of the policies implemented by outgoing Labour Secretary Tom Perez, including the elevation of the minimum wage.

Here's what you need to know about Andrew Puzder...

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His fast food enterprise includes Carl's Jr. and Hardees

Head of CKE Resturants, he's credited with turning around the country's fortunes  after severe financial difficulties in the 1990s caused in part by the purchase of the troubled Hardee’s franchise. 

Advertising campaigns from the chain's restaurants have drawn criticism in the past, predominately for featuring scantily-clad women - something which Mr Puzder has defended.

"I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it's very American," Puzder said in a 2015 interview with Entrepreneur magazine.

... But a recent investigation found labor violations in 60% of Hardee's and Carl's Jr.

Like other fast-food chains, Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants are often investigated for possible minimum wage and overtime infractions. A recent analysis from Bloomberg found that officials discovered violations in roughly 60% of their investigations of those chain’s locations.

Most Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. locations are operated by franchisees, rather than by CKE Restaurants itself, meaning the company itself is typically not considered responsible under the law.

He opposes raising the minimum wage to $15

Although he's expressed an openness to increasing the federal minimum wage, though he does not support a jump to $15 an hour from the current $7.25, because he thinks that would cost many low-wage workers their jobs. 

Many advocates of raising the minimum wage significantly argue that it is necessary to provide a measure of financial security to ordinary workers.

He has no experience within government 

He did, however, advise both Mitt Romney and Mr Trump's campaign. 

He's previously criticised Obama's overtime reforms

Under US law, hourly workers are automatically entitled to time-and-a-half pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. But whether salaried workers are entitled to overtime pay depends on how much money they make and what their job duties are.

The outgoing president’s new rule would vastly expand overtime rights for people who work on salary, bringing new protections to an estimated 4 million workers. 

In a Forbes op-ed, Puzder said: "The real world is far different than the Labor Department’s Excel spreadsheet. This new rule will simply add to the extensive regulatory maze the Obama Administration has imposed on employers, forcing many to offset increased labor expense by cutting costs elsewhere.

"In practice, this means reduced opportunities, bonuses, benefits, perks and promotions."

 


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