President-Elect Trump’s pick for Secretary of Labor may not have taken a stance on the fiduciary rule yet, but it seems fair to conclude he won’t be a fan.
Trump has tapped fast-food executive Andy Puzder for the post. Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc., the parent company of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger chains, has been a vocal advocate for cutting back regulations he says have stifled growth in the restaurant industry, according to published reports. Puzder has served as CEO of the company since September 2000.
“Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor,” Trump said Dec. 8 in a statement.
Puzder has been critical of the Affordable Care Act and has argued against raising the federal minimum wage higher than $9 an hour. While discerning a stance on the fiduciary rule at this point requires conjecture, he has previously criticized what he termed “nanny state” regulations, and after the Labor Department issued its overtime rule (recently put on hold by a federal court in Texas) last May, Puzder wrote in an op-ed in Forbes that it “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.”
Matt Haller, a spokesman for the International Franchise Association franchise (a trade group on whose board Puzder sits), told The Wall Street Journal that Puzder would likely call for tools such as an overhaul of the tax system (tax reform, anyone?), to create jobs and higher wages, rather than focusing on workplace regulation.
That said, there’s this little matter of Senate confirmation to clear first. And Kendall Fells, organizing director for the SEIU-funded group “Fight for $15,” said last month that, “Puzder as Labor Secretary is like putting Bernie Madoff in charge of the Treasury.”
Stay tuned.
