WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) joined with Democratic leaders, fast food workers, and labor advocates in calling on Andrew Puzder to withdraw as President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Labor.  Mr. Puzder is the controversial CEO of CKE Restaurants, which runs the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. fast food chains.

Many of Mr. Puzder’s former employees have spoken out against his nomination.  Court documents show that current and former workers at Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. filed over 30 state and federal complaints against their employers, with charges ranging from wage violations to sexual harassment to manipulated overtime and unfair labor practices that created a workplace culture that encouraged discrimination.

Recently, Mr. Puzder has come under fire from both ends of the political spectrum after he admitted to employing a housekeeper for several years who was an undocumented immigrant and unauthorized to legally work in the United States.  Mr. Pudzer did not pay the state and federal back taxes he owed until after then-President-elect Trump nominated him for Labor Secretary on December 9, 2016.

While other cabinet nominees have gotten hearings and floor votes, Mr. Puzder’s long delay in submitting his ethics paperwork means he has not yet testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).   The HELP Committee’s Chairman, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), has already had to postpone the confirmation hearing several times.  The committee has now pushed the hearing back to February 16, and unlike with other nominees, multiple Republicans have refused to say how they plan to vote on Mr. Puzder.

Today, Senator Reed stated:

“I can’t understand why someone who is so anti-labor would want to lead the Department of Labor.  Based upon his recent actions and all the postponements, it seems unclear whether Mr. Puzder is truly interested in public service.  If he was, you’d think he would have followed the rules like everyone else and filed his ethics disclosures on time.

“I am troubled by reports that Mr. Puzder has shortchanged his own employees, and I think his nomination shortchanges American workers in general.  He doesn’t strike me as an appropriate advocate for working men and women.  I think he should go ahead and withdraw.  The Department of Labor and the American people deserve better.”