Labor Secretary nominee Andy Puzder employed an undocumented housekeeper
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Labor Secretary nominee Andy Puzder employed an undocumented housekeeper
President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Labor is trying to move on from the latest bump in the road for his nomination.
Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. CEO Andy Puzder admitted Monday that he employed an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper part time for “a few years.” In a statement to the Huffington Post, Puzder said he dismissed the housekeeper and offered help getting documented when he learned her status. The housekeeper reportedly declined the help over fears she’d be deported. The Wall Street Journal notes Puzder paid back taxes for the housekeeper, but only after his nomination.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Lamar Alexander, chair of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, reiterated their support for Puzder.
It’s the latest pothole in the businessman’s road to the Labor Department. His hearing, previously set for Tuesday, was delayed a fourth time last week over missing paperwork. Anonymous sources told CNN last month that the scrutiny was giving Puzder second thoughts about the job. So far he’s batted back accusations of wage theft and sexual harassment at his restaurants, along with domestic abuse allegations that his ex-wife has since walked back. A 21-year veteran of Hardee’s penned an op-ed in the Washington Post this week calling Puzder a “disaster” for workers who forced her to go on food stamps even as she worked full time in his restaurant.
For more on Puzder’s business interests and all of Trump’s other picks, check out TrumpCabinet.org or watch the video below.
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