Head of Hardee’s is a long-time critic of President Obama’s proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.
By CSD Staff
Media outlets have reported that President-elect Donald Trump is considering Andy Puzder, a fast food executive, for secretary of labor.
Trump is said to have narrowed his list of likely candidates to include Puzder, president and CEO of CKE Restaurants Inc., which includes the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. fast food chains.
A Trump supporter during the presidential campaign, Puzder has criticized President Obama’s proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from $7.25, calling it counterproductive. Instead, the company head, whose corporation includes more than 2,000 restaurants nationwide, has said such a law “should at least attempt to mitigate….negative economic consequences. A more modest increase would help. So would spacing out the increase over time.”
Puzder has also opposed new overtime rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor that would extend guaranteed overtime pay to qualified salaried workers making less than $47,476 a year. A federal judge recently blocked the initiative to extend mandatory overtime pay to more than 4 million salaried workers in the U.S.
The fast food executive also made news earlier this year during an interview with Business Insider when he indicated he wanted to automate more of his restaurants to better manage worker salaries and benefits.
