Skip to main content

President Trump Announces New Pick For Labor Secretary


That did not take long, did it?  Less than twenty four hours after Andy Puzder withdrew as President Donald Trump's nominee for Labor Secretary, President Trump announced earlier today that he has chosen Alexander Acosta as his new nominee for the position.

For those unfamiliar with Acosta, he brings a great deal of experience to the table.  He is currently the Dean of the Florida International University College of Law.  However, he has also served as a law clerk to Judge Sam Alito (currently a member of the United States Supreme Court) back when Judge Alito was on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (1994 - 1995), as a member of the National Labor Relations Board (2002 - 2003), and as an Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President George W. Bush (2003).

For those looking for a nominee with a 'pro-employer' track record such as Puzder, this pick might be a bit of a disappointment.  On the other hand, for those looking for a nominee with a 'pro-employee' track record such as Tom Perez (President Obama's last Labor Secretary), this pick might be a bit of a disappointment.  With that being said, I would certainly expect Acosta to make decisions and take actions that are more employer friendly, given President Trump's apparent tendency to favor employers.  As well, President Trump might have wanted a nominee that was a 'safer' option and that could clear the Senate without too much of a fight (or at least less controversy and partisanship than other nominees over the past few weeks).

At this point, Acosta will be required to submit responsive documents and answer questionnaires before he has his confirmation hearing.  I would expect this nomination to likely move quicker than it took to get Puzder's confirmation process going.  Given that we are almost a month into the new administration and still have an acting Labor Secretary in place, I would think Republicans and President Trump are eager to get Acosta confirmed so that they can start implementing their policies.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike

A few months ago, readers might remember that I pointed out that the New Jersey Legislature had voted to approve a minimum wage hike in the state .  Under the approved legislation, the minimum wage rate would rise to $10.10/hour in the next year and at least $15/hour over the next five.  (The current minimum wage rate in the state is $8.38/hour).  In that article, I had noted that the bill was then going to go before Governor Chris Christie for his approval or veto. As I had suggested previously, I thought that the Governor would likely veto the bill based upon his prior actions and comments on similar legislation.  Well, a few days ago, Governor Christie did just that and vetoed the bill on the grounds that it "would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unfathomable."  Pointing to the increase in hourly minimum wage rates, the Governor referred to the bill as a "really radical increase."  (It is interesting to c...