Power

Labor Secretary Nominee’s Employee: ‘He’s Stealing From Me’

Sixty-six percent of workers at CKE Restaurants, run by labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder, reported job-related sexual harassment, and nearly one-third reported some form of wage theft.

As labor secretary, Puzder would be charged with upholding worker protections and labor laws. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Lupe Garcia Guzman struggled to support her six children on $8.75 a hour, a battle worsened by years of mistreatment by her employer, Carl’s Jr.

The fast-food chain is part of the CKE Restaurants empire run by President-elect Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, Andrew Puzder.

Guzman testified Tuesday at a forum hosted by U.S. Senate Democrats that her paycheck was shortchanged for a year—money she said she never got back, even after she begged her manager for the money she had earned. When Guzman asked to work at a store closer to her Las Vegas home, she said she was demoted.

The 47-year-old shift worker was among the current and former employees who described the work environment at CKE Restaurants, the parent company of chains including Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, at the Democrats’ forum.

“He’s stealing from me, from us,” said Guzman, who has worked at Carl’s Jr. for seven years and said she relies on public assistance and Medicaid to make ends meet. “It’s not right, it’s not justice.”

Democrats used the nearly two-hour long forum to argue that Puzder’s anti-worker and pro-employer stances make him a disastrous pick to lead the federal department charged with safeguarding worker rights. CKE workers described a business climate that was “all about profit, all about money,” as Guzman told senators.

“Puzder is not the kind of man that workers can trust to stand up for them,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a host of Tuesday’s hearing. Warren is a member of the Senate committee expected to hold Puzder’s confirmation hearing, which was expected to be held this month but has now been delayed.

Facing pressure, Senate Republicans agreed Tuesday to push back Puzder’s confirmation and three others, as the New York Times reported.

Laura McDonald, a former general manager at CKE Restaurants, told senators the company cut wages, refused to pay overtime, and pressured employees to work off the clock to keep down labor costs. CKE departments that exceeded a set labor budget faced discipline, she said.

“[CKE] is a company that makes money by stealing from its workers,” McDonald said.

The hearing came the same day a new report found high rates of sexual harassment and wage theft at CKE Restaurants, as the Guardian reported. The survey, commissioned by the worker’s rights group Restaurant Opportunities Center United, found 66 percent of workers reported job-related sexual harassment, and nearly one-third reported some form of wage theft.

A spokesperson for Trump’s transition team on Tuesday dismissed the report as “fake news,” telling the Guardian the report was “paid for by unions and special interests opposed to Andy Puzder’s nomination.”

Trump, announcing Puzder’s nomination last month, praised the fast-food executive, claiming Puzder has an “extensive record fighting for workers.”

But in 60 percent of Department of Labor investigations between 2009 and 2016, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s were found to have violated wage and hour laws. As labor secretary, Puzder would be charged with upholding worker protections and labor laws.

Asked Tuesday to put the violation rate at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s in the context of the fast-food industry, which is known for widespread violations, Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, told senators that the rate was “very high.”

The Labor Department under President Obama has taken some action to counter rampant wage theft committed by companies and corporations across the country. Capitol Hill cafeteria workers last year received $1 million in back pay after the department conducted an investigation into a government contractor and subcontractor. Some states, including California, have cracked down on wage theft, which takes $26.2 million every week from people who work for low wages in Los Angeles.

Puzder opposes the minimum wage, the Affordable Care Act, and worker protections. He told Business Insider he’d like to replace human workers with automation because “they’re always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there’s never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex, or race discrimination case.”

Senate Democrats organized Tuesday’s forum after Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the committee set to hold the Puzder confirmation hearing, rejected a written request from 23 senators to allow testimony from Puzder’s current and former employees.

On Tuesday, Roberto Ramirez, a former food prep worker at Carl’s Jr., became emotional as he described routinely working 30 minutes off-the-clock—time for which he was never compensated.

“If I would complain, my managers retaliated by cutting my hours or changing my schedule,” he said through a Spanish interpreter. “If Andrew Puzder is confirmed … what happened to me will be multiplied at the national level.”