Labor Secretary Thomas Perez on Thursday touted in an exit memo workplace policies put into place during his tenure, including the fiduciary and overtime pay rules—both of which are under assault—and urged the incoming Trump administration and new Congress to support other initiatives championed by the Obama administration.
Perez said in his memo that Congress must increase the federal minimum wage, a measure that Trump’s pick for labor secretary, fast-food executive and attorney Andrew Puzder, does not support. The minimum wage of $7.25, Perez said, “is simply not enough to sustain an individual, not to mention a family; too many Americans work 40 or 50 hours each week and still need help from their local food pantry.”
