President-elect Donald Trump announced in December his intention to nominate Andrew Puzder as the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). A labor department led by Puzder is likely to bring significant shifts in the department’s approach to the full range employment and labor issues, including the minimum wage, overtime, and overall enforcement and oversight of wage-and-hour laws, among other changes. Puzder’s own ruminations on these issues in books, blog posts, speeches and media coverage offer insight for employers and employees on the philosophy he will bring with him to the Trump administration should he be confirmed by the Senate.
Puzder currently serves as the chief executive officer of CKE Restaurant Holdings Inc. (CKE), the parent company of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurant chains. CKE owns or franchises more than 3,250 restaurants in the United States and 26 foreign countries. Puzder has filled the CEO role at CKE since 2000. Prior to being hired as executive vice president and general counsel of CKE three years prior to his ascendance to the CEO position, Puzder was a practicing attorney in St. Louis.
