CABINET/ANDREW PUZDER/LABOR: “At first, Andrew F. Puzder’s California story sounds like one of the state’s sunny dreams come true: Midwestern lawyer stumbles into burger business, nurses storied chain back to health, wins industry plaudits and record profits.
But Mr. Puzder became an outspoken critic of his adopted state because of its vigorous workplace regulations. The mandatory rest breaks required by California made no sense, he felt, leaving restaurants understaffed when a rush of customers came in. His company paid millions of dollars to settle class-action lawsuits that accused it of cheating workers.
He spoke out against labor laws intended to benefit hourly workers like the ones who serve shakes and mop floors at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, the chains he runs.
‘California has gone really from being this golden state, the state of opportunity, to being a kind of nanny state,’ he said in 2009. ‘You can’t be a capitalist in this state.’ “
– “Workers Say Andrew Puzder Is ‘Not the One to Protect’ Them, but He’s Been Chosen To,” The New York Times, Jan 15, 2017, Jodi Kantor and Jennifer Medina, 1/15/2017