Washington
“My wife and I employed a housekeeper for a few years, during which I was unaware that she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S.,” Puzder said in a written statement provided by a spokesman.
“When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status. We have fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the state of California,” said Puzder, who is chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc., the Carpinteria, Calif.-based parent of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast-food chains.
The housekeeper was employed by Puzder about five years ago, said the spokesman, George Thompson. The Huffington Post first reported the development.
Although such revelations have torpedoed past nominees, the chairman of the Senate committee that will consider Puzder’s nomination said he did not think it would be a major issue.
“Based upon what I’ve learned, since Mr. Puzder reported his mistake and voluntarily corrected it, I do not believe that this should disqualify him from being a Cabinet secretary,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Employing an immigrant who is in the country illegally sank President Bill Clinton’s nomination of Zoe Baird to be attorney general in 1993 and then led a possible replacement, Kimba Wood, to withdraw from consideration.
In 2001, Linda Chavez, President George W. Bush’s nominee for labor secretary, withdrew over questions about whether she had employed an immigrant who was in the country illegally and disclosures that the FBI was trying to determine whether she had tried to influence what a former neighbor would tell investigators during a background check.
Three years later, Bernard Kerik, Bush’s nominee for Homeland Security secretary, withdrew after saying he had learned a former household employee might have been in the U.S. illegally. Kerik also was dealing with negative news reports about his business dealings.
But Wilbur Ross, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, sailed through his confirmation hearing despite admitting that he recently had fired a household worker after, he said, he learned the employee was in the U.S. illegally.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., noted there’s been “no clear pattern” in whether employing a worker in the U.S. illegally has led to a nominee’s withdrawal. But his support for Puzder was unshaken.
“He realized the mistake. He fixed it and I think is eminently qualified for the job,” McConnell told reporters. “I’m enthusiastically in his camp.”
However, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., a member of the committee that will vote on Puzder’s nomination, said there is more concern about a potential labor secretary employing an immigrant in the U.S. illegally because that job involves enforcing federal labor laws.
“It’s the same level of disregard his company had for labor laws,” she said of employing the housekeeper.
Democrats have criticized Puzder for running restaurant chains where Labor Department investigations have turned up violations of labor laws.
An analysis by Bloomberg BNA found that about 60 percent of Labor Department investigations of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants since 2009 turned up at least one violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which covers minimum wage, overtime and other regulations.
But Puzder’s supporters note that was one of the best performances by leading fast-food outlets.
Puzder’s confirmation hearing has been delayed four times as senators await his financial disclosures and ethics paperwork from the Office of Government Ethics.