March 28, 2024

Trump to Nominate Eugene Scalia for Labor Secretary Job

Mr. Scalia, 55, was nominated by Mr. Bush in 2001 to serve as solicitor of the department, but was never confirmed by the Senate, which was controlled by Democrats at the time. Much of the fear about Mr. Scalia’s nomination was based on his opposition to a Clinton administration regulation that would have protected workers from repetitive stress injuries, which became known as the ergonomics rule. Mr. Scalia had weighed in frequently against the rule, deriding the rationale for it as “unreliable science.”

Mr. Bush eventually used a recess appointment to install Mr. Scalia in the position, effectively bypassing the Senate. He left the department in 2003 and returned to private practice.

A former subordinate of Mr. Scalia’s in the solicitor’s office, Ann Rosenthal, said she was appalled when he was nominated to the position after observing his opposition to the ergonomics rule. But she was pleasantly surprised to find him reasonable and relatively committed to protecting workers. Ms. Rosenthal, who has since retired, recalled telling Mr. Scalia that he had far exceeded her expectations. “I have a different client now,” he responded.

Mr. Scalia represented a variety of corporate clients at Gibson, Dunn Crutcher. In 2006, he helped Walmart triumph in a prominent fight against a Maryland law that would have required companies with more than 10,000 workers to either spend at least 8 percent of their payroll costs on health care, or pay into a state Medicaid fund.

He argued that allowing individual states to establish health care mandates would create chaos and that the federal government should address the issue of rising health care costs.

Mr. Scalia also defended Boeing in a politically charged case. A union representing the company’s workers in Washington State argued that Boeing had violated labor law by threatening to open another assembly plant in South Carolina unless the union agreed to a no-strike clause in its contract.

The general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board under President Barack Obama brought a case against the company, which the union ultimately abandoned when it reached a deal to raise wages and expand its presence in Washington. But the case set off an intense backlash against the labor board among Republicans in Congress. The company and its Republican defenders derided the case as frivolous.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/18/us/politics/eugene-scalia-labor-secretary.html?emc=rss&partner=rss

Speak Your Mind