(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Labor Department, fast-food restaurant executive Andy Puzder, said he employed an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper until learning of the worker's immigration status — the second Trump nominee to make such a disclosure.
Immigration issues with household employees have forced other presidents' nominees to drop out of consideration, but neither Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants Inc., the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., nor the chairman of the committee considering his nomination see it derailing the process.
"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 statement released late Monday. "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 and submitted all required paperwork regarding her employment."
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The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's confirmation hearing for Puzder was initially set for early January and has been pushed back several times. It was most recently rescheduled for Tuesday and was delayed yet again. The Office of Government Ethics has not yet completed a review of his finances.
The Huffington Post first reported on the issue on Monday.
"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," Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is reviewing his nomination, said in a statement.
Immigration issues have been problematic for previous presidents' cabinet picks. Linda Chavez, George W. Bush's first nominee for labor secretary, dropped out of consideration after it was reported that she had let an undocumented immigrant live in her home and given her money for doing household chores.
Bill Clinton's first pick for attorney general, Zoe Baird, was forced out after she informed the president that she had employed undocumented immigrants and had not paid taxes on their salaries.
Another Trump nominee, Wilbur Ross, disclosed last month that he had been misled by an employee who was unable to provide documentation after Trump nominated him to serve as commerce secretary. Ross's nomination has advanced out of committee but has not yet faced a full Senate vote.
Meanwhile, Trump's nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, Representative Mick Mulvaney, acknowledged he failed to pay federal payroll taxes for a nanny who worked 40-hour weeks to help him and his wife care for their triplets. Mulvaney said he would pay any penalties and any existing late fees.
Puzder's nomination has drawn intense backlash from unions and other labor groups that object to his company's treatment of workers.
"Andrew Puzder will do what's best for big businesses like his own and those at the top — at the expense of workers and their families," Democratic Senators Patty Murray and Elizabeth Warren said in statement after Trump's nomination.
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