WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on Thursday regarding President-elect Trump’s nomination of Andy Puzder as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor:

"It is simply unfathomable to me that a U.S. president would put someone whose calling card is attacking workers in charge of the agency that protects workers. Mr. Puzder is a well-known Department of Labor scofflaw - 50% of his restaurants were found to be in violation of wage and hour laws. It's as if the president-elect went out and looked for the business owner with the worst record of violating federal labor laws and put him in charge of those laws. Mr. Puzder also opposes an increase in the minimum wage, wants to repeal the Affordable Health Care law that provides health care for millions of low wage workers, and didn’t believe his workers needed meal and rest breaks.

“It's hard to imagine a worse nominee for the Department of Labor. I won't support him, and I challenge Republicans of good conscience to explain why someone like this, who proudly opposes workers’ rights, should be put in charge of the very agency that Congress has charged with protecting workers." 

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