January 13, 2017

Democratic Senators Ask Labor Department to Fulfill FOIA Request of Trump Nominee Labor Violations

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) today sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Tom Perez and Wage and Hour Division Administrator David Weil asking that DOL fulfill the Center for American Progress' (CAP) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The FOIA request relates to information on investigations conducted by the DOL into companies owned, chaired, or substantially managed by nominees to President-elect Trump's cabinet.

"The information that CAP has requested will help us to fulfill our Constitutional duty to advise and consent on the officers the President appoints," wrote the Senators. "In accordance with this responsibility, it is incumbent upon us to review any information that may be relevant to the experiences, qualifications, and suitability of the nominees to serve in the position to which they have been nominated."

The letter continues, "We are eager to review any information related to past or ongoing investigations by the Department of Labor, including all of its enforcement agencies, both federal and regional, on any of the below companies, and their subsidiaries or franchises."

The full text of the letter is below.

 

January 13, 2017


Secretary Tom Perez
Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210

Administrator David Weil
Wage and Hour Division
Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210


Dear Secretary Perez and Administrator Weil,

We write regarding a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the Center for American Progress (CAP) that you received on December 20th, 2016.(1) We understand that they requested records related to any information on investigations conducted by the Department of Labor into the companies owned by nominees to President-elect Trump's cabinet.

The information that CAP has requested will help us to fulfill our Constitutional duty to advise and consent on the officers the President appoints.(2) In accordance with this responsibility, it is incumbent upon us to review any information that may be relevant to the experiences, qualifications, and suitability of the nominees to serve in the position to which they have been nominated.

Information regarding investigations by the Department of Labor into wage and hour violations, violations of health and safety laws, and any other violations of labor laws enforced by the Department of Labor into companies owned, chaired, or substantially managed by cabinet nominees is relevant to our ability to assess their suitability for these roles. 

We are eager to review any information related to past or ongoing investigations by the Department of Labor, including all of its enforcement agencies, both federal and regional, on any of the below companies, and their subsidiaries or franchises. The companies should include, but are not limited to:

·         WL Ross & Company, Wilbur Ross
·         ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson
·         World Wrestling Entertainment, Linda McMahon
·         Virtu Financial, National Hockey League, Vincent Viola
·         OneWest Bank, CIT Group Inc., Steve Mnuchin
·         Energy Transfer Partners, LP, Rick Perry
·         Windquest Group, Betsy DeVos
·         CKE Restaurants, Inc., Andrew Puzder
·         Vaccinogen, Inc., Dr. Ben Carson(3)

Given that this information may influence our willingness to advance theses nominations, we ask you to fulfil CAP's request as expeditiously as possible. Senate Committees have scheduled hearings on these nominations beginning as early as next week.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

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