Nominee for Secretary of Labor: Pros and Cons

Eugene Scalia, son of Justice Antonin Scalia, is an outstanding lawyer who has specialized in labor and employment. If a conventional GOP candidate in 2016 were now president— say, Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio— Scalia would be a logical pick.

Here is a quick summary of pros, cons, and “it depends”:

Pros: Smart. Experienced. Integrity.

Cons: Questions validity of science (e.g., as it applies to workplace ergonomics). Abrasive.

It Depends: Scalia is fiercely anti-union. If you want a Secretary of DOL who will require even more financial disclosures from union officers (they already report far more than CEOs about their compensation), he’s your guy.

He strongly favors deregulation. 

His agency will pursue less wage theft claims—claims by workers that they have not been paid overtime, were required to work off the clock, and were misclassified as independent contractors.

He will oppose any increase in the minimum wage on grounds that it leads to less employment (the last time the minimum wage was raised was July 24, 2009—almost exactly ten years ago).

He will likely diminish OSHA enforcement. Employers generally do not like OSHA, claiming that regulations are expensive and onerous.

This is generally true but how far does Scalia want to roll back safety standards? There are air contaminant standards that aim to limit workers’ exposure to carcinogenic agents. Want to roll that back?

What about mine safety, also under DOL control (through a sub-agency known as MSHA)? Weaken the dust standard and expose miners to the risk of explosions?

At Cabinet meetings, Scalia will be intellectually a cut-above Betsy DeVos, Ben Carson, many others, and President Trump. He doesn’t have mega-wealth. He is not a lobbyist. 
Upon confirmation the Cabinet will have 13 white men, one black man, and two women. 

In sum, Eugene Scalia is a traditional, free market conservative.

Final thought: Unions split their support between Trump and Clinton in 2016. Scalia will almost certainly antagonize organized labor.