Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su, who President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> nominated to replace Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, will defend her previous support of a controversial law in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/california?_gl=1*1p8ptxg*_ga*NzUzNDA5ODIxLjE2NzkzMjkzNzM.*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTY4MTkxMTQ4NC4xMTUuMS4xNjgxOTE1NzA5LjU2LjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> that cracked down on freelancers as she seeks confirmation in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a>.
California Assembly Bill 5 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-tells-truckers-blockading-port-over-harsh-labor-law-to-comply-and-move-forward" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entered</a> into effect last year after a prolonged series of court battles, inducing protests from owner-operator truckers and a subsequent rebuke from the state government to “move forward” and “comply with the law.” The statute said that workers are often “exploited” through their classification as independent contractors; some 16% of Americans have nevertheless completed independent contracting work, according to a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/12/08/the-state-of-gig-work-in-2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from Pew Research, which noted that many enjoy the flexibility such arrangements provide.
Su, who led the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency when Assembly Bill 5 was signed into law four years ago by California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, vowed in an <a href="https://calmatters.org/economy/2019/10/california-labor-chief-jobs-future-income-inequality-julie-su-ab5-gig-economy-unions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with CalMatters that she would enforce the statute. “We will be doing investigations and audits so that those who want to comply with the need to reclassify can do so and those who don’t will understand that’s not the kind of economy we want in California,” she remarked. “So we can issue citations and demand both wages and taxes and other kinds of penalties.”
Interest groups have noted the support of Assembly Bill 5 from the official ahead of her Senate confirmation <a href="https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/nomination-of-julie-su-to-serve-as-secretary-of-labor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hearing</a> on Thursday. Americans for Tax Reform previously <a href="https://www.atr.org/biden-dol-nominee-julie-su-tax-hiker-mismanages-resources/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contended</a> that Su has an “extensive record of anti-freelancer, anti-independent contractor views and is more than willing to use government power to impose her radical agenda on American workers.”
Democratic lawmakers and senior Biden administration officials have sought to implement measures similar to Assembly Bill 5 at the federal level. A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-labor-department-announces-new-rule-to-crack-down-on-freelancing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new rule</a> proposed by the Labor Department last year would prompt regulators to consider whether contractors are “economically dependent” on their employers or are truly conducting business for themselves. Democrats have attempted to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the PRO Act, which would likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-democrats-pro-act-three-things-you-need-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">narrow</a> the definition of an independent contractor.
“While independent contractors have an important role in our economy, we have seen in many cases that employers misclassify their employees as independent contractors, particularly among our nation’s most vulnerable workers,” Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh <a href="https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/WHD/WHD20221011-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the end of last year. “Misclassification deprives workers of their federal labor protections, including their right to be paid their full, legally earned wages.”
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Su directed the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, which oversees the state’s Employment Development Department, while at least one-tenth of the $114 billion in pandemic relief claims handled by the agency involved fraudulent activity. The massive fraud could inhibit her confirmation as lawmakers examine the extent to which criminal actors abused federal pandemic relief initiatives.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/manchin-could-sink-biden-nominee-who-oversaw-billions-in-pandemic-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">informed</a> the White House that he is hesitant to confirm Su as he attempts to win re-election in his heavily Republican home state, a decision which could thereby sink the nomination. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) could also oppose Su as they create distance from the Biden administration amid their potentially difficult campaigns next year.

Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su Visits NYC Restaurants With Rep. Carolyn Maloney And Rep. Hakeem Jeffries To Learn About Worker Experiences Amid Major Staffing Crisis For The Industry

Biden’s Labor Secretary Nominee Supported California Law Gutting Independent Work

Biden's Labor Secretary Nominee Supported California Law Nixing Independent Work

Biden Administration

California

General

Jobs

Marty Walsh

Politics

President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> announced on Tuesday that he will nominate Julie Su, who oversaw billions in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/coronavirus-relief" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pandemic relief</a> fraud during her time as a senior official in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a>, to replace Labor Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marty-walsh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marty Walsh</a>.
Su, who has served as deputy secretary of labor under Walsh since July 2021, previously worked as secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. “It is my honor to nominate Julie Su to be our country’s next Secretary of Labor,” Biden said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/02/28/president-biden-nominates-julie-su-for-secretary-of-the-department-of-labor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “Over several decades, Julie has led the largest state labor department in the nation, cracked down on wage theft, fought to protect trafficked workers, increased the minimum wage, created good-paying, high-quality jobs, and established and enforced workplace safety standards.”
Walsh departs the Labor Department to lead the National Hockey League Players&#8217; Association, the labor union which represents athletes in the NHL. His tenure was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/union-allies-turn-on-pro-labor-biden-for-trying-to-prevent-looming-rail-strike" target="_blank" rel="noopener">marked</a> by rail unions threatening to enact a nationwide strike ahead of the midterm elections, which led to the Biden administration negotiating an agreement granting workers 24% pay raises and more robust health benefits.
Su would be the first Asian American member of the Biden administration’s Cabinet if she is confirmed by the Senate. She previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-taps-ca-labor-official-for-role-amidst-states-multi-billion-dollar-unemployment-fraud-scandal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> criticism for indirectly overseeing the California Employment Development Department as one-tenth of the $114 billion in pandemic relief claims handled by the agency involved fraudulent activity. An additional 17% of the benefit payments were made to accounts that were frozen for an investigation; the total amount of fraud could have therefore surpassed $31 billion, according to a January 2021 <a href="http://sfchronicle.com/business/article/California-officials-At-least-10-of-EDD-15897268.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the San Francisco Chronicle.
“There is no sugarcoating the reality,” Su told reporters in the wake of the revelations, according to a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-25/california-unemployment-fraud-11-billion-investigations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Los Angeles Times. “California has not had sufficient security measures in place to prevent this level of fraud, and criminals took advantage of the situation.”
Su nevertheless blamed the Trump administration for purportedly neglecting to offer adequate guidance on distributing the resources and countering fraudulent claims. “It should be no surprise that EDD was overwhelmed, just like the rest of the nation’s unemployment agencies,” she continued. “And we now know that as millions of Californians applied for help, international and national criminal rings were at work behind the scenes working relentlessly to steal unemployment benefits using sophisticated methods of identity theft.”
Fraudsters may indeed have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fraudulent-lockdown-era-unemployment-payments-may-amount-to-60-billion-government-watchdog-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stolen</a> as much as $60 billion from the various federal unemployment programs enacted by lockdown-era stimulus bills, according to a <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105523.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Government Accountability Office. Other <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shock-half-of-covid-19-unemployment-funds-may-have-gone-to-scammers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimates</a> predict that $400 billion, or half of the unemployment funds approved by the federal government, were ultimately lost to fraud.
The appointment of Su would occur as some lawmakers attempt to garner answers on the use of stimulus funds. House Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee issued multiple <a href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/republican-leaders-request-hearing-on-unemployment-insurance-fraud/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requests</a> for hearings about the fraud over the past two years; Democrats have consistently <a href="https://waysandmeans.house.gov/democrats-vote-to-blatantly-ignore-greatest-theft-of-american-tax-dollars-in-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blocked</a> the requests to examine the extent of fraudulent activity, the lawmakers say.
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“American families, whose wages have eroded under President Biden’s inflation crisis, have watched as hundreds of billions of their hard-earned tax dollars were lost to criminal activity and fraud because Democrats refused to acknowledge the problem and repeatedly rejected Republican efforts to put basic safeguards in place to protect against this activity,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire last month. “Congressional Democrats walked away from their oversight responsibilities of getting to the bottom of how this happened, what they could do to prevent it, and even how much has fully been lost, leaving criminals to profit off the backs of taxpayers.”

Biden Taps California Official Who Oversaw Billions In COVID Unemployment Fraud To Serve As Labor Secretary

Biden Taps California Official Who Oversaw Up To $31 Billion In COVID Unemployment Fraud To Serve As Labor Secretary

Coronavirus Relief

Fraud

Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, the Biden administration official tasked with overseeing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oshas-covid-vaccine-mandate-for-private-employers">OSHA’s new vaccination mandate</a> for private businesses employing at least 100 people, said on Thursday that the new rule “isn’t a mandate.” He added that those opposed to taking the COVID-19 vaccine should “take a deep breath,” because the federal government imposed the sweeping new, top-down rule in order to keep them safe.
On Thursday, the Biden administration released the controversial rule it has long previewed requiring that businesses with 100 employees or more require workers to be fully vaccinated, although it gives businesses the option of making their employees submit to weekly COVID tests and wearing “a face covering” while at work. The administration introduced the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) mandate through the auspices of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is <a href="https://www.osha.gov/aboutosha">part</a> of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Walsh seemed to make much of the fact that the regulation, <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/11/05/2021-23643/covid-19-vaccination-and-testing-emergency-temporary-standard">published</a> in the Federal Register on Friday, allows — but does not require — employers to let employees who do not want to be vaccinated to be tested. The ETS openly promotes “the preferred, and more protective, vaccination provision.”
“Quite honestly, I think a lot of the companies already with 100 or more employees already have some type of vaccine program, and a lot of times, it’s a mandate,” Secretary Walsh said. “This isn’t a mandate. This is a vaccine or testing. And I think that that’s something that a lot of the people who are anti-vaccine and saying they don’t want it — I want you to take a deep breath and hear what I’m saying here, because I think it’s really important to understand. It is about keeping people safe, including folks that don’t want to get vaccinated, to make sure that they’re safe.”
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&quot;This isn&#39;t a mandate — this is a vaccine or testing,&quot; Labor Sec. Walsh says on new OSHA standard for vaccine or testing requirements. &quot;It is about keeping people safe, including folks that don&#39;t want to get vaccinated, to make sure that they&#39;re safe.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/aiQYQ6YuNe">pic.twitter.com/aiQYQ6YuNe</a>
&mdash; MSNBC (@MSNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1456425433726136320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Legal actions have already ensued, as numerous state attorneys general said the law oversteps the government’s constitutional authority, tramples on the prerogatives of states and individual liberties, and will further erode public trust in the vaccine. Vaccine mandates have typically been imposed at the <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46745">state or local level</a>.
Eleven states immediately sued the Biden administration over the mandate in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-business-lawsuits-health-a57c936f1e6495a71cc2504a4dbfb813">calling</a> the mandate “unconstitutional, unlawful, and unwise.”
“The Biden [a]dministration’s new vaccine mandate on private businesses is a breathtaking abuse of federal power,” <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/paxton-sues-biden-administration-unconstitutional-vaccine-mandate">said</a> Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “Biden’s new mandate is bad policy and bad law, and I’m asking the [c]ourt to strike it down.”
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Bottom line: Biden’s new mandate is bad policy and bad law, and I’m asking the Court to strike it down.<a href="https://t.co/Y2qVvfoU6o">https://t.co/Y2qVvfoU6o</a>
&mdash; Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) <a href="https://twitter.com/TXAG/status/1456622504282398727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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“The president is not our nanny; he’s not our doctor; and he’s not the Congress. Laws are written by elected representatives, not by executive fiat,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) told Laura Ingraham on Thursday night.
“Florida will put up a ferocious fight,” added Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R).
At the same time, religious ministries and nonprofit institutions have also rebuffed the OSHA mandate on the grounds that it turns them from servants of God into adjuncts of the state. They also cite faith-based objections to the testing process used in the development of the available COVID-19 vaccines.
“As religious ministries our clients cannot in good conscience force their own employees to violate their deeply held beliefs regarding vaccines,” said David Hacker, director of litigation at <a href="https://firstliberty.org/">First Liberty Institute</a>, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of three ministries: Daystar Television Network, the American Family Association, and Answers in Genesis.
Two seminaries that train future ministers — The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Asbury Theological Seminary — have filed a separate lawsuit with the assistance of the <a href="https://adflegal.org/">Alliance Defending Freedom</a>. “It is unacceptable for the government to force religious institutions to become coercive extensions of state power. We have no choice but to push back against this intrusion of the government into matters of conscience and religious conviction,” said <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/evangelical-leaders-joy-reid-committed-slander-against-christians">Dr. Albert Mohler</a>, the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, which is located in Kentucky.
“The government has no authority to unilaterally treat unvaccinated employees like workplace hazards or to compel employers to become vaccine commissars, and we are asking the 6th Circuit to put a stop to it immediately,” <a href="https://adfmedia.org/case/southern-baptist-theological-seminary-v-occupational-safety-and-health-administration">said</a> ADF Senior Counsel Ryan Bangert.
On Thursday, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-the-daily-wire-challenges-biden-administration-vaccine-mandate">filed a lawsuit</a> against the federal government over the OSHA mandate. You can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-the-daily-wire-challenges-biden-administration-vaccine-mandate">read more about The Daily Wire’s lawsuit here</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

President Biden Hosts Event With CEOs Of Johnson & Johnson And Merck

‘This Isn’t A Mandate,’ Biden Admin Says Of New OSHA COVID-19 Mandate

COVID-19 Vaccine

Occupational Health And Safety Administration (OSHA)

Vaccine Mandate

Citing two unnamed sources familiar with the situation, The Associated Press reported on Thursday that President-elect Joe Biden plans to appoint Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to serve as U.S. Secretary of Labor.
Walsh is reportedly a personal friend of Biden, who presided over the mayor’s second inauguration in 2018.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/marty-walsh-labor-secretary-0b7ec3cce636a7e767e3d4f494b5fa78">According</a> to the AP, Walsh “has a long history with labor,” referencing his former role as president of Laborers Local 223. He also served in the state legislature for more than a decade while holding senior positions with Boston’s Building and Construction Trades Council, which the outlet described as “a union umbrella organization.”
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-11/boston-mayor-has-major-union-backing-in-race-to-be-labor-chief">reportedly</a> started reaching out to fellow union bosses in November to support Walsh’s nomination. He <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardTrumka/status/1347265015611613184">tweeted</a> that Walsh “will be an exceptional labor secretary for the same reason he was an outstanding mayor: he carried the tools.”
The AFL-CIO is a federation of 55 unions representing more than 12.5 million workers across America.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Statement from AFL-CIO President <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardTrumka?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RichardTrumka</a> on President-elect <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeBiden</a>’s nomination of Boston Mayor <a href="https://twitter.com/marty_walsh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@marty_walsh</a> for Secretary of Labor. <a href="https://t.co/fhXZ9Uf2sC">https://t.co/fhXZ9Uf2sC</a> <a href="https://t.co/1N2ONWfKGH">pic.twitter.com/1N2ONWfKGH</a>
&mdash; AFL-CIO ✊ (@AFLCIO) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFLCIO/status/1347265748503326723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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“I think Marty Walsh is a great idea for labor secretary,” <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-11/boston-mayor-has-major-union-backing-in-race-to-be-labor-chief">said</a> Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which is part of the AFL-CIO.
Weingarten said the AFL-CIO had compiled a list of preferred candidates to present to Biden’s transition team.
Walsh, 53, has also earned the backing of Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), one of the largest unions in the AFL-CIO coalition with 1.4 million members.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Lee Saunders: After 4 long years of brazen hostility toward working people, the Labor Department will have leadership that is true to its mission and purpose.<a href="https://twitter.com/marty_walsh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Marty_Walsh</a> will drive an agenda that gives working families the tools they need to thrive. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/1u?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#1u</a> <a href="https://t.co/GVJeVD3FT6">https://t.co/GVJeVD3FT6</a>
&mdash; AFSCME (@AFSCME) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFSCME/status/1347282393615446017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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“After four long years of brazen hostility toward working people, the Labor Department will now have leadership that is true to its mission and purpose,” Saunders <a href="https://www.afscme.org/press/releases/2021/saunders-celebrates-selection-of-mayor-marty-walsh-as-the-next-labor-secretary">said</a> in a statement issued on Thursday. “Mayor Walsh is one of us. He cut his teeth in the union movement.”
National Education Association president Becky Pringle <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-07/capitol-violence-marks-opening-for-gop-to-distance-from-trump">said</a> the teachers union had also been working with the Biden-Kamala Harris transition “to ensure that there are strong advocates for unions at the table in the cabinet.”
The Boston Herald quoted State Sen. Marc Pacheco, described as “a top Massachusetts Biden backer who served with Walsh in the Legislature,” who <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/11/11/marty-walsh-has-little-to-say-about-national-union-leaders-push-for-him-as-labor-secretary/">said</a> the mayor “knows people in every aspect of both the national and international labor movement.”
The outlet <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/11/11/marty-walsh-has-little-to-say-about-national-union-leaders-push-for-him-as-labor-secretary/">provides</a> more details on Walsh’s labor record in Boston:
<blockquote>But the mayor’s administration has had labor-related dust-ups, most recently regarding the federal criminal charges related to accusations that his top lieutenants pressured the Boston Calling music festival organizers to use union labor. Two Walsh administration high-ups were <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/08/07/verdict-reached-in-city-hall-extortion-trial/">convicted</a> – before a judge <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/02/12/boston-calling-shakedown-convictions-of-city-hall-employees-thrown-out-by-federal-judge/">then threw out the decisions</a> and acquitted them both.
Earlier in Walsh’s tenure, his administration took flak for connections to four Teamsters charged with threatening “Top Chef” employees over that show’s use of non-union workers. Testimony entwined Walsh’s City Hall in that scandal, but the mayor <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2017/08/16/mayor-walsh-relieved-as-teamsters-acquitted-in-top-chef-trial/">claimed vindication</a> after the jury found the Teamsters not guilty in 2017.
If Walsh does go to Washington, City Council President Kim Janey would become the acting mayor. She’d be the first woman and first person of color to sit in the big office on the fifth floor of Boston City Hall. It would also open the floodgates in the 2021 mayoral race, which already has drawn two high-profile challengers in the city councilors Andrea Campbell and Michelle Wu.</blockquote>
Walsh, the son of Irish immigrants, was raised in Boston’s working-class Dorchester section. When he was just seven years old, Walsh was <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/10/19/walsh-cancer-fight-marked-his-youth/bA7zWfYoA9CgW35F1FI1nJ/story.html">diagnosed</a> with Burkitt lymphoma and spent four years undergoing chemotherapy treatments, successfully fighting the disease.

Second Inauguration Of Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh

Report: Biden To Appoint Boston Mayor, A Former Union Boss, As Secretary Of Labor

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Marty Walsh

Biden’s Labor Secretary Nominee Supported California Law Gutting Independent Work

Biden Taps California Official Who Oversaw Billions In COVID Unemployment Fraud To Serve As Labor Secretary

‘This Isn’t A Mandate,’ Biden Admin Says Of New OSHA COVID-19 Mandate

Report: Biden To Appoint Boston Mayor, A Former Union Boss, As Secretary Of Labor