QUOTE
Bush Appointment Draws Quick Fire
August 31, 2006, 5:06 pm
President Bush’s recess appointment today of lawyer Paul DeCamp,to be administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the Department of Labor drew quick fire from some Democrats, particularly those seeking to make Wal-Mart a campaign issue. Bush nominated him for the post, but the Senate hasn’t acted on the confirmation. At the law firm of Gibson Dunn, DeCamp has represented employers and defended Wal-Mart in a big employment-discrimination case.
George Miller of California, senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, promptly fired off a statement: “As a lawyer, Paul DeCamp has never represented American workers in a single case. He has worked on behalf of Wal-Mart - a company with an abhorrent record of labor relations - and other companies against the interests of American workers and consumers in numerous cases. Yet he is the man that President Bush has chosen as one of the nation’s top enforcers of workplace rights….This recess appointment is one more reminder that the President does not care about making sure that workers are treated fairly on the job or enforcing laws that he doesn’t happen to like.”
The Labor Department unit enforces overtime, workplace discrimination and child-labor laws.
Washington Wire
August 31, 2006, 5:06 pm
President Bush’s recess appointment today of lawyer Paul DeCamp,to be administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the Department of Labor drew quick fire from some Democrats, particularly those seeking to make Wal-Mart a campaign issue. Bush nominated him for the post, but the Senate hasn’t acted on the confirmation. At the law firm of Gibson Dunn, DeCamp has represented employers and defended Wal-Mart in a big employment-discrimination case.
George Miller of California, senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, promptly fired off a statement: “As a lawyer, Paul DeCamp has never represented American workers in a single case. He has worked on behalf of Wal-Mart - a company with an abhorrent record of labor relations - and other companies against the interests of American workers and consumers in numerous cases. Yet he is the man that President Bush has chosen as one of the nation’s top enforcers of workplace rights….This recess appointment is one more reminder that the President does not care about making sure that workers are treated fairly on the job or enforcing laws that he doesn’t happen to like.”
The Labor Department unit enforces overtime, workplace discrimination and child-labor laws.
Washington Wire
He did it again!!...
And this press release from Senator George Miller's (Dem-CA) office:
QUOTE
Rep. Miller Statement On Recess Appointment Of Paul DeCamp
Thursday, August 31, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC -- President George W. Bush today announced his intention to recess appoint Paul DeCamp as head of the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. The Wage and Hour Division is responsible for enforcing the nation’s wage and hour laws, including overtime laws, workplace discrimination laws, and child labor laws. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today on the recess appointment:
“Enforcing the nation’s wage and hours laws is a critical task that ensures that employees are not cheated out of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. The person in charge of enforcing wage and hour laws must be objective and willing to take on powerful employers if they are abusing the wage laws.
“As a lawyer, Paul DeCamp has never represented American workers in a single case. He has worked on behalf of Wal-Mart – a company with an abhorrent record of labor relations – and other companies against the interests of American workers and consumers in numerous cases. Yet he is the man that President Bush has chosen as one of the nation’s top enforcers of workplace rights. It’s no surprise that President Bush would appoint a corporate lawyer to a position intended to safeguard workers against corporate abuses. This recess appointment is one more reminder that the President does not care about making sure that workers are treated fairly on the job or enforcing laws that he doesn’t happen to like.”
Thursday, August 31, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC -- President George W. Bush today announced his intention to recess appoint Paul DeCamp as head of the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. The Wage and Hour Division is responsible for enforcing the nation’s wage and hour laws, including overtime laws, workplace discrimination laws, and child labor laws. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today on the recess appointment:
“Enforcing the nation’s wage and hours laws is a critical task that ensures that employees are not cheated out of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. The person in charge of enforcing wage and hour laws must be objective and willing to take on powerful employers if they are abusing the wage laws.
“As a lawyer, Paul DeCamp has never represented American workers in a single case. He has worked on behalf of Wal-Mart – a company with an abhorrent record of labor relations – and other companies against the interests of American workers and consumers in numerous cases. Yet he is the man that President Bush has chosen as one of the nation’s top enforcers of workplace rights. It’s no surprise that President Bush would appoint a corporate lawyer to a position intended to safeguard workers against corporate abuses. This recess appointment is one more reminder that the President does not care about making sure that workers are treated fairly on the job or enforcing laws that he doesn’t happen to like.”
Ted Kennedy's Press Release:
QUOTE
Kennedy on Recess Appointment of Paul DeCamp to Department of Labor
August 31, 2006
Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement on President Bush’s recess appointment of Paul DeCamp to be the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the Department of Labor. DeCamp’s nomination is currently pending before the Senate’s HELP Committee, which held a hearing on the nomination on August 1, 2006. De Camp had been serving as an advisor to the Secretary of Labor since July 2005 and has been intensely involved in the Department’s post-Katrina efforts. Below is Senator Kennedy’s statement:
“I’m deeply concerned by President Bush’s decision to bypass the Senate and give a recess appointment to Paul DeCamp. It’s an insult to America’s workers for the President to give this job to someone with a clear record of hostility to protecting overtime and wages. Particularly troubling is his role in the Administration’s abysmal failure to protect the rights of the hardworking men and women rebuilding the Gulf Coast. Appointing DeCamp to enforce laws he doesn’t believe in and protections he doesn’t support is another example of the low priority that the Administration gives to the rights and wellbeing of America’s workers.”
–Tristan Takos
August 31, 2006
Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement on President Bush’s recess appointment of Paul DeCamp to be the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the Department of Labor. DeCamp’s nomination is currently pending before the Senate’s HELP Committee, which held a hearing on the nomination on August 1, 2006. De Camp had been serving as an advisor to the Secretary of Labor since July 2005 and has been intensely involved in the Department’s post-Katrina efforts. Below is Senator Kennedy’s statement:
“I’m deeply concerned by President Bush’s decision to bypass the Senate and give a recess appointment to Paul DeCamp. It’s an insult to America’s workers for the President to give this job to someone with a clear record of hostility to protecting overtime and wages. Particularly troubling is his role in the Administration’s abysmal failure to protect the rights of the hardworking men and women rebuilding the Gulf Coast. Appointing DeCamp to enforce laws he doesn’t believe in and protections he doesn’t support is another example of the low priority that the Administration gives to the rights and wellbeing of America’s workers.”
–Tristan Takos
[Emphasis added]
QUOTE
Bush Makes Backdoor Appointment to Wage and Hour Office
August 31, 2006
President Bush this afternoon made another backdoor appointment to his administration. He used a recess appointment to install a lawyer who represented Wal-Mart with a long record of urging restrictions to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (FLSA’s) overtime pay and other provisions to head up the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
Paul DeCamp, who was grilled at an August Senate confirmation hearing, backed the Bush administration’s move to gut the FLSA’s overtime pay protections saying it presented:
"a window of opportunity, particularly in light of the federal elections of 2002, for the business community to achieve positive results that can bring the FLSA into the 21st century."
He even warned that if the overtime laws were not changed, millions more workers could become eligible for overtime. Strangely enough, he also said that it would not be “in the interest” of the workers who might earn overtime eligibility.
"It is time to bring the FLSA into line with current notions of public policy. If reform does not come, then the risk and expense of collective and class action litigation may compel employers to reclassify millions of workers as non-exempt [i.e., eligible for overtime], a change that is in the interest of neither the employees nor their employers."
A recess appointment can be made when Congress is out of session. With the House and Senate due back to work next week, Bush was running out of time to circumvent congressional approval for DeCamp. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) was expected to use Senate rules to block DeCamp’s nomination. At an Aug. 1 hearing on DeCamp’s nomination, Kennedy said DeCamp’s work for Wal-Mart
"…raises troubling questions. His record clearly demonstrates that he does not have the commitment to workers’ rights that is necessary to fulfill the goals of these important laws."
AFL-CIO Weblog
August 31, 2006
President Bush this afternoon made another backdoor appointment to his administration. He used a recess appointment to install a lawyer who represented Wal-Mart with a long record of urging restrictions to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (FLSA’s) overtime pay and other provisions to head up the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
Paul DeCamp, who was grilled at an August Senate confirmation hearing, backed the Bush administration’s move to gut the FLSA’s overtime pay protections saying it presented:
"a window of opportunity, particularly in light of the federal elections of 2002, for the business community to achieve positive results that can bring the FLSA into the 21st century."
He even warned that if the overtime laws were not changed, millions more workers could become eligible for overtime. Strangely enough, he also said that it would not be “in the interest” of the workers who might earn overtime eligibility.
"It is time to bring the FLSA into line with current notions of public policy. If reform does not come, then the risk and expense of collective and class action litigation may compel employers to reclassify millions of workers as non-exempt [i.e., eligible for overtime], a change that is in the interest of neither the employees nor their employers."
A recess appointment can be made when Congress is out of session. With the House and Senate due back to work next week, Bush was running out of time to circumvent congressional approval for DeCamp. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) was expected to use Senate rules to block DeCamp’s nomination. At an Aug. 1 hearing on DeCamp’s nomination, Kennedy said DeCamp’s work for Wal-Mart
"…raises troubling questions. His record clearly demonstrates that he does not have the commitment to workers’ rights that is necessary to fulfill the goals of these important laws."
AFL-CIO Weblog
[Emphasis added.]
They're all for telling us they're 'bringing us into the 21st Century' ~ while their actions are actually quite different from that media slogan!
