Labor Nominee Andy Puzder Hired Undocumented Household Employee

Puzder said he ended the woman's employment and paid back taxes after learning about her documentation status

Andy Puzder, the fast-food restaurant chief executive nominated to be labor secretary, hired an undocumented household employee, NBC News confirmed Monday night.

Puzder didn't keep this to himself though and notified the Trump administration that he once had an employee who did not have legal status in the U.S.

Federal Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York Courthouse in Brooklyn granted an injunction in response to a request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other legal organizations on behalf of individuals subject to President Trump’s immigration ban from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

"I was unaware that [our housekeeper] was not legally permitted to work in the U.S. When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status. We have fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the State of California and submitted all required paperwork regarding her employment," Puzder said in a statement released by the White House.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said he believes this part of Puzder's past shouldn't disqualify him from joining the president's cabinet. However, hiring undocumented workers has derailed previous Cabinet nominees, including President Bill Clinton's attorney general nominee Kimba Wood.

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