April 5, 2006
Wal-Mart Lawyer Named to Labor Department
In the latest indication of how federal agencies are being staffed to serve a corporate agenda, President Bush nominated Wal-Mart lawyer Paul DeCamp to head the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division.
DeCamp’s biography at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher lists some of his efforts to help big business at the cost of workers’ rights, including representing Wal-Mart in a case trying to prevent 1.5 million women from suing the company for discrimination in pay and promotions.
Bush’s nominee to protect workers’ rights also proposed taking overtime pay away from some workers and suggested easy outs for bosses who misclassify workers as not eligible for overtime pay.
DeCamp has also represented businesses opposing union organizing campaigns and fought for employers on collective and individual actions involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and stage wage and hour laws.
