Eugene Scalia, Son Late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Tapped By Trump As Next Labor Secretary

Eugene Scalia, son of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, has been tapped to be the next Labor Secretary by President Donald Trump. Gene, as he is known, has spent much of his career involved in labor law as well as government work. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as Chief Legal Officer for the Labor Department, and also served as special assistant to William Barr during his first tenure as Attorney General.

Scalia will replace Alexander Acosta, who stepped down last week due to what has been seen as mishandling the plea deal which allowed Jeffrey Epstein to avoid prison until his most recent arrest.

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Scalia is a partner at Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher, where he handles cases related to labor and employment, usually defending major corporations. In 2006 Scalia argued on behalf of Walmart and enabled them to avoid a Maryland law requiring companies with 10,000 or more employees to spend 8% of their payroll on healthcare, or else pay into the state Medicaid system.

Most famously, Scalia argued against the so-called “ergonomics” law, which would have required companies to alter workplace conditions if employees suffered injuries due to repetitive motions, such as carpal tunnel. Scalia dismissed the scientific research behind the law.

Scalia is a member of the Federalist Society, whose members have dominated much of the judiciary, especially under the Trump administration.