Eugene Scalia is the son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and President Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Labor in the wake of Alex Acosta, who handled the federal case that led to almost no jail time for Jeffrey Epstein. I apologize for that load-bearing sentence but I had to get it out of the way.
Given the number of terrible men I just named in that introduction, it will maybe come as no surprise that Eugene Scalia is an egregious fucker, too. It turns out that Scalia has made a career of defending corporate interests against the workers who have been fucked over by them. Who could have guessed!
In his career as a corporate lawyer, Scalia demonstrated a clear willingness to read the law in such a way that shields bad bosses from the demands of their workers. Time and time again, he worked to ensure corporations do not have to give worker a cent more than they absolutely need to (per Jacobin):
In 2006, for example, he represented Walmart, helping the company defeat a Maryland law that would have required the company to either spend 8 percent of their payroll costs on health care or pay into Medicaid. He helped Las Vegas casinos weasel out of a rule that would reserve tips for casino employees.
According to the New York Times, he is “perhaps best known for his opposition to a regulation that would have mandated greater protections for workers at risk of repetitive stress injuries.” I mean, wow, what a legacy!
Eugene Scalia is the guy you want on your team—if and when your team is being sued for violating the Americans With Disabilities Act. He defended UPS— not once, but twice!—in such cases. Which is perfect for those who have been accused of flouting anti-discrimination laws.
Similarly, if you are killer whale and have been accused of killing one of your human co-workers, Scalia is also ready to go hard (per the New York Times):
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the Labor Department, investigated and concluded that SeaWorld either knew or should have known that the whale posed a threat to humans and should have taken steps to protect trainers […] Mr. Scalia and his team maintained that Congress had never intended for the safety administration to regulate an occupation like training and performing with killer whales.
There you have it! Eugene Scalia: an enemy of workers and likely the next labor secretary if Trump can get away with it! Exciting times we live in!