(NewsNation) — Behind the Washington politicking over who should run the U.S. Department of Labor is something more important: a tug-of-war over worker protections versus the concern that regulations slow the American economy.
At the center is Julie Su, the former labor secretary of California and the only Biden Administration cabinet secretary who has not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The things Su is known most for touch millions of Americans: from anyone who drives an Uber to fast-food workers who think their bosses cheated them out of a full day’s pay.
Depending on your perspective, a Labor Department under Su would either win billions of dollars in pay and benefits for American workers or could damage the economy and weaken America’s fragile supply chain.
The date of Su’s confirmation vote has dragged on as the Biden administration tries to line up votes in the Senate. It could happen as early as this week.
Here’s how this political debate impacts all of America.
Su supported and enforced a California law that put strict limits on when companies could classify employees as “independent contractors.”
Known as AB5, it specifically targeted so-called gig-economy companies like Uber and Grubhub, as well as the trucking industry. These companies called their drivers independent contractors and, as a result, those workers didn’t qualify for benefits like unemployment insurance and health care.
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