Punching In: Probe Isn’t Grounding Chavez-DeRemer in Washington

Tuesday morning musings for workplace watchers

LCD’s Travel Itinerary Unbothered | International Labor Liability

Parker Purifoy: An internal probe into the travel spending of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has not grounded her.

The secretary went to North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska last week as part of the final legs of her 50-state “America at Work” listening tour, days after an internal DOL complaint came to light accusing her of committing travel fraud and having an inappropriate relationship with a staffer.

The complaint, filed with the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and first reported on by the New York Post, alleges that Chavez-DeRemer had her top aides schedule work trips in order to spend time with friends and family. Her chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright were placed on administrative leave last Monday.

She’s a well-traveled secretary: Chavez-DeRemer’s calendars, posted to the DOL’s website, show she traveled on average nearly 11 days each month in the first six months of her tenure. Her most-traveled month was August, where she visited 12 states over 19 days, including Wisconsin, Idaho, Nevada, and parts of New England.

Former Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, for comparison, traveled on average three days per month during her first six months in charge of the department. When campaigning for President Joe Biden picked up in 2024, she traveled an average 10 days per month.

President Donald Trump is sticking by the secretary. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that she spoke with Trump about the investigation and the president “stands by the secretary.”

“He thinks that she’s doing a tremendous job at the Department of Labor on behalf of American workers,” she said.

In North Dakota, Chavez-DeRemer met with Governor Kelly Armstrong (R) to tour the construction site of an AI data center in Fargo. In South Dakota and Iowa, the secretary visited three Sanford Health clinics and a community college, where her staff told local reporters she didn’t have time to field questions.

She then met with Union Pacific Railroad Co.’s Chief Executive Officer Jim Vena at a company training center in Omaha, Neb.

“I’m going to continue these conversations so I can go back to the President and share stories from every industry about what’s working and what isn’t—and learn how we can best support the American Worker through it all,” the secretary said in statement Friday.

Robert Iafolla: A federal appeals court is set to consider whether workers can sue US companies for profiting from forced labor and human trafficking that occurs overseas.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral argument Tuesday over the scope of a federal anti-trafficking law in a case involving the alleged mistreatment of workers at a Malaysian glove factory that supplied Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Ansell Healthcare Products LLC.

A ruling that prohibits the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s civil cause of action from applying to foreign conduct could create a circuit split and invite the US Supreme Court to take up the issue.

Every other federal court to consider the issue—aside from the US District Court for the District of Columbia—has ruled in favor of extraterritorial application, according to the workers who want the DC Circuit to revive their lawsuit. That list of courts includes the Fourth and Fifth circuits.

The workers will have to convince a judicial panel that includes two Trump appointees, Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, as well as Judge Patricia Millett, an Obama appointee.

The case arose from workers’ allegations that they were trafficked from Bangladesh to a Brightway Group factory in Malaysia, had their passports seized by the company, and were forced to work and live in abusive, inhumane conditions for delayed or partial compensation.

Thirteen workers escaped and sued Kimberly-Clark and Ansell Healthcare in US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2022, claiming the firms knowingly profited from their exploitation at the hands of Brightway.

The companies condemned forced labor and told the court that they cut ties with the glove manufacturer once US Customs and Border Protection detained its shipments due to concerns about its working conditions.

Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, dismissed the lawsuit on several grounds, including that the TVPA civil cause of action doesn’t apply outside of the US.

The US Chamber of Commerce filed an amicus brief in support of the companies, arguing courts shouldn’t let litigation interfere with congressional and executive branch efforts to combat international trafficking and forced labor.

David Zionts of Covington & Burling LLP will argue on behalf of Kimberly-Clark and Ansell Healthcare. Terry Collingsworth, founder and director of International Rights Advocates, will represent the workers.

We’re punching out. Daily Labor Report subscribers please check in for updates during the week, and feel free to reach out to us.