FLOOR OF THE SENATE AND LET THE
SENATE CONSIDER IT.
LIZ: THE URGENCY TO GET
SOMETHING DONE PERHAPS STEMS
FROM PLATEAUING LABOR NUMBERS
RECENTLY.
INITIAL JOBLESS CLAIMS HAVE
STARTED TO COME DOWN FROM THEIR
HIGHS BACK IN MARCH BUT THEY
HAVE TICKED BACK UP LAST WEEK TO
898,000, ABOVE ESTIMATES.
THERE HAVE BEEN 64.52 MILLION
JOBLESS CLAIMS FILED SINCE THE
CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWNS BEGAN.
40.3% OF THE AMERICAN WORK
FORCE.
WHAT IS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
GOING TO DO TO HELP STRUGGLING
AMERICANS BEFORE THE ELECTION?
LET’S BRING IN LABOR SECRETARY
EUGENE SCALIA.
WELCOME, MR. SECRETARY.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
SO SECRETARY MNUCHIN AND SPEAKER
PELOSI ARE SUPPOSED TO BE
TALKING LITERALLY RIGHT NOW.
THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION HAVE
BEEN OPEN BETWEEN THEM.
BUT HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO EITHER
THE SECRETARY OR THE SPEAKER,
GIVEN THE STATISTICS, YOU SEE AT
THE LABOR DEPARTMENT ON THE
JOBLESS SITUATION, AND HAVE YOU
EXPLAINED THE URGENCY?
>> I HAVE REMAINED IN TOUCH WITH
SECRETARY MNUCHIN AND HIS TEAM
AS THESE NEGOTIATIONS HAVE GONE
ON AND LIZ, AS YOU KNOW, THE
PRESIDENT WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE
TO SEE AN AGREEMENT FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF UNEMPLOYMENT
ASSISTANCE.
IT’S BEEN FRUSTRATING WHEN THE
$600 A WEEK CARES BENEFIT
EXPIRED IN JULY, REPUBLICANS
SOUGHT TO EXTEND IT IF ONLY
TEMPORARILY TO HAVE A CONTINUED
DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT THE RIGHT
AMOUNT OF A FEDERAL BENEFIT
WOULD BE GOING FORWARD, BUT
CHUCK SCHUMER, NANCY PELOSI
WOULD NOT ALLOW THAT AND WOULD
NOT ALLOW EVEN A STOPGAP MEASURE
DURING NEGOTIATIONS.
THAT CAUSED THE PRESIDENT TO
STEP IN AND FIND A WAY TO USE
FEMA FUNDS TO CONTINUE
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.
YES, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE
SOMETHING DONE.
I KNOW SECRETARY MNUCHIN IS
WORKING HARD AT THAT.
AT THE SAME TIME, LET ME
EMPHASIZE THIS SECOND POINT
WHICH IS THAT UNEMPLOYMENT RIGHT
NOW IS MUCH, MUCH LOWER THAN WAS
BEING PREDICTED BACK IN APRIL
WHERE WE SAW ESTIMATES THAT
THIRD QUARTER UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD
BE NEARLY 16%.
BUT WE KNOW THAT ACTUALLY IN
SEPTEMBER, IT WAS UNDER 8% AND
THIS MORNING, OUR BUREAU OF
LABOR STATISTICS PUT OUT ITS
STATE BY STATE NUMBERS WHICH ARE
VERY INTERESTING.
WE SEE THAT ACTUALLY, A MAJORITY
OF STATES, 26 STATES HAVE UN
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BELOW 7%.
THE PROBLEM LIES PARTICULARLY WE
SEE FROM THAT REPORT IN SOME OF
OUR LARGEST STATES, ESPECIALLY
CALIFORNIA WHERE UNEMPLOYMENT
BARELY CAME DOWN IN SEPTEMBER.
IT’S AT 11%, MUCH HIGHER THAN
THAT 7.9% NATIONAL AVERAGE.
NEW YORK, ILLINOIS ALSO REALLY
HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, IN THE
NEIGHBORHOOD OF 10%.
LIZ: YEAH.
DEFINITELY THE NUMBERS HAVE
ABSOLUTELY COME DOWN FROM THOSE
RIDICULOUS HIGHS, BUT YOU KNOW,
WE WANT TO STICK TO THE PEOPLE
WHO ARE STRUGGLING THE MOST
RIGHT NOW.
THE CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED.
THAT’S UNDER YOUR PURVIEW.
AIRLINES SAY THEY WILL BE FORCED
TO CUT JOBS WITHOUT MORE
STIMULUS.
THE HOTEL INDUSTRY.
WE HAD THE CEO OF BEST WESTERN
TELL US YESTERDAY RIGHT HERE
THAT NEARLY 50% OF HOTELS IN THE
U.S. WILL DEFAULT ON THEIR LOANS
WHICH OF COURSE COULD TRIGGER
MORE LAYOFFS.
WHICH SECTORS DO YOU SEE NEEDING
IT THE MOST, THE STIMULUS, RIGHT
NOW?
>> WELL, AIRLINES, WE KNOW ARE A
SECTOR THAT HAVE BEEN
PARTICULARLY AFFECTED, AS HAS
HOTEL AND LODGING.
THESE ARE INDUSTRIES THAT I HAVE
SPOKEN TO THE PRESIDENT ABOUT.
I KNOW HE HAS CONCERN THERE,
TOO.
THAT’S PART OF THE REASON IT’S
BEEN IMPORTANT FOR HIM TO GET
RELIEF, AND IN ORDER TO CONTINUE
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.
BUT AGAIN, THAT SAID, WE SEE
MUCH BETTER SIGNS IN THE ECONOMY
RIGHT NOW THAN WERE BEING
PROJECTED BACK IN THE REALLY
DIFFICULT DAYS THAT WE HAD IN
MARCH AND APRIL.
SO I THINK THE TASK BEFORE US IS
FIRST TO MAINTAIN THE POLICIES
THE PRESIDENT HAS SET THAT WERE
SO VITAL IN BUILDING THAT
AMAZING JOB MARKET WE HAD
PRE-COVID WHERE WE HAD RECORD
LOW UNEMPLOYMENT AND WHERE WE
LEARNED RECENTLY, WE HAD REALLY
EXTRAORDINARY WAGE GROWTH FOR
PEOPLE AT THE LOWER END OF THE
ECONOMIC SCALE.
THOSE POLICIES OF LOW TAXES,
ELIMINATING UNNECESSARY
REGULATORY BURDENS, WHEN YOU ASK
WHAT WE NEED GOING FORWARD,
THAT’S AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT
WE NEED BECAUSE IT BUILT THE
ECONOMY THE FIRST TIME AROUND.
WE WILL NEED IT GOING FORWARD
BUT OF COURSE, WE DO WANT TO
CONTINUE TO GET THESE
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS TO PEOPLE
WHO NEED THEM EVEN AS WE GROW
THE ECONOMY AND GET THEM BACK TO
WORK.
LIZ: I WOULD IMAGINE AS LABOR
SECRETARY, YOUR DEFINITION OF
SUCCESS WOULD BE TO SEE
BUSINESSES REOPEN AND THE
MILLIONS OF EMPLOYEES WHO ARE
STILL FURLOUGHED OR JOBLESS TO
GET BACK ON THE JOB.
UNDERSTANDABLY, WITH EIGHT
MILLION AMERICANS INFECTED,
220,000 KILLED BY COVID, THEY
WANT TO BE ENSURED THEY GO BACK
SAFELY.
YOUR OSHA TEAM, OCCUPATIONAL
SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION, HAS PUT OUT
COVID SAFETY GUIDELINES BUT IT
DOESN’T APPEAR THAT THERE ARE
SPECIFIC AND HARSH LEGAL
PENALTIES FOR EMPLOYERS WHO
DON’T FOLLOW THEM.
YOUR TEAM TOLD US THAT THERE ARE
10,810 COVID-RELATED COMPLAINTS
TO OSHA.
WE ASKED HOW MANY CITATIONS HAVE
BEEN ISSUED.
THEY DID NOT GET BACK TO US.
SO WE HAD TO RELY ON AFL-CIO
NUMBERS AND THEY SAY ONLY --
[ SPEAKING SIMULTANEOUSLY ]
>> TELL ME WHAT THEY TOLD YOU.
LIZ: WELL, FIRST OF ALL, WE PUT
IN CALLS TO THEM AS WELL.
96 CLASS ACTIONS.
WE UNDERSTAND, THOUGH, THAT WHEN
WE’RE LOOKING AT SPECIFIC
CITATIONS, WE NEED TO KNOW, AT
LEAST EMPLOYEES NEED TO KNOW IF
THEY DO GO BACK, AND I PRESUME
MOST OF THEM DO WANT TO, MR.
SECRETARY, THAT THEY ARE GOING
TO HAVE EMPLOYERS, MOST OF THEM
ARE CARING ABOUT THEIR
EMPLOYEES, BUT THAT ALL
EMPLOYERS WILL BE HELD TO A
STANDARD AND IT APPEARS YOUR
GUIDELINES DON’T HAVE TEETH.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT
THAT?
>> WELL, OUR PROGRAMS DO HAVE
TEETH, LIZ.
IT’S FUNNY, AGAIN, BY SAYING YOU
IMAGINED OUR PRIORITY WAS TO GET
PEOPLE BACK TO WORK, I ALMOST AT
THAT POINT INTERJECTED, GET THEM
BACK TO WORK SAFELY.
THAT HAS, IN FACT, BEEN A
PRIORITY FOR US FROM VERY EARLY
ON.
OSHA BEGAN PROVIDING GUIDANCE
RELATED TO COVID ALL THE WAY
BACK IN JANUARY.
IT’S PUT OUT EXTENSIVE GUIDANCE
FOR EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES,
ABOUT 20 DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES
AND IT ALSO HAS HAD A VERY
ACTIVE INSPECTION AND
INVESTIGATION PROGRAM AS WELL.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE
EMPHASIZED FROM EARLY ON THAT WE
HAVE EXISTING REGULATORY
AUTHORITIES.
I SAID FROM MARCH, THEY WERE
AVAILABLE TO US TO USE, WE WOULD
INVESTIGATE, WE WOULD BRING
CASES AND WE ARE NOW DOING THAT.
THERE WERE CRITICS, THE AFL WAS
AMONG THEM, THE FORMER OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS WERE
PARTICULARLY LOUD ABOUT THIS,
TELLING PEOPLE THAT OSHA WAS NOT
CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS.
THAT WAS FALSE.
AND WE ARE NOW SEEING THE
RESULT.
WE HAVE BROUGHT NEARLY 100
CITATIONS AGAINST COMPANIES
WHERE WE FOUND --
LIZ: OUT OF 10,000?
>> WE’RE NOT --
LIZ: OUT OF 10,800 COMPLAINTS?
>> WELL, LIZ, YOU KNOW AS WELL
AS I THAT A COMPLAINT DOES NOT
NECESSARILY MEAN THERE’S A
PROBLEM.
WE HAVE INVESTIGATED --
LIZ: ABSOLUTELY.
ABSOLUTELY.
BUT MR. SECRETARY --
[ SPEAKING SIMULTANEOUSLY ]
>> WHEN WE FOUND THERE’S A
VIOLATION AND IT WAS WITHIN THE
COMPANY’S CAPACITY TO ADDRESS
THE PROBLEM, YOU KNOW, THERE
WERE PPE SHORTAGES, FOR EXAMPLE,
WHICH CAN BE A MITIGATING
FACTOR.
BUT TO DATE, WE HAVE BROUGHT
NEARLY 100 CASES AND WE WILL
CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
SO AS I SAID, IN A WHITE HOUSE
PODIUM BRIEFING BACK EARLY IN
THE SPRING, THE COP IS ON THE
BEAT.
THERE’S NOT A CASE WE HAVEN’T
BROUGHT BECAUSE WE DIDN’T HAVE A
REGULATION IN PLACE.
BUT FINALLY, I WILL EMPHASIZE
THIS.
I HAVE BEEN DOING LABOR AND
EMPLOYMENT FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS.
NEVER IN MY CAREER IN THE AREA
HAVE I SEEN EMPLOYERS AS FOCUSED
ON KEEPING THEIR WORKERS SAFE.
THEY KNOW THEY NEED TO DO THAT.
LIZ: I GET THAT.
I GET THAT.
>> THEY KNOW THEY NEED TO
KEEP --
[ SPEAKING SIMULTANEOUSLY ]
>> WE ARE HELPING THEM DO THAT
THROUGH THE GUIDANCE EVEN AS WE
MAINTAIN --
LIZ: WE ARE ON THE SIDE OF
BUSINESS.
AS A BUSINESS NETWORK, WE
ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND THAT THE
LEGAL, YOU KNOW, HEAVYWEIGHTS
THAT ARE PUT ON THE SHOULDERS OF
MOST BUSINESSES BUT WHEN YOU ARE
LOOKING AT THE MEATPACKING
PLANTS WHERE THERE ARE MRAJAJOR
OUTBREAKS AND CHICKEN PROCESSING
PLANTS, I JUST THINK, AND I’M
NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WOULD LOOK
AT THIS AND SAY WAIT A MINUTE,
YOU WANT TO GET PEOPLE BACK,
DON’T YOU NEED TO PUT TEETH IN
THOSE GUIDELINES AND BE MUCH
HARSHER ABOUT IT?
YOU CAN’T REALLY DEPEND ON ALL
EMPLOYERS.
I WISH WE COULD.
TO DEAL WITH THIS PROPERLY,
BECAUSE THIS IS THE WORST AND
STRANGEST AND MOST DEVASTATING
PANDEMIC IN YOURS AND MY
LIFETIME, AND YOU CAN’T JUST
LEAVE IT UP TO THAT.
I HAVE YOUR RETURNING TO WORK
GUIDELINES WE PULLED UP HERE AND
IT SAYS THESE ARE, YOU KNOW,
THEY ARE VERY SPECIFIC HERE.
WE CAN PUT IT UP.
IT SAYS THESE GUIDANCES ARE NOT
STANDARDS OR REGULATIONS.
YOUR OWN EMPLOYER, THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT, DIDN’T EXACTLY
FOLLOW IT DURING THE ROSE GARDEN
CEREMONY, MR. SECRETARY, AND SO
MANY PEOPLE GOT SICK AT THE ROSE
GARDEN SEPTEMBER 26 CEREMONY FOR
AMY CONEY BARRETT, WHICH YOU AND
YOUR WIFE ATTENDED AND WE WERE
VERY CONCERNED TO HEAR THAT YOUR
WIFE TESTED POSITIVE SHORTLY
THEREAFTER.
SO YOU CAN’T REALLY DEPEND ON
EVERYBODY TO FOLLOW THESE.
SO ISN’T IT ON YOUR SHOULDERS AS
A LABOR SECRETARY TO ENSURE AND
PUT TEETH INTO SOMETHING LIKE
THAT?
>> WELL, LIZ, YOU KNOW, I WAS
VERY PLEASED LET ME SAY FIRST OF
ALL, TO ATTEND THAT CEREMONY FOR
AMY CONEY BARRETT, WHO IS AN
EXCEPTIONAL JUDGE, EXCEPTIONAL
PERSON.
I THINK THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE
COME TO SEE THAT AND I THINK
WILL BE A TERRIFIC JUSTICE.
WITH ALL RESPECT, LIZ, I DON’T
THINK YOU UNDERSTAND THE OSHA
REGULATORY PROGRAM.
IT HAS BEEN A TWO-PRONGED
APPROACH.
WE HAVE ISSUED GUIDANCE.
THAT GUIDANCE ITSELF IS NOT
LEGALLY BINDING.
BUT AS WE HAVE MADE CLEAR FROM
VERY EARLY ON, WE HAVE A NUMBER
OF REGULATIONS THAT ARE LEGALLY
BINDING.
WE WILL BRING CASES WHEN THEY
ARE VIOLATED.
AND WE ALSO HAVE STATUTORY
AUTHORITY THAT WE CAN USE TO
BRING CASES AND WE HAVE DONE SO.
I SAID FROM EARLY ON WE WOULD.
WE HAVE DONE SO.
AND INCLUDING WITH RESPECT TO
MEATPACKING.
SO THERE ARE TEETH AS WELL AS
THE GUIDANCE.
IT’S A TWO-PRONG STRATEGY.
GUIDANCE BUT ENFORCEMENT AS
NECESSARY.
AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT
IN A MEASURED WAY, RECOGNIZING
AGAIN, AS I SAID, I DON’T THINK
YOU DISPUTE, THE GREAT MAJORITY
OF EMPLOYERS ARE VERY FOCUSED ON
KEEPING THEIR WORKERS AND
CUSTOMERS SAFE.
WE WANT TO HELP THEM DO IT.
BUT THOSE WHO FALL SHORT, WE
WILL BRING ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
AS NEEDED.
LIZ: WE WILL BE WATCHING IT AND
THANK YOU, MR. SECRETARY.
WE DO HOPE YOUR WIFE IS FEELING
MUCH BETTER AND WE HOPE SHE’S
RECOVERING AND WE ARE WATCHING
THIS STORY CLOSELY.
PLEASE COME BACK AGAIN.
IT IS INDEED --
>> I APPRECIATE YOUR CONCERN.
JUST TO CLARIFY, SHE DID NOT
TEST POSITIVE FOR MORE THAN TWO
WEEKS AFTER THAT EVENT AND SHE’S
DOING WELL.