President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Andrew Puzderas Labor Secretary today, according to CNBC.

A former attorney, Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, whichowns several nationwide fast food chains.

Puzder has been an outspoken critic of what he says isoverregulation's crushing impact on the restaurant industry and theoverall economy.

On his blog, andy.puzder.com, he also claims the country'simmigration and trade policies are “killing” the working and middleclasses.

A frequent guest in the business media, and an advisor ofPresident-elect Trump during his campaign, Puzder told CNBC the dayafter the election that the Affordable Care Act “has togo and it has to go quickly.”

He has also been an outspoken critic of the DOL overtime rule that doubles theovertime wage threshold, which would make about 4.2 millionpreviously exempted workers eligible for overtime pay. A federalcourt in Texas has temporarily blocked the rule.

Puzder argues that the ACA has not only increased employers'costs, but that increasing premiums in the individual market hasdrained consumers' discretionary income.

On health care, he has argued that new tax incentives for themiddle class will incentivize insurers to compete for workers thatdon't have access to health care through their employer. Heacknowledged the challenge of addressing insureds with preexistinghealth conditions to CNBC.

“Competition reduces prices and improves quality,” said Puzder.“Government has a legitimate role in regulations, it's just we haveso many regulations—it's killing business,” Puzder said.

Puzder is not on the record regarding Labor's fiduciaryrule, which will be implemented April 10, 2017.

Potential conflict of interest

Puzder's nomination will likely raise questions of conflicts ofinterest from supporters of the Labor's overtime rule. Any effortto roll the rule back under the arump Administration would benefitCKE Restaurants.

As Secretary, Puzder would oversee Labor's Wage and HourDivision, which enforces minimum wage and overtime regulationsunder the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In 2015, more than 40% of the Wage and Hour Division'senforcement actions were against restaurants, substantially morethan any other industry, according to data on the WHD website.

Under the Obama administration, the Wage and Hour Divisionhas initiated about 4,000 investigations at the 20 largestfast-food chains in the country, according to a recent analysis byBloomberg on bna.com. Those investigations have recovered $14million in back wages.

At Hardees and Carl's Jr. restaurants, franchises both owned byCKE Restaurants, about 60% of the wage and hour division'sinvestigations raised at least one FLSA infraction.

The Bloomberg BNA analysis shows 108 investigations of CKERestaurants since 2004 recovered $153,921 in back wages. More than90% of CKE's 2,500 stores are franchised to independent owners. Sixaudits were conducted at company-owned restaurants, which yieldedno infractions.

CKE Restaurants also stands to be impacted by a “joint employer”ruling issued by the National Labor Relations Board againstMcDonald's Corp., which is currently being litigated in anadministrative court.

If the NLRB succeeds, McDonalds and potentially otherfranchisors like CKE Restaurants would be exposed to liability forthe labor practices of its franchisees.

The new standard would also make it easier for unions toorganize multiple franchises of fast food chains, according toanalysis by Littler's Workplace Policy Institute.

The NLRB is an independent government agency that operatesoutside of the Labor Department. Puzder has been a vocal critic ofthe joint employer standard.

Writing in a 2014 Wall Street Journal op-ed, he said, “If theNLRB's new interpretation of the rules becomes the law of the land,it will be tantamount to rewriting an existing contractualrelationship by government fiat in ways the parties nevercontemplated and to the mutual detriment.”

According to a filing with the Securities and ExchangeCommission, Puzder earned $7.2 million in total compensation in2010, $10.1 million in 2011, and $4.4 million in 2012. About $10.2million over those years was in stock awards.