Under Puzder, CKE Restaurants has been a magnet for controversy over its treatment of employees—hardly the background for an executive who’s supposed to ensure worker safety, prevent discrimination in the workplace, and address federal disputes between employees and management.

Since Puzder became CEO in 2000, CKE has been accused of not providing required breaks for employees and a party to numerous wage disputes. The U.S. Department of Labor found that more than half of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. locations had wage violations, according to a Bloomberg BNA analysis this year.

In 2013, CKE Restaurants Inc. was hit with a class-action lawsuit that claimed it violated California labor law for not paying Carl’s Jr. managers for on-call work. (The case is ongoing, according to court records.)

In a negligence lawsuit filed in September 2014, an employee alleged he suffered first- and second-degree burns while attempting to clean a hot fryer box without proper training or appropriate safety equipment. The franchisee and Hardee’s, for its role in the operation and management of the restaurant, were found to be liable.

While Hardee’s argued its wasn’t responsible because it did not directly employ the man or control daily operations at the restaurant, the court found CKE liable for the working conditions at its franchise locations.

The selection of Puzder has alienated everyone from pro-immigration reform Democrats, who are concerned that about his views on labor laws, to restrictionist groups who are concerned he is too friendly to foreign workers.

“I am deeply concerned by Mr. Puzder’s record of standing in the way of progress on issues that would make an immediate difference in the lives of working families, in particular raising the minimum wage and ensuring equal pay for equal work,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) , the top Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

“Puzder has served as an executive of a fast-food conglomerate —an industry that has thrived on low-wage labor, illegal workers, and which has lobbied for greater access to foreign guest workers to maximize corporate profits,” he said. “Based on Puzder’s support for increased guest workers, can struggling American workers count on him to maintain tight labor markets that promote wage increases?”

“I have serious questions about whether a CEO who is comfortable reinforcing harmful stereotypes about women and who is so dismissive of workplace-discrimination issues can be trusted to uphold core missions of the department,” Murray said.