Immediately after the president selected Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court bench, several senators opposed to the president’s actions labeled the judge as well outside the mainstream of American legal thought and vowed to oppose his nomination.

Although Gorsuch certainly has conservative credentials, an analysis of his workplace law decisions from the past decade reveals an independent streak that should satisfy those whose knee-jerk reaction is to treat anything President Donald Trump does with hostility.