House Votes to Block New Overtime Rules

[Guest guest]

It's not a " done deal " but the overwhelmingly Republican House has passed the

bill!!

 

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & e=3 & u=/ap/20040909/ap_on_go_co/congr\

ess_overtime

 

House Votes to Block New Overtime Rules

 

28 minutes ago

 

By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - In a sharp rebuke of a new administration policy, the House moved

Thursday to block the Labor Department (news - web sites) from carrying out

overtime rules that critics argued could deprive millions of workers of their

overtime pay.

 

The 223-193 vote in favor of blocking the rules defied the White House. A

threatened veto applied to veto a massive spending bill, now on the House floor,

if it contains any language tampering with the rules that took effect Aug. 23.

 

" This is one step in the legislative process. We are continuing to work with the

Congress, " said Trent Duffy, a spokesman for President Bush (news - web sites).

 

Democrats, united against the rules, were joined by 22 Republicans in voting for

the amendment to a $142.5 billion health and education spending bill.

 

The vote was Bush's second election-season defeat in Congress in two days. On

Wednesday the Senate disregarded a White House veto threat and voted to prohibit

Bush from giving federal immigration jobs to private workers.

 

" The administration has chosen this time to institute new regulations which for

the first time in 80 years scale back workers' entitlement to overtime pay, "

said Rep. David Obey (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis., a sponsor of the

overtime proposal.

 

Democrats sought to depict the issue as an election-season example of the Bush

administration's insensitivity to worker rights, saying the overtime privileges

of up to 6 million workers were at risk.

 

" This is the place where making ends meet happens because people have overtime

pay. Republicans cannot grasp that, " said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi

of California.

 

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) said the veto

threat is " the latest evidence of how dead wrong the Bush administration is when

it comes to meeting the needs of America's struggling middle class. "

 

The White House and most Republicans insisted the rules would update an

antiquated overtime pay system and make an additional 1 million lower-paid

workers eligible for overtime.

 

" I do think that the clarity that comes with these new rules will help better

protect American workers, " said Rep. John Boehner (news, bio, voting record),

R-Ohio, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

 

It was unclear how much impact the House vote would have on the biggest overhaul

of overtime regulations in more than half a century.

 

The Senate has yet to take up the health and education bill. House GOP Whip Roy

Blunt, R-Mo., said he expected that the provision would be removed when the

House and Senate meet to work out the final version of the bill.

 

He said that by that time there will be " overwhelming evidence " that the rules

are benefiting tens of thousands of workers.

 

Republican Rep. Steven LaTourette (news, bio, voting record) of Ohio, who voted

for the amendment, suggested there was a middle ground. " I would hope this vote,

taken together with some votes in the Senate, will let the administration say,

`Well, wait a minute, let's go back and revisit this case.' "

 

Democrats and pro-labor Republicans have fought for more than a year to stop the

Labor Department from going ahead with the proposed rules. The administration

said they were needed to adjust to changing working conditions and clear up

confusion that has led to lawsuits against employers.

 

" For those who receive overtime it's as high as 20 or 25 percent of their

income, " said Rep. George Miller (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif.,

co-sponsor of the provision with Obey. " It's the largest government-imposed pay

cut in the history of this country. "

 

 

 

The AFL-CIO, which has lobbied against the new rules, said the 6 million workers

facing weakened overtime protections include foremen and assistant managers,

nurses, workers in the financial services industry, journalists and others who

do small amounts of administrative work.

The department said 1.3 million workers who earn less than $23,660 a year would

become eligible, while about 107,000 white-collar workers making $100,000 or

more could lose eligibility.

The department said the amendment would put the overtime rights of millions in

jeopardy because the government could no longer protect those making more than

$23,660. " Especially hard-hit are police, firefighters, construction workers and

others whose overtime rights were explicitly guaranteed for the first time in

the new rules, " said Alfred B. Robinson, Jr., acting administrator for the Wage

and Hour Division.

In May, the Senate, by a 52-47 vote on a different bill, approved language

stating that no worker who currently qualifies for overtime should lose that

eligibility.

The Obey-Miller language blocks all aspects of the rules except those that

extend overtime to lower-paid workers.

___

On the Net:

Information on the spending bill, H.R. 5006, can be found at

http://thomas.loc.gov/

Labor Department overtime rules: http://www.dol.gov/esa/

 

 

 

 

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