Senate Sends Message on Overtime

In an election-year snub of the Bush administration, the Republican-controlled Senate voted Tuesday to require that new Labor Department regulations guaranteed the right to overtime pay for all workers who currently qualified.

The vote was 52 to 47, with five Republicans siding with Democrats and organized labor.

“This is a clear message to the administration that this final rule should not be published and they should go back to the drawing board,” said Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, who led Democratic opposition to the regulations.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao countered that the Senate’s action “puts at risk the new, stronger overtime protections for police, firefighters, blue-collar workers and millions of other Americans guaranteed by the department’s final rules.”

“As the issue moves to the House, we will continue to expose the misinformation campaign against the rules and strengthen overtime rights for workers,” she added in a written statement.

The regulations are to take effect in August. Barring a reversal in the administration’s position, critics have several formidable obstacles to overcome to successfully block them.

The Senate’s action took the form of an amendment to corporate tax legislation that had been stalled for months and had yet to clear either house of Congress. Moreover, the administration threatened a veto last year when the Senate voted to stop implementation of an earlier set of overtime rules.

Republicans are “opposed to raising the minimum wage,” charged Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). “They’re opposed to extending unemployment benefits. This is their third crack at overtime and reducing overtime pay.”

GOP senators countered that Democrats were seeking political advantage by playing to key political supporters and donors, organized labor and trial lawyers.