WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to delay adoption of pending overtime pay rules by six months, passing legislation that pushes back the start date to June 1, 2017.
The measure—which passed 246 to 177, nearly along party lines—has yet to be taken up by the full Senate, and President Barack Obama has already issued a statement promising to veto it.
Retailer, restaurant and other small-businesses groups hailed the passage of the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools and Nonprofits Act (HR 6094) as a victory. The National Retail Federation (NRF) praised the House passage of the legislation. Prior to the vote, NRF told lawmakers in a letter that action on the legislation would be included in its annual voting scorecard.
“Lawmakers from both parties recognize that the administration’s radical changes to overtime rules are too much, too fast,” said David French, NRF senior vice president for government relations. “With the Dec. 1 compliance deadline looming, the window for congressional action is quickly closing. Pushing pause on implementing these one-size-fits-all regulations would provide welcome breathing room for retailers large and small struggling to comply with the changes during the holidays, their busiest time of the year. We urge the Senate to help millions of employers and employees by stepping in to help fix or delay the overtime rules."
The new regulations will require employers to pay overtime to most workers who make up to $47,476 per year when they work more than 40 hours a week, more than double the current threshold of $23,660.
“We all agree we need to modernize our nation’s overtime rules, but small businesses … should not be hurt in the process,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), who sponsored the bill. “The department needs to abandon this flawed rule and pursue the balanced approach we’ve been fighting for from the start. Instead, they are forcing those who have to deal with the real-world consequences to make significant changes before an arbitrary December deadline. While the department continues to ignore widespread concerns, the House has taken an important bipartisan step to provide hardworking Americans more time to implement this expansive rule. The administration should do the right thing and approve this much-needed delay.”
“While this bill seeks to delay implementation, the real goal is clear—delay and then deny overtime pay to workers,” the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement. “With a strong economy and labor market, now is a good time for employers to provide these essential protections for workers, who cannot afford to wait. If the president were presented with HR 6094, he would veto the bill."
The NRF and other retail groups recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of the millions of employers—including convenience stores and restaurants—and their employees who will be drastically affected if the changes to the federal overtime rules go into effect on Dec. 1. A coalition of 21 state attorneys general also has filed a lawsuit challenging the new overtime rule.
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