House GOP moves to block overtime rule

House Republicans are looking to shut down an effort by the Obama administration to raise overtime pay for millions of workers.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) on Thursday filled a motion of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act in an effort to repeal the Labor Department’s new overtime rule.

“Our nation’s overtime rules need to be modernized, but the Department of Labor’s extreme and partisan approach will lead to damaging consequences that the American people simply cannot afford,” Foxx said. “This resolution will protect workers, students, small business owners, and vulnerable individuals from a rule that will do more harm than good.”

The Labor Department’s overtime rule was finalized in May and will raise pay for Americans who work more than 40 hours in a week.

Currently, salaried employees who make more than $23,660 in a year do not qualify for overtime protection, but the new rule would raise that threshold to $47,476 per year.

The Labor Department says this would increase pay for more than 4 million low-wage employees who work long hours.

But Republicans say it will propel businesses to lay off workers and cut their hours to avoid paying time-and-a-half.

“The Department of Labor has finalized a rule that will limit opportunities for workers, make it harder to realize the dream of a college education, and jeopardize important services for individuals in need,” House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) said in a statement.

The overtime rule is set to go into effect on Dec. 1, but Senate and now House Republicans hope to block it along with a handful of other Labor Department regulations.

Even if Republicans vote down the overtime rule, they likely will not have enough support to overcome a veto from President Obama.