Congress has an opportunity to undo the administration's rollback of overtime protections. A final rule from the Department of Labor would disqualify over 6 million workers from overtime protections. An amendment to the Labor appropriations bill, proposed by Congressman David Obey, would restore overtime rights while preserving an inflation adjustment to the minimum salary that determines automatic overtime eligibility.

OMB Watch stands by the proposition that the federal government should use its regulatory powers to serve the public interest. The Department of Labor has not lived up to that obligation during the course of this administration. For example, DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has yet to produce a single economically significant protection of worker health and safety, even as it has abandoned work on many proposals to address documented needs. The Bush administration’s overtime regulations are the latest example of this overall failure to serve workers’ needs. Fortunately, Congress has an opportunity—the Obey amendment—to stop DOL from further harming the labor force it is charged with protecting.

Tell Congress to save overtime rights and support the Obey amendment! Click here to send a message to your members of Congress.



Posted by Becky Lewis, 05:21:02 PM

Tuesday, September 07, 2004