WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Mike Braun, Senator Bill Cassidy, Senator Tommy Tuberville, and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell are leading 31 total Republican Senators in challenging President Biden’s new Overtime Rule published by the Department of Labor.
This Overtime Rule increases the minimum salary threshold for overtime pay from the current $35,568 to 58,656 in January 2025, and then increase every three years.
Small businesses have been crushed by President Biden’s economy. Inflation has increased 20% since Biden took office as a direct result of his federal tax-and-spending binge, forcing small businesses to make hard choices like raising prices just to stay above water. President Biden’s approval rating is under 30% among small business owners, and has dropped consistently since he took office.
Biden’s Department of Labor now wants to apply the same heavy-handed government approach to wages, which have been outpaced by inflation for the past 26 months, with their new Overtime Rule.
This rule replaces a Trump rule from 2019 that set the salary threshold at $35,568. It is notable that Biden’s new proposed salary threshold ($55,068) is significantly higher than the one proposed by the Obama administration ($47,476) which was declared to be an invalid extension of executive authority in federal court. This follows President Biden’s precedent of ignoring judicial rulings, as he did when transferring of billions in student loan debt from borrowers to taxpayers.
The Senators are challenging the rule under the Congressional Review Act, and will introduce their disapproval resolution today.
The Senators challenging Biden’s Overtime Rule are Senators Mike Braun, Bill Cassidy, Tommy Tuberville, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, Senator John Barrasso, Senator Steve Daines, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Senator John Boozman, Senator Katie Britt, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Tom Cotton, Senator Kevin Cramer, Senator Mike Crapo, Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Bill Hagerty, Senator John Hoeven, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Senator John Kennedy, Senator James Lankford, Senator Cynthia Lummis, Senator Roger Marshall, Senator Jerry Moran, Senator Markwayne Mullin, Senator Pete Ricketts, Senator Jim Risch, Senator Tim Scott, Senator Roger Wicker, and Senator Todd Young.
“When the free market sets the price of labor, opportunity and prosperity are the result. When the federal government sets the price of labor by one-size-fits-all mandates, small businesses are forced to fire employees and close shop to make ends meet. We’re leading a challenge to this new Biden rule because this White House’s out-of-touch economic policies have been an unparalleled disaster for American wages.”—Sen. Mike Braun
“Americans are already struggling to make ends meet under Bidenomics. With inflation at 40-year highs and millions dropping out of the workforce, Biden’s overtime rule pours gasoline on the fire. Businesses shouldn’t be forced to choose between laying off their workers and raising prices on families.”—Dr. Bill Cassidy
“Joe Biden’s economy is bad enough for working families and small businesses without additional meddling from D.C. bureaucrats and the Biden administration. When Joe Biden takes away these options from small businesses, the employees looking to get better jobs and better pay will suffer the most.”—Sen. Tom Cotton
“Arbitrarily raising the overtime threshold by $20,000 is reckless and yet another example of Joe Biden’s regulatory war on the Mainstreet businesses that drive our economy. I’m proud to stand with and fight for our small businesses and schools that would be crushed if Biden had his way with this rule.”—Sen. Roger Marshall
“Here we go again with another one-size-fits-all approach that simply doesn’t make sense for small businesses, especially those in rural states like Mississippi where the cost of living is far lower. We’ve seen blue cities and states issue unrealistic wage mandates with predictably bad outcomes for small business growth and jobs. Now the Biden administration wants to go nationwide with these schemes. This is another rule that needs to be stopped.” – Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith
“For more than three years, the Biden administration has punished small business owners across Wyoming with its record-breaking inflation rates and anti-growth policies. My Republican colleagues and I are proud to act as the last line of defense for small businesses across the country by blocking this administration’s misguided effort to force unrealistic salary thresholds on an industry it is already crushing.”—Sen. Cynthia Lummis
“After years of rising prices, small businesses need real relief, not more bureaucratic regulation and mandates. I strongly oppose this rule from the Biden Administration and will continue to support our Hoosier small businesses.”—Sen. Todd Young
“We continue to see the effects of the Biden Administration’s failed economic policies. Burdensome, heavy-handed federal mandates harm small businesses; instead, we should be encouraging growth through free market policies.”—Sen. Mike Crapo
“The National Restaurant Association has serious concerns with the impact the overtime rule will have on restaurant operators, especially the significant cost increases that come with it so soon after an increase just four years ago. Input costs for operators have increased significantly since then, with a 30 percent increase in labor costs alone in the last four years. On top of that, the Department of Labor did not heed our concerns, especially as it relates to regional discrepancies and the burden of automatic increases every three years. We appreciate Sen. Braun showing his support of the industry by introducing this legislation to draw attention to problems with the DOL’s approach on this issue.” – Sean Kennedy, Executive Vice President, National Restaurant Association
Read the resolution HERE.
This challenge is endorsed by:
- Heritage Action
- International Franchise Association
- National Restaurant Association
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