WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Braun (R-IN), and 30 of their Senate Republican colleagues introduced a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to strike down the U.S. Department of Labor’s new Overtime Rule that would financially devastate small businesses by increasing the minimum salary threshold for overtime pay from $35,568 to $58,656:

“Small businesses have been forced to bear the brunt of Joe Biden’s failed economic policies, and this out-of-touch move by the Department of Labor is just the latest example,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This rule disregards the power of the free market and would result in the closure of countless mom-and-pop businesses in Texas, and I’m glad to join my colleagues to ensure it is struck down.”

“When the free market sets the price of labor, opportunity and prosperity are the result,” said Sen. Braun. “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.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), John Thune (R-SD), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Katie Britt (R-AL), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Tim Scott (R-SC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Todd Young (R-IN) joined the resolution.

Background:

During the Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a rule requiring overtime pay for employees earning less than $47,476 annually. The rule intended to update the threshold automatically every three years, but was blocked by a federal judge in Texas just before its implementation.

Under the Biden administration, this latest rule would increase the minimum salary threshold for overtime pay from the current $35,568 to $43,888 on July 1, 2024, and then to $58,656 on January 1, 2025. Because wages have been outpaced by inflation for the past 26 months, this rule would kneecap small businesses that are already struggling to keep their doors open in the face of inflation, which has increased 20% since President Biden took office.

The resolution is endorsed by Heritage Action, the International Franchise Association, and the National Restaurant Association.