There's a big crowd here in the Big Easy: more than 10,000 human
resource professionals, nearly 800 exhibitors, and nearly 200 speakers?all
attending the Society for Human Resource Management's 56th-annual convention
and exposition.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives were able to block an attempt
by Democrats to force a vote on a measure that would alter the Bush administrations'
overhaul of the overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The Labor Department has published final rules governing the eligibility for
overtime in the Federal
Register. The department says employers have until August 23, 2004, to bring
their companies into compliance with the new regulations.
Democrats and labor groups say they will continue efforts to block new overtime
regulations that the Bush administration issued this week, the Boston Globe
reports.
The Department of Labor has reported that it collected $212.5 million in back wages for workers in fiscal year 2003, an increase of 21 percent from 2002 and the most collected back wages in 11 years.
Debate among Senate-House negotiators over the inclusion of an amendment to
block the Bush administration from revising the rules governing overtime for
white-collar workers has stalled legislation that would fund future government
programs, the Associated Press reports.
The House voted 221-203 Thursday in support of blocking the proposed changes to the overtime rules for white-collar workers. The Houston Chronicle reports that while the vote is nonbinding, it raises further doubt about the future of the proposed changes.
The Senate voted 54-45 on Wednesday to block proposed changes to the rules governing overtime for white-collar workers, raising uncertainty over the fate of the proposal to overhaul the Fair Labor Standards Act.
