WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Republican senators have frustrated President George Bush by voting down new Labor Department rules concerning white-collar overtime pay.
The Senate voted 52-47 to scrap new rules that would redefine what constitutes overtime, the Washington Post said Wednesday.
Five moderate Republicans broke party ranks to vote with nearly all Democrats in favor of keeping the administration from cutting anyone's overtime pay.
The dispute over overtime pay began last year when the Labor Department proposed the first comprehensive updating of the rules in 50 years, including broadening coverage for low-paid workers but cutting back on eligibility for those who are better paid -- as many as 8 million people, according to Democrats.
Last month, under pressure from Democrats, the department rewrote its proposal, reducing the number of workers who might lose their overtime pay.
In the revision just rejected, workers could still qualify for overtime if they make as much as $100,000 a year, instead of $65,000, as initially proposed. Police, firefighters and other first responders were also protected, and eligibility for low-income workers was also expanded.
