The Senate voted 65 to 28 to pass an $820 billion spending bill without
a provision that would have blocked the Bush administration's proposal for changing
the overtime rules covering white-collar workers, the New York Times reports.
For a Limited Time receive a
FREE Compensation Market Analysis Report! Find out how much you should be paying to attract and retain the best applicants and employees, with
customized information for your industry, location, and job.
Get Your Report Now!Debate over the overtime rules, among other issues, had stalled passage of
the legislation. Democrats were using a filibuster in part to protest the decision
to drop the blocking measure from the final version of legislation. The Senate
voted 61 to 32 to end the filibuster before passing the massive spending bill Thursday,
the newspaper reports.
While the passage ends one round of the battle over the proposed overtime rules,
Democrats vowed to use other legislative measures to block the changes to rules
for white-collar workers, according to the newspaper.
Democrats and labor groups had thought they had one a victory in 2003 when
both the House and Senate approved a measure to block the overtime changes for
white-collar workers, although the House vote was nonbinding. However, House
and Senate negotiators dropped the measure from the spending bill before sending
it back to the chambers for a vote.
The House has already approved the $820 billion spending bill.
Link