Johnson Statement on Court Suspension of Overtime Rule

OSHKOSH — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said this Wednesday regarding a Texas Federal District Judge granting a preliminary injunction against the Labor Department’s overtime rule:

“I applaud the decision by a U.S. District Court to issue a preliminary injunction halting the implementation of the Department of Labor’s “overtime rule.” The court took a sensible approach and acknowledged the need for additional time to consider the pending case. I recently wrote to Labor Secretary Perez as well as heads of other agencies, asking them to cease implementation of costly rules such as this in order to avoid piling compliance costs on consumers and businesses. In light of the fact that the incoming administration and Congress are likely to re-examine and unwind many of these regulations – such as the Department of Labor’s “fiduciary” rule, the EPA’s “Clean Power Plan” and redefinition of the waters of the United States, and the FDA’s “e-cigs” rule – I urged these agencies to recognize they can and should avoid placing additional regulatory burdens on the American people.”   

Background:

In June, Sens. Johnson and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) led 44 senators in introducing legislation under the Congressional Review Act to block implementation of the overtime rule.