House Votes to Block Overtime Rules

The House has voted 223-193 to block implementation of the new Labor Department overtime rules despite a veto threat by the president.Twenty Republican House members joined the Democrats in approving and attaching an amendment to the Labor Department appropriations bill that would block the department from enforcing the new overtime rules, which went into effect Aug. 23. However, House Republican leaders are determined to kill the overtime amendment before the appropriations bill goes to the president for his signature. The Mortgage Bankers Association and other industry groups support the new overtime rules because they reinforce their interpretation that loan officers receiving commissions are not entitled to overtime pay. "We remain confident that this will be the law of the land," said MBA's Erick Gustafson.