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Political roundup: AG Schuette joins federal overtime lawsuit; Mich. lobbyists spend at record pace

Attorney General Bill Schuette
Bill Schuette
Attorney General Bill Schuette

 

It's time for another political roundup with Ken Sikkema and Susan Demas?.

Attorney General Bill Schuette joined a lawsuit this week to try to block an overtime pay rule that came out of Washington.

It would require businesses to pay overtime to salary workers who earn less than $47,500 a year. That’s up from about $24,000.

According to Sikkema, “Any of these federal regulations that deal with pay, whether it’s minimum wage or whether it’s overtime pay, are going to be looked at skeptically by Republicans. [Schuette] is not the only one.”

The Obama administration calls this lawsuit a partisan obstructionist tactic. Schuette says the increased overtime pay is a job-killer.

“Naturally there are a lot of business groups that are concerned about these rules, especially on the impact they may have on smaller businesses,” Demas said. “What we've seen is, it’s usually the same collection of attorneys general who band together in lawsuits like against gay marriage, against Obamacare, and now against these overtime rules.”

Sikkema and Demas talk more about the lawsuit, lobbyist spending and proposed legislation that would give developers tax credits for large projects in our conversation above.

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