Republicans grill Labor secretary over retirement, overtime rules

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez defended a number of controversial regulations — from overtime protections for low-wage workers to an investment rule for retirement advisers — Wednesday during a congressional hearing.

“Our north star is U.S. workers,” Perez told lawmakers.

{mosads}Perez made his second of three trips to Capitol Hill this week to testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee about the Labor Department’s regulations.

Republicans accused Perez of taking a “my-way-or-the-highway approach” to regulating. They expressed concerns about the so-called fiduciary rule, which would require retirement investment advisers to act in the best interest of their clients.

Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) suggested the fiduciary rule would raise the price of investment advice.

“I understand that when people have multi-million portfolios, they can afford this kind of thing,” Salmon said, but it would also put investment advice “out of reach for the common people.”

Perez disagreed.

“We have a shared interest in making sure everyone has access to retirement advice,” he said.

Republicans also expressed concerns about the Labor Department’s new overtime rule, which would increase the number of employees who are paid time-and-a-half when they work more than 40 hours in a week.

“You work extra, you should be paid extra,” Perez responded.

The Labor Department is also working on a rule to reduce the level of silica dust to which workers are exposed.

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) called it a “life-saving rule.”

“When you walk into work every morning, you have a right to come home without it killing you,” Perez said.