A federal court has blocked the start of a rule that would have made an estimated 4 million more American workers eligible for overtime pay next week.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas granted the nationwide preliminary injunction. The Court ruled that, in creating the new minimum salary threshold rules, the Department of Labor exceeded the authority the agency was delegated by Congress. A total of 21 states had challenged the rule in federal court.

The new regulation, which was set to go into effect on December 1, would have adjusted the "white collar exemption" that allows employers to avoid paying overtime to salaried administrative or professional workers who make more than $23,660 per year. The new threshold annual salary would have been adjusted to $47,500, which would adjust every three years.

The DOL is now considering its legal options. But it could fall to the new Trump administration or Congress to amend or discard the new overtime rules.

If you have questions about overtime eligibility for your employees, please contact Gray, Gray & Gray at (781) 407-0300.