Effective Dec. 1, the U.S. overtime pay threshold for white-collar, salaried employees will increase from $23,660 per year to $47,476 per year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The new threshold determined May 17 will affect about 4.2 million employees nationwide, including 370,000 employees in Texas and many in The Woodlands area. The DOL estimates white-collar workers will earn an additional $1.2 billion per year as a result of the rule.

After the initial threshold increase, the salary threshold will increase every three years, beginning Jan. 1, 2020.

The salary threshold is being raised based on the 40th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage census region, currently the South, according to the DOL. Each update will also increase the threshold to the 40th percentile, which is estimated to be $51,168 in 2020.

The highly compensated employees salary level is also being increased to the 90th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally, which raises the level from the current $100,000 per year to $134,004 per year.

The new overtime pay threshold is slightly less than what the DOL originally estimated for 2016, which was $50,440 per year. The DOL also originally proposed updating the threshold every year.

Under the original estimated threshold increase, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in 2014, 25.6 percent of workers in The Woodlands earned less than $50,000; 35.1 percent of workers in Oak Ridge North earned less than $50,000; and 40.7 percent of workers in Shenandoah earned less than $50,000.

“Once again, this White House has chosen government red tape over economic growth,” said U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands. “Today’s overtime rule makes no sense for American businesses or American workers. Small and big businesses, nonprofits, local government and academic institutions will be forced to reduce hours and cut jobs to stay afloat. My colleagues and I are exploring all options to bring common sense back to Washington and stop America’s workforce from shouldering the punishing consequences of this ill-conceived rule.”

There is currently no exemption for small businesses and nonprofits.

In a May 17 email from U.S. President Barack Obama, he said employees should either get paid for working more than 40 hours a week or get extra time off to spend with family.

“This is a step in the right direction to strengthen and secure the middle class by raising Americans’ wages,” Obama said in the email. “When workers have more income, they spend it—often at businesses in their local community—and that helps grow the economy for everyone.”

The DOL updated the overtime pay rule after Obama signed a presidential memorandum in 2014 directing the DOL to update its regulations that define which white-collar workers are protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime rules.

The FLSA, which was passed in 1938, establishes overtime and minimum wage standards.