A federal judge from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the U.S. Department of Labor's request for expedited consideration of its appeal of a preliminary injunction against its new overtime rule. Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod granted the request Dec. 8. A briefing on the appeal will be completed January 31, 2017, and oral arguments have not yet been scheduled, according to the Texas Association of Business. On Dec. 1 the U.S. Department of Justice appealed a preliminary injunction granted by U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant against the labor department's overtime rule. The injunction is a response to two lawsuits filed against the DOL. The first lawsuit was filed by more than 50 business organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Association of Business. A second lawsuit was filed by 21 states, including Texas. The Texas Association of Business is monitoring the developments with the lawsuit, TAB president Chris Wallace said. Wallace said he hopes the expedited appeal leads to a permanent injunction. "The main thing is this [law] is a burden to business owners and a risk to employees," he said. "We welcome this ruling on the preliminary injunction. So hopefully after this ruling we’ll get a permanent injunction." Despite the injunction, local businesses have begun adjusting their business plans around the new rule, which would extend overtime protections to workers making less than $913 per week or $47,476 per year. Mazzant granted the preliminary injunction Nov. 22 against the federal rule that would update the overtime threshold across the U.S., extending overtime protection to more than 4 million salaried workers nationwide. According to the injunction, the court ruled the DOL does not have the statutory authority to apply the rule. The injunction states that Congress, not the department, has the authority to update the overtime threshold. However, the department said it disagrees with the court and believes it has the legal right to implement the rule. “The [rule] is the result of a comprehensive, inclusive rule-making process, and we remain confident in the legality of all aspects of the rule,” the DOL said in a statement.