More workers will be automatically eligible for overtime under a new rule effective Dec. 1, the US Department of Labor announced today. The new rule will add overtime protections to an estimated 4.2 million more Americans and increase wages for workers by $12 billion over the next 10 years.

Under the rule, employers must automatically pay overtime to most salaried workers making up to $47,476 per year, or $913 per week. Presently, prior to the new rule, the salary cutoff is $23,660 per year, or $455 per week.

In addition, the rule automatically updates the salary threshold every three years beginning Jan. 1, 2020 with the threshold expected to go to $51,168 at that time.

“The final rule provides some concession to employers in allowing the regular payment of nondiscretionary bonuses and commission to count towards 10% of the standard salary level,” said Fiona Coombe, director, legal & regulatory research, at Staffing Industry Analysts. “Employers also have time to comply before the rule comes into force. However, employers should review their workforce now to see how many employees, who were formerly exempt, will now be eligible for overtime pay, to be ready for Dec. 1 deadline.”

The rule also raises the “highly compensated employees” salary level above which most white collar workers are ineligible for overtime. The highly compensated level is going to an annual salary of $134,000 per year from the current salary of $100,000. This will be automatically updated every three years as well starting in 2020 when the salary level is expected to be $147,524.

One thing the new rules does not do is change the “duties test” to determine overtime eligibility for white collar, salaried workers that make more than the threshold but earn less than a “highly compensated employee,” according to the Department of Labor.

The new, final rule has raised concerns.

“The Department of Labor missed a real opportunity in finalizing the overtime rule,” Henry Jackson, president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, said in a statement. “Thousands of HR professionals expressed their concerns about the proposed rule. Although DOL responded to some of our comments, SHRM is disappointed in the dramatic increase in the salary under which employees are eligible for overtime and the automatic increases in the salary level.”

The National Retail Federation opposed the new rule and reported it will cost businesses millions of dollars in administrative costs while giving few workers an actual increase in take-home pay.

“DOL’s new overtime rules are a massive failure,” Senior VP for Government Relations David French wrote in a statement. “They are a failure of the regulatory process. They are a failure to listen. And, most of all, they are a failure to face reality.”