Payroll spreadsheetThe U.S. Department of Labor announced this month a change in regulations that will make more than 4 million salaried employees eligible for overtime pay.

The new rule will double the eligible salary threshold for overtime pay, raising it from $23,660 to $47,476 per year. The Obama administration says that the shift will increase wages by $1.2 billion annually, claiming that it will “boost our economy across the board, as these families spend their hard-earned wages.”

Some sectors, including Main Street business owners, object to the new overtime mandate. The National Retail Federation deemed the new rule a “career killer,” as many businesses will feel inclined to demote millions of workers.

Small business owner Rodney Kloha of Midland, MI, is deeply troubled by the overtime rule. He argues, “With this rule the [Department of Labor] is trying to do a one-size-fits-all, and unfortunately it doesn’t fit for a lot of small businesses.” He pointed out that living wages vary across the country, so a salary of $30,000 to $40,000 may be difficult for some small businesses to pay employees in certain regions.

On the other hand, worker’s rights groups such as the National Employment Law Project are in favor of the change. This group argues that the new overtime rule will restore the integrity of the Fair Labor Standard Act’s guarantee of a 40-hour work week.

The organization’s executive director, Christine Owens said in a statement, “Current regulations give employers a major loophole for avoiding overtime pay, allowing them to classify workers earning as little as $23,440 as managers, though they have scant supervisory or managerial duties, and then require them to put in excessive hours, without any pay at all for their overtime hours.”

U.S. workers now work on average 164 hours longer per year than they did 20 years ago. Many employees are putting in overtime without proper compensation. With this in mind, the shift in overtime policy will seemingly put middle-class workers on an even playing field, bulking up their wallets as well as local economies. However, small businesses in more “humble” regions may struggle to live up to the Department of Labor’s new regulations, causing local economies to crumble.

For workers in Rochester, the median household income is $30,708. Only time will tell how this new change in policy will affect Rochester businesses and residents.