Since the U.S. Department of Labor issued the finalized White Collar Overtime Exemption Rule (the “Rule”) in May this year, employers across the country have been preparing to comply with the Rule’s requirement for white collar employees to earn $47,476 annually in order to maintain exemption status rather than being paid overtime.  In an eleventh hour ruling, just days before its effective date of December 1st, a Texas federal judge ordered a preliminary injunction on the Rule, preventing the Rule from going into effect nationally on its slated December 1^st start date.  The Rule was expected to result in millions of workers either (a) being re-classified as non-exempt, and therefore entitled to wage and hour protections, including overtime pay; or (b) receiving dramatic salary increases to keep workers classified as exempt.