Nearly five million U.S. workers will become newly eligible for overtime pay on December 1st. A new federal rule backed by the Obama administration under the Fair Labor Standards Act will make these workers eligible for overtime pay.

Time and a half pay is mandatory under the new rule for any worker making less than $47,476 per year. That pay threshold re-adjusts every three years to keep up with changing wages.

More full-time salaried workers were eligible for overtime in 1975 than today. back then 62 percent of salaried workers qualified for overtime pay. Today just 7 percent of full-time salaried workers are covered by overtime laws.