With a halt on new overtime rules, what’s next for startups?

Disruption is good, right?

Well, as the Game of Thrones memes say: “Brace yourselves.”

The Department of Labor overtime rules that were originally scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 1 have now been indefinitely postponed due to an injunction issued on Nov.22 by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant.

These rules were set to nearly double the salary threshold for an employee to be considered “exempt” from overtime standards, and would have affected an estimated four million employees. The rules had the potential to significantly affect early-stage and pre-revenue companies that had elected to form as C-corporations, among other things.

The injunction was issued in response to a challenge filed by twenty-one states. The challenge is now working it’s way through the legal system, although the opinion of a majority of experts is that the ruling should now be considered to be effectively nullified long-term.

So, what are the next steps?

If you didn’t make any changes to your compensation packages, there’s now no need to change going forward. If your company has already issued notifications of salary increases, most experts are advising that these increases remain in effect for the time being. Thus, update your financials forecasts as needed, huddle up the team, and finish out the year strong.

Dan Schmidt is the founder and CEO of The Emerging Business CFO, a virtual business accounting and financial advisory firm that works to free founders and entrepreneurs from the stress of managing the daily operational grind. The company offers bookkeeping, accounting, cash flow management, payroll and CFO services.