Whether your employer owes you overtime depends entirely on which side of this line you're on. The line isn't about your job title or your salary alone — it's about a specific three-part test that's misunderstood more often than not. Here's the full breakdown, current as of May 2026.
Non-exempt employees are entitled to minimum wage and overtime (1.5× regular rate after 40 hours/week under FLSA). Most hourly workers fall here.
Exempt employees are not entitled to overtime regardless of hours worked. To be properly exempt, an employee must meet all three of:
Miss any one of these three and the employee is non-exempt — entitled to overtime, regardless of what the offer letter says.
Being "paid on salary" doesn't just mean getting a flat paycheck. It means the employee receives a predetermined amount that cannot be reduced based on quality or quantity of work. With a few exceptions:
If your employer docks your salary by hours for showing up late, you're not really salaried — you're hourly with extra steps, and you're entitled to overtime.
The Department of Labor sets a minimum salary level below which no employee can be exempt. Recent history:
| Effective date | Annual threshold | Weekly |
|---|---|---|
| December 2016 (blocked) | $47,476 | $913 |
| January 2020 | $35,568 | $684 |
| July 2024 | $43,888 | $844 |
| January 2025 (planned, partially in effect) | $58,656 | $1,128 |
The 2024–2025 increases were partially struck down by federal courts in late 2024. The current operating threshold as of May 2026 is $43,888/year. Check the DOL's Wage and Hour Division for the latest, since this changes regularly.
The employee's primary duty must be managing the enterprise or a recognized department, must regularly direct the work of at least two full-time employees, and must have authority to hire/fire or whose recommendations on hiring/firing carry "particular weight."
Not exempt: a "shift lead" at a coffee shop who has a higher pay grade but no real hire/fire authority and supervises only one other person.
Primary duty must be office or non-manual work directly related to management or general business operations and must include exercising discretion and independent judgment on significant matters.
The "discretion and independent judgment" requirement is what disqualifies most "administrative" employees. A bookkeeper following established procedures isn't exercising judgment. An HR manager designing benefit programs is.
Two sub-categories:
Computer systems analysts, programmers, software engineers, and similar workers earning at least $684/week salary OR $27.63/hour. Lower-skilled "computer" work (data entry, equipment installation) is NOT exempt.
Primary duty must be making sales or obtaining contracts, and the employee must be customarily and regularly engaged AWAY from the employer's place of business. No minimum salary required for this exemption. Inside sales (call centers, retail) does not qualify.
Regardless of pay or title, these workers cannot be classified as exempt under FLSA white-collar exemptions:
"Working manager" at retail/restaurant — often paid a salary just above the threshold, given a title like "Assistant Manager," but actually spends 80% of their time doing the same work as hourly staff. The duties test fails — they're non-exempt.
"Salaried" startup employee — paid $50K salary, given a title, but works as an individual contributor without supervisory authority. Fails the executive duties test unless they qualify as a professional or administrative employee.
"Independent contractor" who works full-time for one client — set hours, employer-provided tools, no control over how work is done. The IRS and DOL apply the "economic reality" test, and this often classifies as employee (entitled to overtime), not contractor.
Misclassification has a 2-year statute of limitations (3 years for willful violations). The DOL recovers hundreds of millions in back pay each year over this single issue.
The cost of misclassification is steep: back wages for the full statute of limitations period, an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus attorney fees. Audit your exempt classifications annually, especially after the 2024–2025 threshold changes, and document the duties test for each exempt employee.
Last updated May 2026. If something here is wrong or out of date, email contactus@calculatehours.net — we update fast.