Unless exempt, a covered employee must get overtime pay of at least one and a half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. DOL
This checker asks up to three questions and links each rule it uses to the regulation or Labor Department guidance it comes from.
GovFacts tool
Overtime Exemption Checker
Answer up to three questions to see whether federal law likely requires overtime pay or makes the job exempt. It covers the common rules, and each result names the exceptions that could change it.
How to answer this
A salary is a set amount each pay period that isn’t cut because of the quality or amount of work. § 541.602(a)
Administrative and professional employees can instead be paid a set fee for each unique job, regardless of the time it takes. § 541.605(a)
How this checker works:
- Unless exempt, a covered employee must get overtime pay of at least one and a half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. DOL
- Most exempt employees must be paid a salary of at least $684 a week. § 541.600(a)
- An employee with total yearly pay of at least $107,432, including at least $684 a week in salary or fee pay, is exempt if the main duties include office or non-manual work and the employee regularly does at least one duty of an exempt executive, administrative or professional employee. § 541.601(a), (b)
- A job title doesn’t decide it; the actual duties and pay do. § 541.2
- Hands-on workers in production, maintenance, construction and similar jobs, such as carpenters, electricians, mechanics and plumbers, aren’t covered by the white-collar exemptions however much they earn, unless they manage. DOL
How This Checker Decides
- Unless exempt, a covered employee must get overtime pay of at least one and a half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. DOL
- Most exempt employees must be paid a salary of at least $684 a week. § 541.600(a)
- An employee with total yearly pay of at least $107,432, including at least $684 a week in salary or fee pay, is exempt if the main duties include office or non-manual work and the employee regularly does at least one duty of an exempt executive, administrative or professional employee. § 541.601(a), (b)
- A job title doesn’t decide it; the actual duties and pay do. § 541.2
- Hands-on workers in production, maintenance, construction and similar jobs, such as carpenters, electricians, mechanics and plumbers, aren’t covered by the white-collar exemptions however much they earn, unless they manage. DOL
The Salary Test
- A salary is a set amount each pay period that isn’t cut because of the quality or amount of work. § 541.602(a)
- Most exempt employees must be paid a salary of at least $684 a week. That’s $1,368 every two weeks, $1,482 twice a month or $2,964 a month. § 541.600(a)§ 541.600(b)
- Nondiscretionary bonuses and commissions (promised in advance, not left to the employer’s choice) paid at least once a year can count for up to 10% of that level; that 10% credit doesn’t apply to a highly compensated employee’s $684 a week. § 541.602(a)(3)
- An employee with total yearly pay of at least $107,432, including at least $684 a week in salary or fee pay, is exempt if the main duties include office or non-manual work and the employee regularly does at least one duty of an exempt executive, administrative or professional employee. That total can include commissions and nondiscretionary bonuses, but not benefits such as health insurance or retirement contributions. § 541.601(a), (b)§ 541.601(b)(1)
The Duties Tests
- Executive: the main duty is managing the business or a recognized department, the employee regularly directs the work of at least two full-time employees or the equivalent, and the employee can hire or fire or has recommendations on hiring, firing, promotions or other changes in status that carry real weight. DOL
- Administrative: the main duty is office or non-manual work directly related to running the business, and it includes using discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance. DOL
- Learned professional: the main duty requires advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning, usually gained through a prolonged course of specialized study, and consistent judgment. DOL
- Creative professional: the main duty requires invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized artistic or creative field. DOL
- Computer employee: a systems analyst, programmer, software engineer or similarly skilled computer worker whose main duty is analyzing, designing, building, testing or changing systems or programs. DOL
- Outside sales: the main duty is making sales or getting orders or contracts, done regularly away from the employer’s places of business; there’s no salary requirement. § 541.500
- Teachers whose main duty is teaching at a school or other educational establishment are exempt professionals, with no salary requirement. § 541.303(a), 541.600(e)
Jobs the White-Collar Exemptions Don’t Cover
- Hands-on workers in production, maintenance, construction and similar jobs, such as carpenters, electricians, mechanics and plumbers, aren’t covered by the white-collar exemptions however much they earn, unless they manage. DOL
- Police officers, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, corrections officers, investigators and similar first responders aren’t covered by them either, whatever their rank or pay, when they do that front-line work. DOL
- Other exemptions cover jobs such as certain commissioned employees of retail or service businesses, some auto, truck, and farm equipment salespeople and mechanics at dealers, railroad and airline employees, taxi drivers, certain motor carrier employees, and live-in domestic workers. DOL
- Public police and fire departments can count overtime over work periods of up to 28 days rather than each week. § 553.201
- State and local governments have special rules for comp time, time off given instead of cash overtime pay. It’s allowed only under an agreement or understanding reached before the work. DOL§ 553.22, 553.23