Exempt vs. non-exempt: are you really exempt from overtime?
Key points
- Being salaried doesn't make you exempt. Your employer must meet a salary level test, a salary basis test and a duties test.
- The federal minimum for most white-collar exemptions is $684 per week ($35,568 per year) in 2026.
- Several states set much higher salary minimums, including California, Washington and New York.
- Job titles don't decide exemption. What you actually do all day does.
The three-part test
To treat you as exempt under the executive, administrative or professional ("white-collar") exemptions, an employer generally has to satisfy all three of these:
- Salary level: you are paid at least the minimum salary.
- Salary basis: you receive a predetermined, fixed salary that isn't cut because of the quality or quantity of your work.
- Duties: your primary duty matches one of the exemption categories.
If any one part fails, the exemption fails, and you are owed overtime for hours over 40.
The 2026 salary levels
In May 2026 the U.S. Department of Labor formally removed its 2024 overtime rule, which courts had struck down, and confirmed the 2019 levels. The federal minimum is $684 per week ($35,568 per year). The "highly compensated employee" test uses $107,432 in total annual pay, with at least $684 a week paid as salary.
States can set higher minimums, and when they do, the higher number applies. As of 2026:
| Where you work | Weekly minimum | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Federal (all states) | $684.00 | $35,568 |
| Washington | $1,541.70 | $80,168.40 |
| California | $1,352.00 | $70,304 |
| New York (NYC, Long Island, Westchester) | $1,275.00 | $66,300 |
| New York (rest of state) | $1,199.10 | $62,353.20 |
| Alaska (from July 1, 2026) | $1,120.00 | $58,240 |
| Colorado | $1,111.23 | $57,784 |
| Maine | $871.16 | $45,300 |
State rules have their own details. For example, New York's higher figure applies to its executive and administrative exemptions. Check your state labor department for the latest numbers.
The duties tests in plain English
Executive
Your primary duty is managing the business or a recognized department, you regularly direct the work of at least two full-time employees (or the equivalent), and you can hire or fire, or your recommendations on those decisions carry real weight. An "assistant manager" who spends most of the day running a register usually doesn't fit.
Administrative
Your primary duty is office or non-manual work directly related to management or general business operations, and it includes exercising discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance. Following set procedures, data entry and routine clerical work don't qualify.
Professional
Learned professionals do work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning, usually acquired through a prolonged course of specialized study (think lawyers, doctors, engineers, accountants). Creative professionals do work requiring invention, imagination or talent in an artistic field. Teachers, and practicing doctors and lawyers, are exempt regardless of salary.
Red flags that you may be misclassified
- You're called a "manager" or "coordinator" but spend most of your time doing the same work as hourly staff.
- Your pay is cut for partial-day absences or slow weeks.
- You follow scripts, checklists or manuals with little real decision-making.
- You were switched from hourly to salary without any change in duties.
- You earn below your state's salary minimum.
Use the exempt screener for a quick check, then the back-pay calculator to see what may be owed.
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