Do Salaried Employees Get Overtime?

Whether salaried employees get overtime has nothing to do with the word “salaried” and everything to do with two tests under the Fair Labor Standards Act: how much you’re paid and what you actually do. Employers get this wrong constantly, sometimes on purpose. Putting a worker on salary does not make them exempt. A salaried employee who fails either test is owed time-and-a-half for every hour over 40 in a workweek, and that back pay can reach back two years, or three if the violation was willful.

The salary threshold most salaried employees get overtime under

Federal law sets a floor. As of 2026, an employee must earn at least $684 per week, or $35,568 a year, on a salary basis to even be considered exempt. Below that number, overtime is owed no matter what the job title says. The Department of Labor tried to raise that floor to $58,656 in 2024. A federal court in Texas vacated the rule, the department dropped its appeal, and in May 2026 it formally restored the $684 figure. Several states set their own thresholds higher, sometimes much higher. California’s, for example, is roughly double the federal number. The higher figure wins.

The duties test is where most misclassification lives

Earning above the threshold is necessary but not sufficient. The employee must also perform the duties of an executive, administrative, or professional exemption as defined in the federal regulations. An executive manages a department and directs at least two full-time employees, with real say in hiring and firing. An administrative employee does office work directly related to running the business and exercises independent judgment on significant matters. A professional exemption requires advanced knowledge, usually a degree, in a field like law, medicine, engineering, or accounting. A “manager” who spends most shifts running a register doesn’t meet the executive test. A “coordinator” who follows a checklist doesn’t meet the administrative one.

Jobs the salary threshold doesn’t apply to

A few exemptions have no salary floor at all. Teachers, doctors, and lawyers are exempt based on duties alone. Outside sales employees are exempt without a salary requirement. Computer employees can be exempt if paid at least $27.63 an hour. And some jobs are never exempt regardless of pay: most manual labor, first responders, and licensed practical nurses, among others.

How salaried employees get overtime calculated

For a non-exempt salaried worker, the regular rate is the weekly salary divided by the hours it was meant to cover, typically 40. Overtime is one and a half times that rate for each hour over 40. The regular rate has to include non-discretionary bonuses and commissions, which is a second place employers frequently underpay. The workweek is fixed and can’t be averaged across two weeks to erase overtime in one of them.

What happens when the classification is wrong

An employee misclassified as exempt can recover unpaid overtime for two years, three if willful, plus an equal amount as liquidated damages and attorney’s fees. Claims can be filed with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division or in court, and the FLSA prohibits retaliation for either. The employer’s belief that the job was exempt is not a defense to the back pay, though it can affect the liquidated damages.

The bottom line

Salaried employees get overtime unless the employer can prove both the salary test and the duties test, and the burden is on the employer. The federal floor is back at $684 a week after the 2024 increase was thrown out, but the duties test is where most disputes are actually decided. A salary is a pay method. An exemption is a legal status. The two are routinely confused, and the confusion almost always costs the worker.

Keep reading: Employment and labor attorneys · How lawyers charge

This article is general information about overtime and wage-and-hour law and is not legal advice. Laws differ by state and change over time, and the facts of your situation matter. For guidance on your own circumstances, consult a licensed attorney in your state.