The salary basis test requires that an exempt employee be paid:
A salary at a rate at least equal to the standard salary level of $684 a week. Special salary levels apply to US territories. Some practitioners treat this minimum threshold as a separate "salary level" test. (29 C.F.R. § 541.600.)
On a salary basis, meaning that:
the employee is paid on a weekly or less frequent basis (for example, monthly);
the employee receives, during each pay period, a predetermined amount comprising all or part of their compensation;
the amount is not subject to reduction because of variations in the quality or quantity of the work performed; and
the employer does not take impermissible deductions from the employee's salary. Permissible deductions are identified in the FLSA regulations (29 C.F.R. § 541.602(b)).