Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees who are not exempt from the FLSA's minimum wage or overtime pay protections.

The most common exemptions under the FLSA are the following (the so-called white-collar exemptions):

Employees who do not satisfy the requirements for exemption must be paid minimum wage and overtime pay in accordance with the FLSA.

For more information, see Practice Notes, Wage and Hour Law: Overview: Calculating Overtime Correctly and Defending Wage and Hour Collective Actions.

Under state or local wage and hour law, employees who are not exempt from the state or local minimum wage, overtime pay, or other wage and hour requirements. State and local law often expressly exempts the same categories of employees that are exempt under the FLSA. However, states and localities may also:

For more information on state wage and hour exemptions, see Wage and Hour Laws: State Q&A Tool and Multi-State Charts Toolkit.

Employers must comply with the applicable federal, state, or local law that provides employees with greater rights or protections.