Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (and some state law equivalents), employees who are exempt from either overtime pay or both minimum wage and overtime pay because they satisfy the requirements of one or more exempt employee categories.

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

Exempt status is not determined by an employee's job title or job description or by the fact that the employee is paid a salary. An employee's actual job duties and, in most cases, the nature and amount of their compensation, must satisfy the test for a particular exemption. Employers bear the burden of demonstrating that those requirements are met.

For more information, see FLSA White Collar Exemptions Checklist.

Under state or local wage and hour law, employees who are exempt from the state or local minimum wage, overtime pay, or other wage and hour requirements.

State and local laws often expressly exempt the same categories of employees 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.