Overtime Exempt Employees

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes that many types of employees are overtime exempt. Employers do not have to pay those employees overtime. Click to read more about how to calculate overtime.

What are Some Common Overtime Exemptions?

Employers do not have to pay overtime to all types of employees. Some of those types of employees follow.

  • Commissioned sales employees of retail or service firms do not have to be paid overtime if more than half of the employee's earnings come from commissions, and the employee averages at least 1.5 times the minimum wage for every hour worked.
  • Drivers, driver's helpers, loaders and mechanics do not have to be paid overtime if they are employed by a motor carrier, and if the employee's duties affect the safety of operation of vehicles in transportation of passengers or propery in interstate or foreign commerce.
  • Farmworkers employeed by small farms are exempt from being paid both minimum wage and overtime.
  • Salesmen, partsmen and mechanics employeed by auto dealers don't have to be paid overtime pay.
  • Executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees don't have to be paid overtime when they are paid on a salary basis.
  • Aircraft salespeople
  • Airline employees
  • Amusement/recreational employees in national parks/forests/Wildlife Refuge System
  • Babysitters on a casual basis
  • Boat salespeople
  • Buyers of agricultural products
  • Companions for the elderly
  • Country elevator workers (rural)
  • Domestic employees who live-in
  • Farm implement salespeople
  • Federal criminal investigators
  • Firefighters working in small (less than 5 firefighters) public fire departments
  • Fishing
  • Forestry employees of small (less than 9 employees) firms
  • Fruit & vegetable transportation employees
  • Homeworkers making wreaths
  • Houseparents in non-profit educational institutions
  • Livestock auction workers
  • Local delivery drivers and driver's helpers
  • Lumber operations employees of small (less than 9 employees) firms
  • Motion picture theater employees
  • Newspaper delivery
  • Newspaper employees of limited circulation newspapers
  • Police officers working in small (less than 5 officers) public police departments
  • Radio station employees in small markets
  • Railroad employees
  • Seamen on American vessels
  • Seamen on other than American vessels
  • Sugar processing employees
  • Switchboard operators
  • Taxicab drivers
  • Television station employees in small markets
  • Truck and trailer salespeople

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