2020 Overtime Salary Threshold
For 2020, the Overtime Salary Threshold is $684 (Standard salary level per week), $35,568 (Standard salary level, annual equivalent) and $107,432 (Highly compensated employee total annual compensation).
Effective 2020-01-01Source: Earnings thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional exemption from minimum wage and overtime protections under the FLSA (DOL)Verified 2026-09-01
Who it applies to
Employers and employees covered by the FLSA who rely on the executive, administrative, or professional exemption from overtime pay requirements.
What changed this year, and why
The Department of Labor set the minimum salary thresholds for the executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) exemption from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act for 2020.
Common questions
- What is the standard salary level for the EAP exemption in 2020?
- For 2020, the standard salary level is $684 per week, equivalent to $35,568 per year. Employees paid below this amount generally do not qualify for the executive, administrative, or professional overtime exemption.
- What is the total annual compensation threshold for highly compensated employees in 2020?
- For 2020, the total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees is $107,432, which must include at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis.
Being paid a salary means a predetermined amount that does not vary
The salary basis test is one of three tests an employee must pass to qualify for the executive, administrative, or professional overtime exemption under federal law. Under this test, the employee must be paid a predetermined and fixed salary that is not subject to reduction because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed. In other words, the employee receives a set amount each pay period regardless of how many hours are worked or how the output varies week to week. This requirement is separate from the salary level test, which sets a minimum threshold, and the duties test, which looks at what the employee actually does on the job. An employer who docks a salaried employee's pay based on the amount of work completed risks failing the salary basis test and losing the exemption, meaning the worker would be entitled to overtime pay. The federal salary basis test applies nationwide; if a state sets a higher standard, the higher state standard controls instead.
required each of the following three tests to be met: (1) The employee must be paid a predetermined and fixed salary that is not subject to reduction because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed (the ``salary basis test'');
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees (84 FR 51230, September 27, 2019) (DOL)
The salary is only half of it: the duties test
Meeting the salary threshold is only one half of the exemption analysis. The employee's job duties must also qualify. The Department's standard duties test focuses on whether an employee's primary duty consists of executive, administrative, or professional tasks. An employee whose principal work involves manual labor, repetitive production-line operations, or other non-exempt functions does not satisfy this test, regardless of how much salary they earn. The salary level and salary basis tests exist to screen out workers who are not performing bona fide executive, administrative, or professional duties. Workers who fail the duties test remain nonexempt and entitled to federal overtime protections, even if their employer pays them well above $684 per week ($35,568 annually) and labels them exempt. Both the salary and duties requirements must be met together - neither one alone is sufficient to establish exempt status under federal law.
The Department believes that the standard duties test, which focuses on whether an employee's ``primary duty'' consists of EAP tasks, can appropriately distinguish bona fide EAP employees from nonexempt workers.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees (84 FR 51230, September 27, 2019) (DOL)
The shorter test for highly compensated employees
Employees who earn well above the standard salary threshold face a shorter, more lenient test. To qualify under this alternative, an employee must receive at least the standard salary level each pay period on a salary or fee basis, and total annual compensation must reach at least $107,432. The remainder beyond the weekly salary may include commissions, nondiscretionary bonuses, and other nondiscretionary compensation. The employee must also customarily and regularly perform any one or more of the exempt duties of an executive, administrative, or professional employee. This test applies only to employees whose primary duty includes performing office or non-manual work. Non-management production-line workers and employees performing repetitive manual tasks cannot qualify, no matter how much they earn. If an employee falls short of the $107,432 threshold during the year, the employer may make a catch-up payment during the last pay period or within one month after the year ends to bring total compensation up to the required level.
This test applies ``only to employees whose primary duty includes performing office or non-manual work.''
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees (84 FR 51230, September 27, 2019) (DOL)
When a bonus can count toward the salary level
Federal overtime rules allow employers to count certain bonuses toward the $35,568 annual salary threshold. Specifically, employers can use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy a portion of the standard salary level, which is $684 per week. These bonuses must be paid at least annually to qualify. This provision gives employers flexibility in how they structure compensation for exempt employees. However, the bonuses must be nondiscretionary, meaning they are promised or expected rather than given as a surprise. Discretionary bonuses that the employer decides to give without any prior commitment cannot be counted toward the salary level. This rule recognizes that many employers use performance-based compensation and allows them to include such payments when determining whether an employee meets the salary threshold for overtime exemption. The bonuses must be paid regularly enough to be considered part of the employee's compensation structure, not just occasional one-time payments.
The Department also proposed to allow employers to count nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments toward satisfying up to ten percent of the standard salary level or any of the special salary levels applicable to U.S. territories, so long as such bonuses are paid at least annually.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees (84 FR 51230, September 27, 2019) (DOL)
Workers the exemption never reaches, whatever they are paid
Under federal overtime rules, blue collar workers are never eligible for the executive, administrative, or professional exemption from overtime pay, no matter how much they earn. Even if a blue collar worker is paid well above the $35,568 annual salary threshold or the $107,432 highly compensated employee threshold, they still have the right to overtime pay. The exemption applies only to white collar workers who meet all three tests: the salary basis test, the salary level test (earning at least $684 per week), and the duties test. Blue collar workers typically perform manual labor or work involving repetitive operations with physical skills, which does not qualify as executive, administrative, or professional work. This means employers cannot classify blue collar workers as exempt from overtime based solely on their pay level or job title. The distinction ensures that workers performing hands-on, physical jobs receive overtime protection regardless of their compensation.
The Department excluded a total of 91.9 million workers from the analysis for one or more of these reasons, which often overlapped (e.g., many blue collar workers are also paid hourly).
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees (84 FR 51230, September 27, 2019) (DOL)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
- Standard salary level per week
Standard Salary Level $684 per week (equivalent to a $35,568 annual salary)
- Standard salary level, annual equivalent
Standard Salary Level $684 per week (equivalent to a $35,568 annual salary)
- Highly compensated employee total annual compensation
Total Annual Compensation Requirement for Highly Compensated Employees $107,432 per year, including at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis