2024 Overtime Salary Threshold
For 2024, the Overtime Salary Threshold figures are $684 (Standard salary level per week), $35,568 (Standard salary level, annual equivalent), $107,432 (Highly compensated employee total annual compensation) and 4 more figures below.
| Item | Amount | Annual equivalent | Hourly basis | Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the CNMI | American Samoa | Motion picture industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard salary level | $684 | $35,568 | - | - | - | - |
| Highly compensated employee total annual compensation | $107,432 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Compensation required for computer employees | - | - | $27.63 | - | - | - |
| Special salary level per week | - | - | - | $455 | $380 | - |
| Special base rate per week | - | - | - | - | - | $1,043 |
A dash is a figure this site has not published for that row, not an amount of zero.
Effective 2024-01-01Source: Earnings thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional exemption from minimum wage and overtime protections under the FLSA (DOL)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2023
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2023.
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard salary level per week | $684 | $684 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Standard salary level, annual equivalent | $35,568 | $35,568 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Highly compensated employee total annual compensation | $107,432 | $107,432 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Compensation required for computer employees, hourly basis | $27.63 | $27.63 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Special salary level per week, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the CNMI | $455 | $455 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Special salary level per week, American Samoa | $380 | $380 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Special base rate per week, motion picture industry | $1,043 | $1,043 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Standard salary level
Compensation required for computer employees
Special salary level per week
Special base rate per week
$27.63$35,568
One dot per column of the table, on a scale running from the smallest of these amounts to the largest. The scale is logarithmic - each faint line is ten times the one before it, so that the amounts crowded at the low end stay far enough apart to read. The table states which dot is which.
Who it applies to
Employers and employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act who rely on the executive, administrative or professional exemption from overtime and minimum wage protections, and on the highly compensated employee test beside it.
What changed this year, and why
The standard salary level for the executive, administrative and professional exemption was $684 per week, equal to $35,568 a year, for the whole of 2024, and a highly compensated employee had to receive $107,432 in total annual compensation. A rule the Department published in April 2024 would have raised both amounts from July of that year, but federal courts vacated it, and the operative regulations remained the ones that were in place on June 30, 2024. The section below quotes the Federal Register document that says so.
Common questions
- What was the overtime salary threshold in 2024?
- The standard salary level was $684 per week, which is $35,568 a year, and it applied for the whole of 2024. A highly compensated employee had to receive at least $107,432 in total annual compensation, including at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis.
- Did the threshold go up in the middle of 2024?
- No. A rule the Department published in April 2024 would have raised it from July of that year, but the rule was vacated and never validly governed, so a single figure is right for the whole year. The operative regulations are the ones that were in place on June 30, 2024.
- What happened to the higher levels the Department set in 2024?
- They were never operative. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the rule that set them on November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated it again on December 30, 2024, and the Department later removed its text from the Code of Federal Regulations. An employer who raised salaries to those levels partway through 2024 paid above what the regulations required, not below.
- Does the salary alone decide whether an employee is exempt?
- No. An employee must also meet the duties test for the executive, administrative or professional exemption. The Department also notes that these earnings thresholds do not apply to certain employees, including doctors, lawyers, teachers and outside sales employees.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Overtime salary threshold headroom takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
The 2024 rule, and the level the Department applies
In April 2024 the Department published a final rule that would have raised the standard salary level from July of that year and again from January 1, 2025, and would have updated both thresholds automatically after that. It never validly governed. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated it on November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated it again on December 30, 2024, and the appeals from both judgments were later dismissed, after which the Department removed the vacated text from the Code of Federal Regulations. The operative part 541 regulations are therefore the ones that were in place on June 30, 2024, so the standard salary level was $684 per week, or $35,568 a year, for the whole of 2024, and a highly compensated employee's total annual compensation requirement stayed at $107,432. An employer who paid to the vacated rule's higher levels between July and November 2024 paid more than the regulations required, not less.
In light of these judgments, the operative version of the Department's part 541 regulations is the version of these regulations that was in place on June 30, 2024, prior to the effective date of the 2024 rule, and which the Department has been enforcing.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
Being paid a salary means a predetermined amount that does not vary
Under federal overtime rules, being paid a salary means receiving a predetermined amount that does not vary based on the quality or quantity of work performed. This is known as the salary basis test. The predetermined amount must be fixed and cannot be reduced because an employee produces more or less work in a given week. This requirement exists to distinguish true salaried employees from those paid hourly, where compensation fluctuates with hours worked or output. The salary basis test is one of three tests that must generally be met for an employee to qualify for the white collar overtime exemption, alongside the duties test and the salary level test. Certain categories of workers, including doctors, lawyers, teachers, and outside sales employees, are not subject to the salary basis and salary level tests. For most other employees, however, the employer must demonstrate that the worker receives a guaranteed minimum amount each pay period that remains constant regardless of workload variations.
(2) 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; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
The salary is only half of it: the duties test
Being paid a salary above the minimum weekly or annual amount does not automatically exempt an employee from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employee must also pass the duties test, which looks at what the person actually does on the job, not just their job title or how they are paid. Under federal rules, the employee's job duties must primarily involve executive, administrative, or professional tasks as defined by the Department of Labor's regulations. "Primarily" generally means that the exempt work is the employee's main or principal duty, though it need not consume more than half of the employee's time. If an employee's primary duty is routine manual work, or work that does not require the exercise of discretion and independent judgment, the duties test is not met and the employee is entitled to overtime even if paid a salary that exceeds the minimum threshold. The duties test, the salary basis test, and the salary level test all must be satisfied before an employer can treat an employee as exempt from overtime.
the employee's job duties must primarily involve executive, administrative, or professional duties as defined by the regulations (the duties test)
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
The shorter test for highly compensated employees
The Department of Labor created a streamlined exemption path for highly compensated employees that relaxes the regular duties test. While most exempt workers must satisfy all three parts of the standard test, including a demanding look at whether their primary duty is executive, administrative, or professional, highly compensated employees are subject to a reduced job duties requirement paired with a much higher annual earnings threshold. To qualify, an employee must earn total annual compensation of at least $107,432, which includes the weekly salary plus commissions, nondiscretionary bonuses, and other forms of compensation paid during the year. Because the pay floor is set well above the regular minimum, the Department treats the duties analysis as less exacting: the employee must still perform office or non-manual work, and must customarily and regularly perform at least one of the exempt duties of an executive, administrative, or professional employee, but need not meet the full primary duty standard that applies to workers paid at the lower salary level.
the Department created an alternative test for highly compensated employees (the ``HCE test''), pairing a reduced job duties requirement with an annual earnings threshold substantially higher than the standard salary level requirement
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
When a bonus can count toward the salary level
The salary level test is about salary, but not entirely. The regulation lets part of the required amount be satisfied by nondiscretionary bonuses, incentives and commissions, provided they are paid annually or more frequently. Only part: the share that may be met this way is capped and the remainder must still be paid as salary, so an employer cannot pay a thin weekly salary and make it up with a large year-end bonus. Two conditions do the work. The payments must be nondiscretionary, which rules out a bonus the employer decides on after the fact and the employee could not count on. And they are measured against the standard salary level of $684 a week, or $35,568 a year - where a year's payments leave the employee short of it, the employer has one further pay period in which to make up the difference, and without that payment the exemption fails for the whole year.
(3) Up to ten percent of the salary amount required by Sec. 541.600(a) may be satisfied by the payment of nondiscretionary bonuses, incentives and commissions, that are paid annually or more frequently.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
Workers the exemption never reaches, whatever they are paid
The Fair Labor Standards Act exempts employees working in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity from overtime requirements, but these exemptions only apply if the employee meets all three tests: the duties test, the salary basis test, and the salary level test. For 2024, the standard salary level is $684 per week, or $35,568 annually. Even if an employee is paid well above that threshold and receives a fixed salary that meets the basis test, the exemption still depends on what the employee actually does. Workers whose primary duty involves manual labor, routine physical work, or skilled trades do not satisfy the duties test and cannot be classified as exempt from overtime. The type of work performed determines eligibility, not the amount of pay. Employees in construction, manufacturing, maintenance, and similar hands-on occupations are entitled to overtime pay regardless of their salary level, because their job duties do not fall within the executive, administrative, or professional categories defined by the Department of Labor regulations.
The FLSA includes a number of exemptions from its wage and hour requirements, including section 13(a)(1), which exempts ``any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
You can pay biweekly or monthly, but the floor is set on a weekly basis
The 2024 federal overtime salary threshold of $684 per week is the floor, and employers may pay exempt employees on longer schedules such as biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly. The rule translates the weekly amount into equivalent longer-period amounts: biweekly pay must be at least $1,368, semimonthly at least $1,482, and monthly at least $2,964. Even though the employer may use a longer pay period, the shortest period of payment that satisfies the salary requirement remains one week. The annual equivalent of the standard salary level is $35,568, but the regulation still anchors the test to a weekly amount and then scales up. This means an employer cannot satisfy the threshold by averaging pay over a longer period if any single week falls below the minimum; the guarantee must hold for each week of work.
(b) The required amount of compensation per week may be translated into equivalent amounts for periods longer than one week. For example, the $684-per-week requirement will be met if the employee is compensated biweekly on a salary basis of not less than $1,368, semimonthly on a salary basis of not less than $1,482, or monthly on a salary basis of not less than $2,964. However, the shortest period of payment that will meet this compensation requirement is one week.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
Paying more than the guaranteed minimum never threatens the exemption
Under the 2024 federal overtime rules administered by the DOL, an employer may pay an exempt employee more than the guaranteed weekly salary without defeating the exemption. The employee must still receive at least $684 each week on a salary basis, but beyond that floor the employer may add commissions, a share of sales or profits, or extra pay for hours worked beyond the normal workweek. That additional compensation can be calculated in any manner - flat sum, bonus, straight-time hourly amount, time-and-a-half, or any other method - and may even include paid time off. The key is that the guaranteed salary is paid each week; the extra pay is simply layered on top and does not convert the salary into an hourly wage or otherwise destroy the exemption. Employers paying well above the standard salary level of $35,568 annually and the HCE total annual compensation threshold of $107,432 therefore have no reason to worry that bonuses or commissions will cause the employee to lose exempt status.
an exempt employee guaranteed at least $684 each week paid on a salary basis may also receive additional compensation of a one percent commission on sales.
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (DOL)
Some professionals qualify without meeting the salary threshold at all
Under the 2024 federal overtime rules published by the U.S. Department of Labor, certain professional employees are exempt from the standard salary threshold test. The salary requirements do not apply to employees engaged as teachers, to employees who hold a valid license or certificate permitting the practice of law or medicine and are actually engaged in such practice, or to employees who hold the requisite academic degree for the general practice of medicine and are engaged in an internship or resident program. These professionals qualify for the exemption based solely on their job duties, regardless of whether they are paid on a salary basis or whether their compensation meets the standard weekly or annual threshold. This exception recognizes that teachers, doctors, lawyers, and similar professionals traditionally exercise independent judgment and specialized knowledge that distinguishes their work, making the salary floor unnecessary to determine their exempt status. Employers hiring in these fields therefore need only satisfy the duties test, not the salary level test.
In the case of professional employees, the compensation requirements in this section shall not apply to employees engaged as teachers (see Sec. 541.303); employees who hold a valid license or certificate permitting the practice of law or medicine or any of their branches and are actually engaged in the practice thereof (see Sec. 541.304); or to employees who hold the requisite academic degree for the general practice of medicine and are engaged in an internship or resident program pursuant to the practice of the profession (see Sec. 541.304).
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees; Implementation of Federal Court Judgments (91 FR 27833, May 15, 2026) (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
- Compensation required for computer employees, hourly basis
Compensation Required for Computer Employees Paid on an Hourly Basis $27.63 per hour
- Special salary level per week, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the CNMI
Special Salary Level for Employees in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands $455 per week (equivalent to a $23,660 annual salary)
- Special salary level per week, American Samoa
Special Salary Level for Employees in American Samoa $380 per week (equivalent to a $19,760 annual salary)
- Special base rate per week, motion picture industry
Special Base Rate for Employees in the Motion Picture Industry $1,043 per week (or a proportionate amount based on the number of days worked)