Fact Check: Do Salaried Employees Get Overtime?

29 USC §213(a)(1) and 29 CFR §541 require BOTH a salary test ($684/week per §541.600) AND a duties test (executive, administrative, professional, computer, outside sales, or highly compensated) for the white-collar exemption.

29 CFR §541.600 sets the $684/week salary threshold ($35,568/year). The 2024 DOL rule that tried to raise it to $1,128/week was vacated in State of Texas v. DOL (E.D. Tex. 2024) and formally rescinded by DOL on May 14, 2026. 29 CFR §541.700 covers the executive-exemption duties test (primary duty = management; customarily directs work of two or more employees; authority to hire/fire or particular weight to recommendations).

29 USC §207(a)(1) requires overtime at 1.5× the regular rate. 29 CFR §778.113 sets the standard fixed-workweek calculation for salaried non-exempt: regular rate = weekly salary ÷ standard workweek hours; overtime = 1.5× regular rate × OT hours.

29 CFR §541.700 — primary duty test for the executive exemption (and parallel duties tests for administrative, professional, computer, and outside sales exemptions). Each requires specific work content, not just a salary or title.

29 CFR §516.2 requires hour-by-hour records for every non-exempt employee. 29 CFR §516.5 (3-year payroll retention) plus state extensions: NY/HI 6 years, California 4-year UCL effective window.

A coordinator following fixed procedures fails the administrative-exemption duties test, which requires "exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance" per 29 CFR §541.200. Without exemption, the worker is non-exempt; missed overtime accumulates over the 2-year FLSA SOL (3 if willful).

Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., 328 U.S. 680 (1946) — when employer records are inadequate, employee may carry burden of proof by showing "just and reasonable inference" of unpaid hours, shifting the burden to the employer to disprove. 29 CFR §516.2 requires hours worked per workday and per workweek for every non-exempt employee, salaried or hourly.

California — Skyline Homes (1985) held the FWW method incompatible with California Labor Code §510's daily-and-weekly overtime regime. Pennsylvania — Chevalier v. GNC (Pa. 2019) held the FWW method violates PMWA. Alaska — Department of Labor states FWW is not an acceptable method of complying with AS 23.10.060.

29 USC §216(b) — FLSA liquidated damages equal to unpaid wages (effective doubling) plus mandatory attorney's fees. 29 USC §255(a) — 2-year SOL (3 if willful). The math: $50,000 ÷ 52 weeks ÷ 40 hours = $24.04/hr regular rate; 1.5 × $24.04 = $36.06/hr OT rate; 10 hours/week × $36.06 × 52 weeks = $18,750/year; doubled to ~$37,500/year per employee.

Synthesis from the article's through-line. 29 CFR §516.2 requires hour-tracking for every non-exempt employee. Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery shifts the burden to the employer when records are missing — so tracking hours even for exempt employees provides the defensive record needed if the duties test is ever challenged. The article's framing: "the recordkeeping obligation is met by any time-tracking system that captures hours worked each workday."