Methodology: FLSA Exemption Analyzer

What this analyzer does

This tool screens a role against the federal FLSA white-collar exemption framework in 29 CFR Part 541. You pick an exemption category, enter weekly salary, annual compensation, or (for computer employees) an hourly rate, answer whether pay is on a salary basis, and walk a duties checklist. The result is a directional screening outcome — never a legal determination that someone “is exempt” or “is non-exempt.”

Use it to decide whether a classification looks shaky enough to track hours, reclassify, or send to counsel. Do not use it as the sole basis for treating someone as exempt.

Thresholds used (operative as of May 2026)

These numbers come from the DOL’s 2019 Final Rule (84 Fed. Reg. 51230), which remains operative after the 2024 salary-threshold increase was vacated nationwide and formally rescinded.

Constant	Value	Authority
Standard white-collar salary floor	$684/week ($35,568/year)	29 CFR §541.600(a); 2019 Final Rule
Highly compensated employee total annual compensation	$107,432/year	29 CFR §541.601; 2019 Final Rule
Computer employee hourly alternative	$27.63/hour	29 CFR §541.400

2024 rule history (why these numbers are still the floor):

• April 2024 — DOL final rule would have raised the standard threshold to $844/week (July 2024) then $1,128/week (January 2025), and HCE to $151,164.
• November 15, 2024 — State of Texas v. DOL, No. 4:24-cv-499 (E.D. Tex.) vacated the rule nationwide.
• May 5, 2026 — Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal after the administration declined to defend the rule.
• May 14, 2026 — DOL formally rescinded the 2024 rule. Operative federal floors remain the 2019 figures above.

Note: some eCFR displays still show vacated 2024 text for §541.600; re-publication was pending as of the research snapshot. The operative enforcement number is $684/week.

How the three tests work

An employee is exempt from federal overtime under the white-collar exemptions only if all applicable tests are met (29 USC §213(a)(1), 29 CFR Part 541):

1. Salary basis — paid a predetermined amount each pay period that does not drop based on quality or quantity of work (29 CFR §541.602).
2. Salary (or hourly) threshold — at least $684/week for most categories; computer employees may use $27.63/hour; HCE uses $107,432 total annual compensation (with at least $684/week on a salary basis); outside sales has no federal minimum salary.
3. Duties test — the employee’s primary duty fits the category’s regulatory elements.

Fail any required test and the employee is non-exempt for that category — overtime is owed the same as for any hourly non-exempt worker. The employer bears the burden of proving every element (Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, 417 U.S. 188 (1974)). Courts give exemptions a “fair reading” after Encino Motorcars v. Navarro, 584 U.S. 79 (2018), but the burden of proof still sits with the employer.

Salary basis still matters at high pay. In Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt, 598 U.S. 39 (2023), a worker earning over $200,000 on a daily-rate structure was held non-exempt because the pay structure failed the salary-basis test under 29 CFR §541.604(b).

Categories modeled

Category	Regulation	Pay test in this tool	Duties logic
Executive	§541.100	≥ $684/week + salary basis	All three elements (manage; direct 2+; hire/fire or particular weight)
Administrative	§541.200	≥ $684/week + salary basis	Both elements (business operations work; discretion on significant matters)
Professional (learned or creative)	§§541.301–.302	≥ $684/week + salary basis	Either learned or creative path
Computer	§541.400	≥ $684/week salary or ≥ $27.63/hour	Any one of the four computer duty paths
Outside sales	§541.500	No federal salary floor	Both elements (making sales; customarily away from employer’s place of business)
Highly compensated (HCE)	§541.601	≥ $107,432 total annual + ≥ $684/week salary basis	Customarily at least one exempt EAP duty + office/non-manual work

How outcomes are labeled

The tool never outputs “this employee is exempt.” Outcomes are:

• Salary / salary-basis not met — treat as non-exempt on this category unless another exemption applies; likely needs attorney review.
• Duties not met — same conservative posture.
• Factors align — attorney review still required — salary and duties answers line up with the federal factors; still not a determination.
• Incomplete / mixed — do not rely on exemption from the screen alone.

That language is intentional. Classification litigation turns on primary duty, actual practice, and pay structure — not on a checklist alone.

State floors (not fully modeled)

This tool screens the federal Part 541 tests. Some states set higher exempt salary floors. Research for the overtime cluster notes, among others:

• California — exempt salary threshold at 2× state minimum wage for 40 hours/week; with a $16.50/hour state minimum wage (2026 research snapshot), that is $68,640/year, substantially above the federal $35,568.
• Washington — 2.5× state minimum wage for larger employers.
• Colorado — COMPS Order 40 retained a $1,057.69/week threshold for 2025.

If the employee works in a higher-floor state, clearing the federal $684/week test is not enough. The tool flags that state floors can exceed federal levels; it does not compute every state’s indexed number.

What is not modeled

• Industry exemptions (motor carrier, agriculture, §7(j) healthcare, §7(k) public safety, etc.).
• State-specific duties tests or computer professional salary indexes beyond the CA/WA/CO floor notes above.
• Whether a particular bonus or commission counts toward the HCE total annual compensation calculation in every edge case.
• Job-title dictionaries or SOC-code mapping.
• A determination suitable for court, DOL investigation, or payroll configuration without counsel.

Worked screening examples

Coordinator at $50,000/year (≈ $961/week), administrative category, follows fixed procedures, no independent judgment on significant matters

• Salary floor: met ($961 ≥ $684).
• Salary basis: assume yes.
• Duties: business-operations prong may be debatable; independent-judgment prong fails.
• Tool outcome: duties not met → treat as non-exempt; track hours; pay overtime.

Software engineer at $40/hour, computer category, primary duty is designing and modifying programs

• Hourly floor: met ($40 ≥ $27.63).
• Duties: design/development path checked.
• Tool outcome: factors align — attorney review still required.

Outside salesperson paid commission only, customarily selling at customer sites

• Salary floor: not applicable.
• Duties: making sales + away from employer’s place of business both true.
• Tool outcome: factors align — attorney review still required.

Data sources

• 29 USC §213(a)(1) — white-collar exemptions.
• 29 CFR Part 541 — defining and delimiting the exemptions.
• 29 CFR §541.600 — amount of salary required.
• 29 CFR §541.601 — highly compensated employees.
• 29 CFR §541.602 — salary basis.
• 29 CFR §541.400 — computer employees.
• 29 CFR §541.500 — outside sales.
• DOL Fact Sheet #17A — plain-language exemption overview.
• 2019 Overtime Salary-Threshold Final Rule, 84 Fed. Reg. 51230.
• 2024 Final Rule (vacated), 89 Fed. Reg. 32842.
• State of Texas v. DOL, No. 4:24-cv-499 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 15, 2024).
• Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt, 598 U.S. 39 (2023).
• Cluster research: overtime laws by state.