(Last Updated On: October 28, 2025)
Employers need to have a clear understanding of the exemption for executive, administrative, professional, computer, and outside sales employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). When an employee is exempt, the employer does not have to pay the employee overtime wages for additional hours worked beyond a 40-hour workweek, and the minimum wage law requirement under the FLSA does not apply. Given that exempt employees do not have to be paid overtime, it is beneficial for employers to classify employees as exempt. However, if an employee is misclassified — in other words, if you classify an employee as exempt when the employee is actually a non-exempt employee — your business could be liable for unpaid wages, additional damages, and penalties.
What should your business know about exempt and non-exempt employee classifications? Our Boston and Natick employment law attorneys can provide you with more information.
Understanding What Makes an Employee Exempt Under the FLSA
There are three parts of the requirement for classifying an employee as “exempt” under the FLSA, at which point the employee does not need to be compensated at the overtime rate required under the FLSA. Those requirements include the following:
- Employee is paid on a salary basis as opposed to hourly;
- Employee’s salary meets the salary threshold, which is at least $684 per week (or $35,568 per year); and
- Employee has a job and duties that qualify under one of the exemptions (executive, administrative, professional, computer, or outside sales).
The third category requires specific attention to each employee’s job duties to determine whether or not the employee is exempt.
Employment Exemptions and Job Duties
There are several categories of employment that can exempt a person if their employment details pass the first two parts of the test (i.e., they are paid on a salary basis and their salary is $684 per week or higher). Those categories, as we noted above, include the following categories of employment:
- Executive exemption;
- Administrative exemption;
- Professional exemption;
- Computer employee exemption; and
- Outside sales exemption.
Each of those categories has very specific requirements under the FLSA concerning what the employee’s primary duty or duties must be in order for the exemption to apply, as well as other particular requirements for individual exemptions. To be clear, an employer cannot designate an employee as a “computer employee” or as an “administrative” employee in order to pass the third part of the test. Instead, the employer must understand the specific requirements for the particular exemption and ensure that the employee’s job duties meet the classification according to the FLSA. If you are unsure if an employee meets the requirements for the third part of the test under one of the employment categories, you should seek advice from an employment attorney in Massachusetts as soon as possible to avoid misclassification.
Highly Compensated Employees
If you begin researching FLSA exemptions, you will likely find information about “highly compensated employees” who are also exempt employees. These employees earn total compensation of $107,432 and are exempt, but only if they “customarily and regularly perform at least one of the duties of an exempt executive, administrative, or professional employees identified in the standard tests for exemption,” according to the US Department of Labor (DOL).
If you pay certain employees an annual salary of $107,432 or more but are unsure if they meet the test related to performing at least one of the duties of an exempt, administrative, or professional employee, it is essential to seek legal advice to avoid misclassifying an employee.
Types of Employees Who are Expressly Non-Exempt Employees
Police, firefighters, paramedics, and other first responders are non-exempt employees under the FLSA. The DOL is clear that the exemptions do not apply to these categories of employees.
In addition, the DOL clarifies that blue-collar workers are non-exempt employees and that the exemptions are only applicable to “white-collar” employees. The DOL defines blue-collar workers in general as those whose job duties require manual labor and those “who perform work involving repetitive operations with their hands, physical skill, and energy.”
Contact a Massachusetts Employment Law Attorney Representing Clients in Boston and Natick
Do you have questions about classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt? Or have you recently received notice of a complaint from an employee about unpaid wages due to their improper classification as an exempt employee? It is important to seek advice from an experienced employment law attorney as soon as you can. Contact Rodman Employment Law for more information about how we can help you with matters pertaining to the FLSA and your obligations as an employer.
