Being paid a salary is NOT the same as being exempt.

For overtime purposes, employees are either "exempt" or "nonexempt." Nonexempt employees are entitled to overtime pay.

Exempt employees are not. Generally, whether you are "exempt" or "nonexempt" depends on two broad criteria. To be "exempt," both of the following criteria must be met:

1. The employee must be paid a salary / fee (not hourly),
AND
2. The employee must perform the duties of an exempt employee.

An employee who is paid on an hourly basis is "nonexempt" no matter what kind of work s/he does (except for doctors, lawyers, and teachers).

However, being paid a salary is not the same as being exempt.

An employee who is paid a salary is still "nonexempt" unless s/he also performs exempt job duties.

These duties generally fall into three categories:

1. Executive
2. Administrative
3. Professional