Minimum Wage and Overtime Exemptions

posted by Neil Klingshirn  |  Jul 14, 2009 8:09 PM [EST] in Overtime  |  applies to All States

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The Fair Labor Standards Act (the "FLSA") excludes individuals from coverage and exempts others from overtime and/or the minimume wage. The FLSA excludes individuals in the definition of "employee" in 29 USC Section 203.

In addition, the FLSA exempts many otherwise covered employees from the minimum wage and/or overtime in Section Section 213. These exemptions fall into two groups. One exempts individuals from both overtime and minimum wage coverage (213(a)), while the other exempts individuals from overtime coverage only (213(b)).

Individuals Excluded from the FLSA Definition of "Employee"

The FLSA excludes the following individuals from its definition of "employees" covered by the FLSA:

  1. Employees of the United States in:
    • the military;
    • any executive agency;
    • judicial branch positions covered by competitive service;
    • the Library of Congress; or
    • the Government Printing Office;
  2. Employees of the United States Postal Service;
  3. State or local elected officials, their immediate advisors, and certain appointees;
  4. Employees in state and local legislative branches;
  5. Immediate family members engaged in agriculture; and
  6. Certain volunteers.
29 USC Section 203. Part 553 of the DOL regulations cover employees of state and local governments. 29 CFR Part 553

Exemptions from both Minimum wage and Overtime


The FLSA exempts the following from both its minimum wage and overtime requirements:
  1. employees performing executive, administrative or professional duties who are paid on a salaried basis;
  2. outside salesmen
  3. employees of seasonal amusement or recreational establishments, organized camps, or religious or non-profit educational conference center;
  4. fishermen and related employees; 
  5. certain agricultural employees;
  6. employees of small, local newspapers; 
  7. seaman on a vessel other than an American vessel;
  8. certain domestic service employees who provide babysitting services or companionship services for individuals unable to care for themselves;
  9. certain computer employees; and
  10. Certain other types of employees (See Section 213(a)(7), (10) and (16))
The DOL regulations covering the exemptions begin at 29 CFR 541

Exemptions from Overtime Only


The overtime provisions of the FLSA, also known as maximum hours,do not apply to
  1. Certain motor carriers employees;
  2. Railroad and air employees
  3. seaman; 
  4. announcers, news editors or chief engineers of radio or television stations in smaller markets;
  5. salesmen, partsmen, or mechanics primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, or farm implements and salesmen of boats, trailers or airplanes, who work for a dealership;
  6. taxicab drivers;
  7. firemen and law enforcement employees employed by small fire or law enforcement (fewer than five employees) departments;
  8. domestic service workers who resides in the household;
  9. employees of a motion picture theater; or
  10. forestry employees employed by small (fewer than eight) employees; and
  11. certain other employees.  (See 213(b)(5), (11) - (13), (24), (29) and (30)).

External Links

Links to external sites with additional information about this topic.


posted by Neil Klingshirn  |  Jul 14, 2009 8:09 PM [EST] in Overtime  |  applies to All States

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