Compliance & Payroll Basics · Policy-manual review
FLSA Overtime Exemption Salary Threshold 2026: What Employers Still Owe
Federal white-collar overtime exemption salary floor for 2026 ($684/week), how the rescinded 2024 rule fits in, and why state thresholds can override the federal number.
At a glance
The federal salary test for executive, administrative, and professional exemptions sits at $684 per week ($35,568 per year) for 2026 after the Department of Labor formally re-adopted the 2019 figure. Salary alone never creates an exemption: the duties test still has to pass. California, Washington, New York, Colorado, Alaska, and Maine set higher floors that control when they beat the federal number. Start with our exempt vs non-exempt guide for the full duties tests and state table, then use the checklist below when someone asks only about the dollar threshold.
- Confirm the employee is paid on a salary basis that is not docked for quality or quantity of work in a normal week
- Compare gross salary to $684/week federally and to any higher state threshold where the employee works
- Run the duties test for the specific exemption category before treating overtime as off the table
- Re-check classification when job duties change, not only when the DOL publishes a new rule
- Document which exemption criteria the role meets, not just the job title on the org chart
§1What the 2026 federal threshold actually is
The Fair Labor Standards Act ties overtime exemption for most white-collar roles to two gates: a minimum salary and a duties test. For 2026 the federal salary gate is $684 per week, equal to $35,568 annualized, for executive, administrative, professional, and computer employee exemptions under the standard tests [DOL Fact Sheet 17A]. Highly compensated employees use a separate total-compensation figure ($107,432 per year with at least $684/week on a salary basis) and a lighter duties standard.
That $684 number is not new. It was set in a 2019 rule, briefly raised in a 2024 rule that never fully took effect nationwide after litigation, and formally restored by DOL rulemaking effective May 15, 2026. Employers who tracked the court fight already operated at $684 for most of 2025; the 2026 rulemaking made that the agency's stated standard going forward rather than a temporary litigation outcome.
§2Salary test vs duties test
A paycheck above $684/week does not automatically make someone exempt. The employee's actual work still has to match one of the narrow exemption categories (executive, administrative, professional, computer, outside sales, or highly compensated under its own rules). Job titles and offer-letter language do not substitute for what the person does day to day.
Managers who still spend most of their time on the same hourly tasks as the crew, or "administrative" staff who only follow detailed procedures without discretion, fail the duties test even at a salary that clears the threshold. Our exempt classification checklist is the practical walk-through HR teams use before locking a classification in payroll.
§3When a state number replaces the federal floor
Where state law sets a higher exempt salary minimum than $684/week, the higher state figure applies to employees covered by that state's wage law. The same nominal salary can be exempt in Texas and non-exempt in California when California's 2026 threshold runs to $70,304 per year.
Washington, New York, Colorado, Alaska, and Maine follow the same pattern with different effective dates (Colorado's 2026 increase landed February 1; Alaska's lands July 1). Multi-state employers run the test per state rather than picking one company-wide number. Wage floors and withholding rules for those states sit in our 2026 state minimum wage and payroll tax reference.
§4Frequently asked questions
Did the $1,128/week overtime threshold ever apply? No nationwide. A 2024 rule scheduled that figure for January 2025, but a federal court vacated the rule in late 2024 before the increase took effect, reverting the operative federal floor to $684/week.
Does the salary threshold by itself decide contractor vs employee? No. That is a separate analysis under IRS, DOL, and state tests. See our independent contractor vs employee guide when the worker is not clearly on W-2 payroll.
Where do on-call and meal-break hours fit? Exemption status does not remove hours-worked rules for nonexempt staff. For waiting time, see our FLSA on-call pay guide.