The Supreme Court describes the regular rate as the hourly rate actually paid to the employee for the normal non-overtime work week for which the employee is employed. Generally, the hourly rate of pay is determined by dividing the employee's total work week remuneration by the number of hours worked during that work week. If the employee is paid on a salary basis and agrees with his employer that he will receive a fixed salary for a fluctuating work week then an employer may pay at a rate of one-half the regular rate because the employee has already been compensated at straight time rate under the salary arrangement. Employee's work week may not exceed 50 hours per week. Exemptions FLSA contains numerous specific provisions excluding various classifications and types of employees from the overtime provisions.
Exemptions are technical and complicated.
Exemption for outside salesmen. Department of Labor regulations require that the employee receive specified minimum compensation and perform a variety of specified duties before the exemption applies. Employer bears the burden of proving that the exempt employee meets all of the applicable tests. Never assume that a highly paid individual is exempt from overtime payments. General rule is that all employees are entitled to overtime payments regardless of how high her wages are.