These employees frequently get paid by salary and not by the hour. But it's not always that simple. Just because you have a lot of responsibility, or just because you get paid by salary, doesn't mean you should not be getting overtime as well. There are very specific tests in the laws to find out who is exempt and who is not. What matters is what you do, not how you are paid.
Exemptions vary from state to state.
Even if you think you are exempt under one of the tests listed below, your state might have better laws that give you the right to be paid overtime. These employees have received high-level training and usually an advanced degree. Professional employees also make important decisions without a lot of supervision. Contact an employment lawyer if you think you have been denied overtime because you were misclassified as an administrator. Most people think that executives are employees who wear fancy suits and work in tall office buildings.