There are two factors that determine whether or not you are eligible for overtime. Being paid a salary of $913 per week or more is only one of the two factors. The other requirement is that you perform the duties of an exempt employee. If your duties are not that of an exempt employee, an employer cannot evade overtime requirements by paying you a salary. For more information about the duties test, see question 7.
However, under the new overtime rule which goes into effect December 1, 2016, employers now have new required salary levels to manage overtime and many options to ensure that these employers respond effectively:
Option 1: Employers may raise the salary and keep the employee exempt from overtime, so long as these employees meet the duties test. This option favors employees who have salaries close to the new salary level provided by the overtime rule and regularly work overtime.
Option 2: Employers may pay overtime in addition to the employee’s current salary when necessary—which under the overtime law is 40 hours in a week. This option favors employees who work 40 hours or fewer in a typical workweek, but have occasional periods of time that require overtime for which employers can plan and budget the extra pay during those periods.
Option 3: Employers may evaluate and realign hours and staff workload so that white-collar workers who earn below the salary threshold are not overworked. Thus, employers can see that they may be required to work overtime and can combat that problem in advance by hiring more workers.