In Florida, who is exempt from overtime pay is decided entirely by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, because the state has no overtime law of its own. The FLSA exempts workers who earn at least $684 per week on a fixed salary and whose actual day-to-day duties fit one of several specific categories, along with a short list of jobs that are exempt regardless of what they pay. Everyone else is non-exempt and must receive time-and-a-half for every hour worked beyond 40 in a workweek.
The Two Tests That Decide Exemption
Most exemptions require passing both a salary test and a duties test. Failing either one makes you non-exempt.
The salary floor is $684 per week, which works out to $35,568 per year. That number has been in place since 2020. The Department of Labor tried to raise it in 2024, first to $43,888 and then to $58,656 for January 2025, but a federal district court in the Eastern District of Texas vacated the rule nationwide on November 15, 2024. The threshold reverted to $684 and remains the enforceable standard in 2026.1U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemption Florida has no higher state threshold, so if you earn less than $684 a week, you’re non-exempt no matter what your job duties look like.
The “salary basis” part matters too. You must receive a fixed, predetermined amount each pay period that doesn’t shrink when you work fewer hours or produce less output. If your employer docks your pay because business was slow or because you left early on Friday, you’re probably not being paid on a true salary basis.2eCFR. 29 CFR 541.602 – Salary Basis
The duties test is where most classification fights happen. Job titles don’t count. Calling someone a “manager” on paper doesn’t make them exempt if they spend most of their time stocking shelves. What matters is the “primary duty,” meaning the most important work the employee actually performs day to day.3eCFR. 29 CFR 541.700 – Primary Duty
Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employees
The three “white-collar” exemptions cover most salaried workers who are legitimately exempt.
Executive Exemption
An executive employee runs the company or a recognized department within it. All three of these have to be true: management is the primary duty, the employee regularly directs the work of two or more full-time employees (or the equivalent in part-timers), and the employee either has authority to hire and fire or their recommendations carry real weight. A shift lead who assigns tasks but has no input on hiring decisions doesn’t qualify.4U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17B – Exemption for Executive Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Administrative Exemption
The administrative exemption applies to office or non-manual workers whose primary duty supports running the business itself rather than producing what it sells. Human resources staff, accountants, buyers, marketing analysts, and quality control specialists are typical examples.5U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17C: Exemption for Administrative Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
The hard part is the second requirement: the employee must exercise discretion and independent judgment on significant matters. Following a detailed script or rigid protocol isn’t enough. An accounts payable clerk processing invoices by set procedures likely doesn’t meet the standard; a financial analyst deciding how to allocate budget likely does.6eCFR. 29 CFR 541.202 – Discretion and Independent Judgment This exemption produces more disputes than any other, because that line is genuinely blurry.
Professional Exemption
The professional exemption has two tracks. A learned professional performs work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning, typically acquired through prolonged specialized education. Engineers, architects, certified public accountants, and registered nurses doing advanced-practice work are common examples. The work must be primarily intellectual and require consistent use of judgment.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17D – Exemption for Professional Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
A creative professional performs work requiring invention, imagination, originality, or talent in a recognized creative field such as music, writing, acting, or graphic arts. A graphic designer building original campaigns may qualify. Someone resizing images using templates probably doesn’t.8eCFR. 29 CFR 541.302 – Creative Professionals
Jobs Exempt Without the Salary Threshold
A few categories of workers are exempt from overtime even if they earn less than $684 a week.
Teachers whose primary duty is instructing students at an educational institution are exempt regardless of pay. The same goes for licensed, practicing attorneys and physicians, as well as medical residents and interns pursuing their degree.9eCFR. 29 CFR Part 541 – Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer and Outside Sales Employees The teaching exemption reaches part-time faculty, adjuncts, and coaches whose primary duty is teaching student-athletes how to play. A coach who mostly recruits doesn’t qualify.10U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17S: Higher Education Institutions and Overtime Pay Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Outside sales employees are exempt with no salary requirement at all. The primary duty must be making sales or obtaining contracts, and the work must regularly happen away from the employer’s place of business. An inside sales rep working the phones from a desk doesn’t fit; a traveling sales rep calling on clients does.11U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17F – Exemption for Outside Sales Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Industry-Specific Exemptions That Matter in Florida
Computer Employees
Skilled technology workers can be exempt if their primary duty involves systems analysis, software design and development, or programming. The role must be that of a systems analyst, programmer, software engineer, or similar. Computer employees can qualify on a salary of at least $684 per week or an hourly rate of at least $27.63 per hour.12U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17E – Exemption for Employees in Computer-Related Occupations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act Help desk techs, hardware repair staff, and workers who mostly operate software rather than design it generally don’t qualify, even with “IT” in the job title.
Highly Compensated Employees
Employees earning at least $107,432 in total annual compensation face a lower bar on duties. Instead of satisfying every element of the executive, administrative, or professional test, a highly compensated employee needs only to regularly perform at least one duty from any of those categories. They still have to receive at least $684 per week on a salary or fee basis.13U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA Overtime Security Advisor – Highly Compensated The $107,432 figure includes salary, commissions, and non-discretionary bonuses, but not benefits like health insurance or retirement contributions.
Commissioned Retail and Service Employees
Florida’s retail and hospitality workforce is huge, and the Section 7(i) exemption reaches a lot of it. An employee of a retail or service establishment is exempt from overtime if the regular rate of pay exceeds one-and-a-half times the applicable minimum wage, and more than half of the employee’s earnings over a representative period of at least one month come from commissions.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 207 – Maximum Hours With Florida’s minimum wage rising to $15.00 per hour in late 2026, the regular-rate threshold for workers subject to the state minimum would be $22.50 per hour. Tips don’t count as commissions, and tip credits are treated as guaranteed earnings rather than commission income.
Motor Carrier Exemption
Drivers, driver’s helpers, loaders, and mechanics whose work affects the safe operation of commercial motor vehicles in interstate or foreign commerce fall under the motor carrier exemption. The trigger is whether the Secretary of Transportation has authority to set the employee’s qualifications and maximum hours of service, not whether every trip crosses a state line.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 213 – Exemptions Driving a vehicle weighing over 10,001 pounds or transporting hazardous materials generally puts you within DOT jurisdiction and outside FLSA overtime protection.
If You Think You’ve Been Misclassified
Misclassification is common, and the law gives workers real leverage. An employee wrongly denied overtime can recover the full amount of unpaid overtime plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, which effectively doubles the recovery. The court must also award reasonable attorney’s fees.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 216 – Penalties
The statute of limitations is two years from when the violation occurred, extended to three years if the violation was willful.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 255 – Statute of Limitations Back pay runs for the full limitations period, so waiting costs money even if you eventually file.
You can file a complaint with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division by calling 1-866-487-9243 or using the agency’s online portal. The DOL will investigate on your behalf, and you don’t need a lawyer to start. You also have the right to file a private lawsuit in federal or state court, individually or together with coworkers in a similar position.18U.S. Department of Labor. How to File a Complaint