In New York, the workers who are exempt from overtime pay fall into two groups: salaried white-collar employees who meet both a state salary threshold and a specific duties test (executive, administrative, professional, computer, and outside sales roles), and a short list of occupations the Labor Law carves out by statute, including most government workers, clergy, certain camp counselors, casual babysitters, and taxi drivers. Everyone else gets time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a workweek, regardless of job title.
The Salary Floors That Gate Most Exemptions
Before any duties analysis matters, a salaried employee has to clear New York’s minimum weekly pay for exempt status. The state sets two zones, and the figures adjust every January 1 under 12 NYCRR § 142-2.14.1Legal Information Institute. N.Y. Comp. Codes R. and Regs. Tit. 12 142-2.14 – Employee As of 2026:
- New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties: $1,275 per week ($66,300 per year).
- Rest of the state: $1,199.10 per week ($62,353.20 per year).
An employee paid even a dollar less than the applicable threshold is entitled to overtime no matter what work they do. These New York figures sit well above the federal minimum of $684 per week, and when state and federal law differ, the rule more protective of the employee controls.2U.S. Department of Labor. Overtime Pay
The pay also has to be a true salary: the same predetermined amount each pay period, regardless of work quality or quantity. Docking an exempt employee for a partial-day absence can wipe out the exemption and expose the employer to back overtime for the entire period of improper deductions. The permissible deductions are narrow, mainly full-day absences for personal reasons or for illness when a bona fide sick-leave plan exists.
One important wrinkle: the professional exemption has no separate New York salary floor. For professional employees, the federal $684 weekly minimum applies instead.3U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemption
Executive Employees
The executive exemption covers people who actually run a business or a recognized unit within it. In addition to clearing the salary threshold, the employee must satisfy every part of the duties test:
- Primary duty is management of the enterprise or a distinct department.
- Regularly directs the work of at least two full-time employees (or part-time equivalents).
- Has authority to hire or fire, or recommendations about hiring, firing, and promotion carry real weight.
Management activities include interviewing, training, scheduling, and adjusting pay rates.4New York State Department of Labor. Executive Employee Overtime Exemption Frequently Asked Questions Job title is irrelevant. An “assistant manager” who spends most of the shift stocking shelves and occasionally approving a schedule swap is not exempt, because courts look at how time is actually spent.
Administrative Employees
This is the category employers get wrong most often. An administrative employee performs office or non-manual work directly related to how the business itself operates, and regularly exercises independent judgment on significant matters.5New York State Department of Labor. Administrative Employee Overtime Exemption Frequently Asked Questions
The hard line is between running the business and producing what the business sells. An HR director designing company-wide compensation policy is administering the business. A recruiter at a staffing firm who screens and places candidates all day is producing the firm’s core product, and does not qualify. Both work at desks and use judgment, but only the first fits.
“Independent judgment” also has a specific meaning. It requires authority to make meaningful choices between courses of action, free from immediate supervision. An employee who follows a manual, applies a formula, or routes decisions to a supervisor for approval is not exercising independent judgment in the legal sense, no matter how complex the manual.6U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17C – Exemption for Administrative Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Professional Employees
The professional exemption splits into learned professionals and creative professionals.
Learned Professionals
A learned professional does work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning, acquired through extended specialized education rather than on-the-job training. Classic examples include doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, accountants, and pharmacists.7U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17D – Exemption for Professional Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act The work must be primarily intellectual and varied. Doctors, lawyers, and teachers are treated as exempt based on the nature of their professions and the licensing or education required.
Creative Professionals
Creative professionals qualify when their primary duty is original, inventive work in a recognized artistic field: musicians, writers, composers, painters, and similar roles. The question is whether the output reflects the employee’s own creative vision. A graphic designer who conceptualizes original campaigns can qualify; one who resizes templates to preset specifications probably cannot.8eCFR. 29 CFR 541.301 – Learned Professionals
Computer Employees
New York applies the federal FLSA computer employee exemption. The employee must earn at least $684 per week on a salary basis or at least $27.63 per hour. The hourly option is unusual among the white-collar exemptions.9U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17E – Exemption for Employees in Computer-Related Occupations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
Duties matter at least as much. The primary work has to involve systems analysis, software design and development, programming, or testing and modifying systems based on design specifications. A systems analyst who consults with users to define software requirements qualifies. A help-desk technician troubleshooting from a knowledge base does not. A job title like “IT specialist” settles nothing.
Outside Salespersons
Outside sales is the one white-collar exemption with no salary requirement. The employee must spend most working time away from the employer’s office making sales or securing contracts for services.10U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17F – Exemption for Outside Sales Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act Inside sales representatives working from the employer’s premises are not covered, no matter how large the deals they close.
Occupations Excluded by Statute
New York Labor Law § 651 removes several specific groups from the definition of “employee” for overtime purposes. These exclusions apply regardless of pay or duties:11New York State Senate. New York Labor Law Section 651 – Definitions
- Employees of federal, state, and municipal government agencies.
- Taxicab drivers.
- Ordained ministers, priests, rabbis, members of religious orders, and similar clergy. Volunteers, students, and individuals with impaired earning capacity who work at religious, educational, or charitable organizations in exchange for charitable aid are also excluded.
- Staff counselors at children’s camps, and workers at summer camps operated by religious, educational, or charitable institutions for no more than three months per year.
- People employed on a casual basis as part-time babysitters in the employer’s home.
- Students working for a recognized fraternity, sorority, or student association at their college or university.
The religious and charitable exclusions are narrower than they look. The worker has to fit a specific sub-category, such as receiving charitable aid in exchange for work, being a student at the institution, or volunteering without an express employment contract. Simply working at a nonprofit does not trigger an exemption.
Farm Workers
Farm laborers used to be fully exempt from overtime in New York. That changed under the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, which phases down the overtime threshold on a set schedule. As of January 1, 2026, farm employers owe overtime for all hours worked beyond 52 in a workweek.12New York State Department of Labor. New York State Department of Labor Reminds New Yorkers of Decrease in Farm Worker Overtime Threshold The threshold drops to 48 hours in 2028, 44 hours in 2030, and 40 hours in 2032.
What High Pay Does and Doesn’t Do
Earning a lot of money is not itself an exemption in New York. The federal highly compensated employee rule, which relaxes the duties test for workers earning at least $107,432 per year, does not override New York’s requirement that the employee fully satisfy the duties test for the applicable exemption category. Pay an administrative employee the federal $684 minimum, call them exempt, and you have violated New York law.
Why Misclassification Is So Expensive
If any of this feels like a close call for your situation, the stakes are worth knowing. Under New York Labor Law § 198, an employee who wins an unpaid overtime claim recovers the wages owed plus liquidated damages equal to 100 percent of those wages, doubling the bill. The employer avoids the liquidated damages only by proving a good-faith basis for its pay practices.13New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 198 – Costs, Remedies The employee also recovers attorney’s fees and prejudgment interest.
The look-back is long. New York’s statute of limitations for unpaid overtime is six years, so a claim filed in 2026 can reach back to 2020.14New York State Senate. New York Labor Law Section 663 – Civil Action The federal FLSA limit is two years, or three for willful violations, which is why most New York overtime cases are filed under state law. Doubled damages, six years of back pay, and mandatory attorney’s fees are what turn a misclassified assistant manager or administrative coordinator into a serious liability.