Federal Overtime Salary Thresholds Under Part 541

The federal regulation governing the “white-collar” overtime exemption — for executive, administrative, and professional employees — sets a standard salary threshold of $684 per week, with lower thresholds for certain U.S. territories, a separate annual-compensation threshold for highly compensated employees, and an hourly alternative for computer employees. These are the figures currently published in 29 CFR Part 541 and DOL Fact Sheet #17A. A job title by itself never establishes exempt status under this rule.

This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.

Key points

• The standard salary basis threshold is “compensated on a salary basis at a rate of not less than $684 per week” under 29 CFR Part 541.
• Reduced territorial thresholds apply: “$455 per week if employed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands” and “$380 per week if employed in American Samoa.”
• The highly-compensated-employee exemption applies “beginning on January 1, 2020” to “an employee with total annual compensation of at least $107,432.”
• The computer-employee hourly alternative is “$27.63 an hour,” confirmed by both the regulation and DOL Fact Sheet #17A.
• “A job title alone is insufficient to establish the exempt status of an employee.”

The standard salary threshold

Under 29 CFR Part 541, an employee must be “compensated on a salary basis at a rate of not less than $684 per week” to meet the salary component of the executive, administrative, or professional exemption (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-541). DOL Fact Sheet #17A states the same figure, “$684 per week” (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a-overtime).

Reduced thresholds for U.S. territories

Part 541 sets lower salary-basis thresholds for employees in certain territories: “$455 per week if employed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands,” and “$380 per week if employed in American Samoa” (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-541).

The highly-compensated-employee threshold

A separate, higher threshold applies to highly compensated employees. Part 541 states: “Beginning on January 1, 2020, an employee with total annual compensation of at least $107,432 is deemed exempt” under the relevant provision (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-541).

The computer-employee hourly alternative

For employees paid by the hour rather than on a salary basis, Part 541 permits an alternative hourly rate: “$27.63 an hour” (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-541). DOL Fact Sheet #17A confirms the identical figure, “$27.63 an hour” (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a-overtime).

Exempt-status test

The regulation is explicit that naming a position “manager,” “administrator,” or similar is not enough on its own: “A job title alone is insufficient to establish the exempt status of an employee” (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-541).

How current these figures are

The eCFR page carries its own currency banner: “Displaying title 29, up to date as of 9/03/2026. Title 29 was last amended 8/31/2026” (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-541). DOL Fact Sheet #17A is dated “Revised September 2019” (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a-overtime).

What this article does not answer

This article only reports the salary figures and the title-alone rule as they appear in these two federal records on the date they were fetched. It does not address whether any individual reader’s actual job duties satisfy the separate duties test for the executive, administrative, or professional exemption — the salary figures above are only one part of a two-part test. It does not address whether a particular employer classified a particular employee correctly under Part 541, and it does not address back pay or other remedies that could follow from a misclassification. It also does not address whether any state has set a higher salary threshold or a stricter duties test than this federal record; Part 541 itself does not discuss state law, and a state requirement can be more protective than the federal minimum described here.

Source links

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-541 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a-overtime