Minimum Salary Levels for Executive, Administrative and Professional Employees by State

Author: Susie Wine, Littler

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and certain state laws set minimum salary levels for overtime-exempt executive, administrative and professional employees. Employers covered by the FLSA must pay whichever salary level - whether federal or that of the state in which their employees are working - is higher to remain eligible for an exemption.

The following information is summarized on this chart:

• Covered Employers: In many states, the minimum salary levels apply to all employers. In others, coverage is limited or the minimum salary levels vary depending on certain factors. the chart links to the Employment Law Guide for further details.
• Minimum Weekly Salary: Because the FLSA and many state laws use the workweek as the standard for determining whether an employee is entitled to overtime, the minimum salary level for overtime-exempt employees is listed as a dollar amount that must be paid each week. In states where the minimum salary level is based on some other unit of time (e.g., per hour, per month, per year), the minimum salary level has been converted to a weekly amount.
• Upcoming Changes: Future minimum salary levels, and the dates on which they take effect, are also listed.

States whose laws are silent or that have no minimum salary level are marked N/A. In these states, employers covered by the FLSA should follow federal law.