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Exempt or Non-Exempt Quiz

Is the role exempt from overtime? Run the FLSA salary and duties test with the 2026 thresholds and get a verdict in two minutes.
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Get the exempt call reviewed in 15 minutes

Most exempt status mistakes are duties-test mistakes. A CoAd HR specialist will check the role against the 2026 rules, fix the job description and tell you what back pay exposure looks like if it is wrong.

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Salaried does not mean exempt. To skip overtime, a role has to clear three tests: a salary of at least $684 a week paid on a fixed basis, and duties that fit the executive, administrative, professional, computer or outside sales definitions. Most misclassification cases fail the duties test, not the salary test. Enter the pay and answer the duties questions for one role; the verdict names the test that fails. If the answer is non-exempt, the overtime audit covers what to pay.

Exempt or non-exempt? The FLSA test

Salary level, salary basis and duties, in that order. Answer for one role.
Duties (answer for this one employee)
Is managing the business or a department their primary duty?Executive test
Do they regularly direct the work of two or more full-time employees?
Can they hire, fire, or do their recommendations carry real weight?
Is their main work office or non-manual work tied to running the business?Administrative test
Do they exercise independent judgment on matters of significance?Not just following a manual
Does the job require advanced knowledge from prolonged specialized study, or is it creative work?Professional test: nurses, accountants, engineers, designers
Is it systems analysis, programming or software engineering?Computer employee test; hourly OK at $27.63 or more
Do they make sales away from your place of business most of the time?Outside sales: no salary test
Verdict
    Classify once, correctly

    CoAd HR reviews exempt status across your roles, writes the job descriptions that support it and fixes pay practices before an audit does.

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    Federal thresholds effective May 15, 2026: $684 per week ($35,568) on a salary basis for the executive, administrative and professional exemptions; $107,432 total annual pay for the highly compensated exemption; computer employees may be paid hourly at $27.63 or more. California requires at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work (about $70,300 in 2026); Colorado, New York, Washington and Alaska also set higher floors. Job titles never decide exemption. Educational, not legal advice.

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