Below is an infographic defining executive, administrative, and professional exemptions. Please note, the minimum salary amount required for these exemptions has increased to $684 per week as of 1/1/2020. (*See below for updates on the attempts of the Obama and Biden administrations to increase these minimum salary requirements)
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* The Department of Labor under the Obama administration increased the salary amount for these exemptions to $913 per week effective 12/1/2016; however, this increase was blocked by a court ruling. The Trump administration instead only increased the minimum salary to $684 per week, effective 1/1/2020. Please see this page for the latest updates.
Federal Court Undoes New 2024 & 2025 Salary Threshold Increases
On November 15, 2024, a federal judge appointed by Donald Trump released a decision undoing the 2024 Department of Labor (DOL) rule under the Biden administration that increased the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees to $43,888 a year ($844 weekly) effective July 1, 2024, and to $58,656 a year ($1,128 weekly) effective January 1, 2025 (with annual increases thereafter). The court believed that the Department of Labor exceeded its authority by prioritizing salary over job duties when both salary and job duties are required to be considered. While the DOL did initially file an appeal to try to overturn this decision, as of April 29, 2025, the DOL under the Trump administration has asked for a stay of the appeal pending the DOL’s reconsideration of this rule. Therefore, it seems likely that the 2024/2025 salary increases are now dead.
The decision means that the previous salary threshold from 2019 ($684 per week / $35,568 annually) will go back into effect. This decision does not, however, impact any salary threshold changes under state overtime laws (e.g., CA, NY, WA).
