What is the difference between Exempt and Non-Exempt employees?

An exempt employee does not have to be paid overtime pay and possibly minimum wage. The Fair Labor Standards Act has numerous exemptions written into the law that exempt certain job positions from either getting overtime pay or being paid minimum wage or both.  Each exemption has certain criteria that the position must meet for the exemption to apply. Typically, these are specific job duties.  However, some exemptions also have pay requirements.  For example, the most common exemptions are the Executive, Administrative, and Professional exemptions which require specific job duties and, in most cases, that the employee be paid on a salary basis.

A non-exempt employee means no overtime or minimum wage exemption applies to the position so the employee must be paid at least minimum wage and time and a half after 40 hours per week.