The short answer
Some do, most don't — and the deciding factor is classification, not the word "salary." Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees are either:
- Non-exempt: entitled to overtime pay (1.5× their regular rate) for hours over 40 in a workweek — even if they're paid a salary.
- Exempt: not entitled to overtime, no matter how many hours they work.
What makes a salaried employee exempt?
To be exempt, you generally must meet all three tests:
- Salary basis: you're paid a fixed salary that doesn't vary with hours worked.
- Salary level: you earn above the federal threshold (as of 2025, roughly $58,656/year — several states set higher bars, and thresholds change; check current DOL and state figures).
- Duties test: your primary duties are genuinely executive, administrative, or professional — managing people, exercising independent judgment on significant matters, or applying advanced knowledge.
Misclassification is common. A "manager" title with no direct reports, or an "analyst" role that's really routine production work, may fail the duties test. If you fail any of the three tests, you're owed overtime — salaried or not. This page is general information, not legal advice; an employment attorney or your state labor department can assess your specific situation.
If you're non-exempt: document everything
Back-pay claims live or die on records. Keep your own contemporaneous log of start times, end times, and breaks — don't rely on your employer's records. Our guide to tracking unpaid overtime covers exactly what to capture.
If you're exempt: your overtime is legal — but not free
This is the situation most salaried professionals are actually in. Nobody is breaking the law; you're just working hours that nobody pays for. And because no one is legally required to count those hours, no one does — which is how a 40-hour salary quietly becomes a 47-hour job at the same pay.
The remedy isn't legal — it's visibility:
- Measure your real hours. WorkWize (free on iPhone) logs each workday in seconds — start, end, lunch — with no employer involvement.
- See what the extra hours cost. The app converts your logged time into a true hourly wage and an effective salary. Example: a $150,000 salary worked at 46 real hours/week is effectively $131,190 — $18,810 lost to unpaid overtime.
- Decide with data. Use the numbers to negotiate workload, benchmark a competing offer, or set boundaries where the return on extra hours is zero.
Common questions
Can my employer make me work overtime without pay if I'm exempt?
Generally yes — exempt status means your salary covers all hours worked. Your protections are market ones: negotiation, boundaries, and the option to leave. All three work better with data.
Does working through lunch count as overtime?
For non-exempt employees, working through an unpaid lunch is compensable time. For exempt employees it's one more unpaid hour — which is why WorkWize tracks lunch breaks explicitly.
What if I'm not sure of my classification?
Start logging your hours today anyway. If you later discover you were misclassified, your log becomes evidence. If you're correctly exempt, it becomes leverage. Either way, you win by measuring.
Track it automatically with WorkWize
The free unpaid overtime tracker for salaried professionals. Log your day in 10 seconds — see your true hourly pay and the cost of every unpaid hour.
