Exemptions: Overtime & minimum wage - North Carolina

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for employees employed as bona fide executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees. Section 13(a)(1) and Section 13(a)(17) also exempt certain computer employees.

To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week. Job titles do not determine exempt status. In order for an exemption to apply, an employee’s specific job duties and salary must meet all the requirements of the Department’s regulations.

These salary minimum does not apply to outside sales employees, teachers, and employees practicing law or medicine. Exempt computer employees may be paid at least $684 on a salary basis or on an hourly basis at a rate not less than $27.63 an hour.

The following individuals are exempt from the North Carolina minimum wage provisions: pages in the state assembly, prisoners and confined mental patients, models, actors, performers and production workers in outdoor theatre, employees of fishing operations, rideshare drivers, and computer system analysts, programmers and software engineers.

In addition, the following individuals are exempt from North Carolina overtime provisions: computer system analysts, programmers, software engineers, pages in the state assembly, seamen, models, actors and performers, taxi drivers, employees of rail and airlines, radio and TV announcers, news editors and chief engineers, drivers, drivers helpers loaders and mechanics.

State

Contact

North Carolina Department of Labor, Labor Standards Bureau

Regulations

Wage and Hour Act
Chapter 95, Article 2A
§95-25.14 Exemptions

www.nclabor.com/laborlaws.pdf

Federal

Contact

The Department of Labor is the federal agency that monitors hours worked.

Regulations

Regulations for exempt employees can be found in CFR 29 Part 541, Defining And Delimiting The Exemptions For Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer And Outside Sales Employees