A non-exempt employee is a worker who is entitled to earn at least the federal minimum wage and qualify for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours per week. Non-exempt employees are usually paid an hourly wage or earn a salary that’s less than a minimum amount determined by the Department of Labor (DOL). They are directly supervised by higher-ups who manage the workflow and are expected to dutifully carry out orders, without interjecting their own management decisions. Non-exempt employees are entitled to certain protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal law that sets minimum wage and overtime requirements.

On the other hand, exempt employees are primarily performing work that is not subject to overtime provisions of the FLSA. Employers are not required to pay overtime to employees who are properly classified as exempt. They may, however, choose to compensate such individuals for extra hours worked through benefits packages. To determine if a job is exempt or non-exempt, the FLSA uses five primary exemption tests: Executive test, Administrative test, Professional test, Outside sales test, and Computer test. All work is considered non-exempt until the employer completes an exemption test to document why overtime isnt required.

In summary, the key differences between exempt and non-exempt employees are that non-exempt workers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours per week, while exempt employees are not subject to overtime provisions of the FLSA.