Fact Sheet #17I: Blue-Collar Workers and the Part 541 Exemptions Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Revised September 2019
On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) published a final rule, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, to update and revise the regulations issued under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act implementing the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, and professional employees. Revisions included increases to the standard salary level and the highly compensated employee total annual compensation threshold, and a mechanism for updating these earnings thresholds to reflect current earnings data. On November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the Department's 2024 final rule. Consequently, with regard to enforcement, the Department is applying the 2019 rule's minimum salary level of $684 per week and total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees of $107,432 per year. Lawsuits regarding the 2024 final rule are currently pending in two other federal district courts, and the United States has filed a notice of appeal from the November 15 decision. The Department will update this notice with additional information as it becomes available.
This fact sheet provides information on the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay provided by Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA as it applies to blue-collar workers as defined in 29 C.F.R. § 541.3.
The FLSA requires that most employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
However, 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 exempts certain computer employees. These exemptions are often called the “white-collar” or “EAP” exemptions. To qualify for exemption, employees must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week.
Blue-Collar Workers
The exemptions provided by FLSA Section 13(a)(1) do not apply to manual laborers or other “blue-collar” workers who perform work involving repetitive operations with their hands, physical skill and energy. Such nonexempt “blue-collar” employees gain the skills and knowledge required for performance of their routine manual and physical work through apprenticeships and on-the-job training.
FLSA-covered, non-management employees in production, maintenance, construction and similar occupations such as carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, iron workers, craftsmen, operating engineers, longshoremen, construction workers and laborers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime premium pay under the FLSA, and are not exempt under Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA nor the regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 541, no matter how highly paid they might be.
Where to Obtain Additional Information
For additional information, visit our Wage and Hour Division Website: http://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd and/or call our toll-free information and helpline, available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in your time zone, 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).
This publication is for general information and is not to be considered in the same light as official statements of position contained in the regulations.