Exempt Employee

An “exempt employee” is an employee who receives a salary for their work, but no overtime pay. Nonexempt employees earn hourly wages and are eligible for overtime pay. Therefore, nonexempt employees usually need to “clock time” more strictly than exempt employees. 

White-collar workers are generally exempt, while most blue-collar or frontline workers are nonexempt. 

In addition to different pay and timekeeping practices, there are major differences between exempt and nonexempt employees when it comes to engagement, experience, and the employee value proposition.