Non-exempt employee
An employee entitled to FLSA overtime pay (1.5× regular rate) for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
A non-exempt employee is one who does not meet the Fair Labor Standards Act's tests for the white-collar exemptions and is therefore entitled to overtime pay at 1.5× the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a defined seven-day workweek (federal rule). Several states impose stricter daily or weekly overtime rules that override the federal floor — California requires daily overtime over 8 hours, Alaska requires daily overtime over 8, Colorado requires both daily over 12 and weekly over 40.
Most hourly employees are non-exempt. Many salaried employees are also non-exempt (the salary basis test alone does not make an employee exempt — the duties test must also be satisfied). Non-exempt salaried employees still receive overtime; the per-pay-period salary is divided by the standard hours to compute an effective regular rate, and overtime is paid on top of the salary.
Recordkeeping requirements are stricter for non-exempt employees: daily hours worked, total weekly hours, regular rate, total straight-time and overtime earnings, and pay date — all retained for at least three years (payroll records) and two years (time records) under FLSA §11(c).