Oregon · Classification · Updated April 2026

Oregon exempt: $684/week federal salary basis + duties test.

Oregon does not have a state-specific exempt salary threshold — the federal FLSA $684/week ($35,568/year) controls. The duties test is the harder bar: executive, administrative, professional, computer, or outside sales primary duties under 29 CFR Part 541. Misclassification exposes the employer to all unpaid OT back wages plus liquidated damages plus 30 days of penalty wages.

Salary Basis
$684/wk federal
Annualized
$35,568
Authority
29 CFR Part 541
Active

FLSA Exempt Classification

Validates exempt classification against $684/week salary basis and duties test. Captures classification rationale at hire. Annual review enforced.

Avoid · classification under salary basis
Flag · annual classification review
Always running

What those rules do at hire and at review.

The hero card configuration: Avoid on misclassification risk, Flag on annual review cycle.

Avoid · on classification below salary basis

When a worker is classified exempt at a salary below $684/week, Teambridge surfaces an Avoid indicator. The classification will fail FLSA review even if duties test is met. Employer must either raise salary or reclassify as non-exempt with overtime tracking.

Flag · annual classification review

Each exempt worker is flagged for annual classification review on the hire anniversary. The duties test is re-validated against actual job content. Drift in duties → reclassification recommended.

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Tell us about your Oregon workforce. We'll spin up FLSA-compliant exempt classification with salary basis enforcement, duties test documentation, and annual review cycles — and 21 other Oregon policies in a sandbox tenant.

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The rule, plainly stated

Salary basis + duties test — both must be met.

FLSA exempt classification requires both a salary above the threshold AND primary duties matching one of the white-collar exemptions. Salary alone does not exempt; duties alone does not exempt.

29 CFR Part 541 — White-Collar Exemptions: An employee is exempt from overtime requirements only if compensated on a salary basis at a rate not less than $684 per week and whose primary duty is the performance of work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer.

Salary basis at federal floor

Oregon does not have a state-specific exempt salary threshold. The federal FLSA $684/week ($35,568/year) is the controlling minimum. Workers earning less than this — even if performing exempt duties — must be classified as non-exempt and paid overtime. The Department of Labor's 2024 attempted increase to $1,128/week was vacated by federal court in November 2024.

Duties test is the harder bar

29 CFR Part 541 defines five white-collar exemptions: executive (management primary duty + 2+ direct reports + hiring authority), administrative (office work + discretion and independent judgment), professional (advanced knowledge + specialized intellectual instruction), computer (specific technical role + $27.63/hr alternative), and outside sales (primary duty making sales away from employer's place of business). The 'primary duty' analysis is fact-specific and the most common source of misclassification.

On autopilot

Teambridge enforces salary basis and surfaces duties drift.

Classification at hire is the cheap part — annual review against actual duties is where most operators fail.

01 · Salary basis check

$684/wk threshold validated.

When a worker is classified exempt, the salary is validated against $684/week ($35,568/year). Below the threshold → Avoid surface, with the threshold and source 29 CFR Part 541 cited.

02 · Duties capture at hire

Exempt category + primary duties documented.

At classification, the exempt category (executive/admin/professional/computer/outside sales) and primary duty rationale are captured in the worker record. This documentation is the first defense in BOLI or FLSA audit.

03 · Annual review cycle

Duties re-validated each year.

Each hire anniversary, exempt workers are flagged for classification review. The captured primary duty is compared against actual recent job content. Drift → reclassification recommended.

04 · HCE tracking

Highly-compensated workers flagged.

Workers earning $107,432+ are tracked under the HCE provision. The relaxed duties test is documented; salary level is the controlling gate.

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FAQ

People also ask.

What is Oregon's exempt salary threshold?
$684/week ($35,568/year) — the federal FLSA threshold. Oregon does not have a state-specific threshold. The DOL's attempted 2024 increase to $1,128/week was vacated by federal court in November 2024.
Is salary alone enough to make a worker exempt?
No. The worker must meet both the salary basis test AND the duties test. A worker earning $200,000/year doing manual labor is non-exempt; a worker earning $40,000/year managing a department also fails (below salary threshold). Both gates must be met.
What's the duties test?
Five white-collar categories under 29 CFR Part 541: executive (manage 2+ employees, hire/fire authority), administrative (office work + independent judgment), professional (advanced knowledge), computer (specific technical roles), outside sales (sales away from employer's place of business). The 'primary duty' analysis is fact-specific.
What happens if a worker is misclassified?
All unpaid overtime back wages (up to 6 years under Oregon ORS 652) plus liquidated damages plus 30 days of Oregon penalty wages at 8 hrs/day plus attorney fees plus BOLI civil penalties. Total exposure is typically 4-6× the original underpayment.
Can I make someone exempt by paying them a salary?
Not by itself. The salary must meet the $684/week threshold AND the worker must perform primary duties matching one of the five exempt categories. Calling someone a 'manager' on the org chart doesn't make them exempt if they don't actually manage 2+ employees.