• Texas adheres to federal regulations involving salaried jobs.american flag, texas u.s.a image by Edward Westmacott from Fotolia.com
  
  States, including Texas, must adhere to federal minimum standards for wages, salaries and overtime. States are free to impose higher minimums but may not fall below the federal standard.
  
  

Fair Labor Standards Act

• The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal mandate to which Texas state law complies, establishing a minimum wage and overtime rules. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour as of July 2010, and overtime pay is equivalent to regular pay plus one half for every hour worked after 40 hours a week. (See References 1) With salaried positions, however, deciding whether or not these federal minimums apply can be challenging.
  
  

FLSA: Minimum Wage

• Even for salaried positions, the federal minimum wage still generally applies in Texas, especially when the employee is making less than $455 a week. Exceptions to this include teachers, lawyers and doctors. And, when a salaried employee is making more than $455 a week, there are other professions that are exempt, including those in executive or administrative positions, outside sales, or certain computing fields. (See References 2)
  
  

FLSA: Overtime

• Often, salaried executives responsible for important decisions within a business are exempt from overtime pay rules in Texas.office chair image by Ekaterina Sidorenko from Fotolia.com
  
  According to the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, a "fixed salary for a regular workweek longer than 40 hours does not discharge FLSA statutory obligations." (See References 2) These federal obligations are upheld in Texas, and overtime pay must be calculated and paid to many salaried employees. However, as with the minimum wage, certain professionals are exempt from overtime pay. This includes many of the same salaried professions that are exempt from the minimum wage, including teachers, lawyers, doctors, computer professionals and executives.
  
  

Deductions from Salaried Pay

• In most cases, salary is guaranteed for every week that a worker is employed, regardless of the number of hours worked. There are some instances where pay may be reduced, such as when employees miss scheduled work days for personal reasons or when they are on sick leave or disability and are being paid through worker's comp or another form of compensation. (See References 4)