Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, employees who work more than 40 hours per week are generally entitled to overtime pay—11/2 times their normal pay rates. But many classes of workers are exempt from the overtime requirement and other provisions of the law. Changes to U.S. Department of Labor regulations proposed this year are intended to modernize and simplify the largest set of exemptions: those for executive, administrative, and professional employees. The new rules would not change the eligibility status for most classes of school employees.
Here are lists of certain school district jobs showing whether, under existing law and regulations, they are usually exempt or eligible for overtime:
| EXEMPT | ELIGIBLE |
| Superintendents Assistant superintendents Principals Vice principals Teacher | Bus drivers Cafeteria workers Janitors Secretaries Teachers’ aides |
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. General Accounting Office; Education Week research.
