is it better to be an exempt employee or a non exempt employee 
whether it is better to be an exempt employee or a non exempt employee depends on a variety of factors such as the type of job and a person s background education and personal situation exempt employees are generally paid higher and receive benefits at their jobs such as retirement plans and health insurance however they are not paid for overtime and therefore may not be compensated appropriately if their job requires long hours can an employee be salaried and non exempt yes an employee can be salaried non exempt meaning that they receive a weekly salary or however the employer chooses to pay and qualify for overtime pay for any hours worked over 40 hours a week non exempt employees do not have to be paid hourly they can be paid in a variety of manners via commission salary hourly etc as long as the compensation meets minimum wage requirements 4the bottom linethe fair labor standards act flsa determines various labor statuses one of those statuses non exempt employee is not exempt from overtime provisions and is entitled to overtime pay for hours worked beyond the standard 40 hours in a workweek these non exempt employees may be paid salary hourly or on another basis 