Content Last Revised: 4/23/04 ---DISCLAIMER---

29CFR541.605 - Fee basis.

• Section Number: 541.605
• Section Name: Fee basis.

    (a) Administrative and professional employees may be paid on a fee 
basis, rather than on a salary basis. An employee will be considered to 
be paid on a ``fee basis'' within the meaning of these regulations if 
the employee is paid an agreed sum for a single job regardless of the 
time required for its completion. These payments resemble piecework 
payments with the important distinction that generally a ``fee'' is 
paid for the kind of job that is unique rather than for a series of 
jobs repeated an indefinite number of times and for which payment on an 
identical basis is made over and over again. Payments based on the 
number of hours or days worked and not on the accomplishment of a given 
single task are not considered payments on a fee basis.
    (b) To determine whether the fee payment meets the minimum amount 
of salary required for exemption under these regulations, the amount 
paid to the employee will be tested by determining the time worked on 
the job and whether the fee payment is at a rate that would amount to 
at least $455 per week if the employee worked 40 hours. Thus, an artist 
paid $250 for a picture that took 20 hours to complete meets the 
minimum salary requirement for exemption since earnings at this rate 
would yield the artist $500 if 40 hours were worked.