What it is
Exempt status requires a salary above the federal threshold and a qualifying duties test: executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, or IT. A salaried employee who does not meet the duties test is misclassified and owns overtime, with liquidated damages doubling the amount.
What to do about it: Keep the work record: hours worked, schedule, and duties. The duties test is argued with what you did, not with what your title says.
Plain-language description of US practice, not legal, tax, or financial advice. The paired guide carries the citations, dates, and thresholds; the state pages carry the local windows.