Are Wisconsin teachers eligible for overtime?

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, teachers are considered exempt employees, meaning they are not eligible for overtime pay. 

Teachers are exempt from FLSA if their primary duty is "teaching, tutoring, instructing or lecturing in the activity of imparting knowledge, and if they are employed and engaged in this activity as a teacher in an educational establishment." 

To maintain this exempt status, teachers must be paid a weekly rate of at least $684, or $35,308 annually, on a salary basis. The salary rate only applies to weeks when an employee worked, meaning summer vacation does not impact teachers' exempt status.

Beyond K-12 teachers, the exemption includes but is not limited to teachers of skilled and semi-skilled trades and occupations, driving instructors, aircraft flight instructors and vocal or instrument music teachers.