Must local government employers pay salaried employees overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act?

Yes, in some cases.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts certain categories of employees from the general overtime pay requirements of the law. The categories are executive, administrative and professional. Typically, employees in these categories are salaried, which sometimes leads to the observation that salary means no overtime under the FLSA. This is not correct. While the amount of compensation, salary or other, is a factor in determining whether an employee is exempt from FLSA overtime requirements, the method of compensation is not a factor. In addition to the amount of compensation paid, exempt status depends on the work performed by the employee. Therefore, determining whether an employee is exempt from FLSA overtime requirements does not depend on whether they are paid a salary or by the hour. This means that a salaried municipal employee who is not an exempt employee under the FLSA must still be paid overtime.