Fee Basis
•A fee payment meets the minimum salary level required for exemption if, based on the time worked to complete the job, the fee is at a rate that would amount to at least $455 per week if the employee worked 40 hours
•Example:
*An artist is paid $250 to paint a portrait that took 20 hours to complete, the equivalent of $12.50 per hour
*Because working 40 hours at this $12.50 per hour rate would yield the artist $500, the fee payment meets the salary requirements for exemption
To test whether a fee payment meets the minimum level required, consider the time worked to complete the job and determine if the payment is at a rate that would yield at least $455 per week if the employee worked 40 hours.  For example, an artist paid $250 to paint a portrait that took 20 hours to complete meets the minimum salary requirement since the rate would yield $500 if 40 hours were worked.