US Offer Letter Checklist for Pay, Start Date and At-Will Wording

The direct answer: what the letter should state and the federal salary test

A US offer letter has no single federal form. Employers usually include the job title, the start date, the work location, the reporting line, the pay rate and how often it is paid, and a sentence on employment status. The pay basis matters most for overtime. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a salaried worker can be exempt from overtime only when the job duties meet the rules and the salary clears a weekly floor. The floor is $684 per week, or $35,568 a year, under the 2019 rule in 29 C.F.R. Part 541. The Department of Labor restored that level on May 14, 2026, after the 2024 rule was vacated by a federal court. Job titles do not decide exempt status. The letter should therefore state the pay basis and the FLSA classification, not just a title such as manager or coordinator.

A usable checklist covers these points:

• Role, duties summary, and who the person reports to
• Start date, and any probation period the employer plans to use
• Pay basis: hourly rate, weekly salary, or annual salary
• Pay frequency, payday, and where pay is delivered
• Exempt or non-exempt status under the FLSA, and the expected hours
• Employment is at will, stated in plain words
• Conditions of the offer, such as right-to-work checks or references
• Benefits eligibility, without promising amounts that the plan documents set
• Acceptance deadline, signature line and a statement that the letter is not a contract for a fixed period

How the figure is worked out, step by step

The test has three parts. The duties test asks whether the main work is executive, administrative or professional in the sense the regulations define. The salary basis test asks whether the employee receives a predetermined amount each pay period that does not change with the quality or quantity of work. The salary level test asks whether that amount meets the weekly floor. An employer should run the steps in this order.

1. Confirm the main duties match an executive, administrative or professional role. Do not rely on the title.
2. Confirm the pay is a fixed salary. The Department of Labor's fact sheet on the salary basis rule says an exempt employee generally receives the full salary for any week in which they perform any work.
3. Divide the annual salary by 52 to get the weekly figure. Compare that figure with $684.
4. If part of the pay is a bonus or commission, check the rule on nondiscretionary payments. These can count toward up to 10 percent of the $684 weekly floor, and they must be paid at least once a year. A catch-up payment can be made within one pay period if the year-end total falls short.
5. For highly compensated employees, check the second route. Total annual pay must be at least $107,432, the employee must receive at least $684 per week on a salary basis, and the employee must regularly perform at least one exempt duty.
6. If the role fails any step, the person is non-exempt. The employer must pay at least one and a half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.

Worked example with real numbers

Take a finance analyst offered a salary of $52,000 a year. Divide by 52 and the weekly figure is $1,000. That is above $684, so the salary level test is met. If the analyst's main work is professional and the salary is fixed, the role can be exempt. Compare a bookkeeper offered $30,000 a year. The weekly figure is about $577, which is below $684. That role is non-exempt under the federal rule, even if the duties look professional.

The table below shows how the same figures would appear in the offer letter review.

The hourly example shows why the letter must state the basis clearly. An hourly worker is paid for every hour, and overtime is added on top of the regular rate.

Cases that change the answer

Resignation and termination. An at-will sentence means either side can end the relationship. The letter should not promise notice periods unless the employer intends to be bound by them. Notice, final pay timing and the rules on separation pay depend on the state, so the wording should be checked for the state where the person works.

Fixed-term contracts. If the letter sets an end date, it should also say what happens when that date passes. Practitioners note that the letter should say whether the job becomes at will, month to month, or ends. A fixed term and an at-will statement cannot sit comfortably in the same letter without a clear explanation.

Minimum service and probation. Some employers add a probation period before benefits start. That is a reasonable term to state. Some states limit at-will employment after a probation period, so the exact wording should be reviewed before it is used.

Caps and thresholds. The $684 weekly floor, the $107,432 highly compensated figure and the 10 percent cap on bonuses are the numbers that change the result. Changing any one of them can move a role from exempt to non-exempt.

Exclusions. The white-collar exemptions are not the only ones. Outside sales and highly skilled computer employees fall under separate tests in the same Part 541 framework. Some roles, such as hourly production work, are non-exempt whatever the pay.

State rules on top of federal rules. Many states set their own salary thresholds or exemption tests, and some are stricter than the federal figure. The federal floor is a starting point only. Some states also require written pay notices at hire. New York's Wage Theft Prevention Act, which took effect in 2011, requires written notice of wage rates to each new hire, and New York's Department of Labor publishes model forms. Other states set their own notice rules, or none.

Common mistakes

The most common error is using wording that sounds like a promise of continued work. Phrases such as permanent position, job security or employment for at least a year can weaken an at-will statement. A second error is quoting an annual figure for an hourly job without stating the hourly rate and the hours expected. A third is leaving out the at-will sentence altogether. Practitioners warn that this can make it harder to end employment later, because a court may read other letter wording as an implied promise.

Another frequent mistake is treating the exempt label as permanent. If a salaried employee is docked for a partial week, the salary basis can be lost. The letter should not promise a pay cut right to the end of a week. Finally, many employers copy a template with the wrong numbers. Some payroll rate sheets still cite the 2024 rule's $58,656 figure, which was vacated and never took lasting effect.

What to check with HR or a lawyer

Ask HR to confirm the pay basis, the FLSA classification and the job duties in writing, and keep that record with the offer. Ask a lawyer licensed in the state where the person works to review the at-will sentence, any probation or fixed-term wording, the notice rules, and any written pay notice required at hire. Check whether any bonus is discretionary or nondiscretionary, because that changes whether it counts toward the salary test. Finally, before any change to pay, hours or duties after hire, check the state's notice and consultation rules and agree the change with the employee or with a lawyer.

This explains the rule in general terms; it is not legal or tax advice for your case.

How employers take routine HR and payroll work off their staff

Much of the offer letter process is copying the same fields from an approved offer record into a template, checking that every required line is filled, and filing the signed copy. AI workers can take over that routine work. They can pull the role, pay rate, pay frequency and start date from the approved record, flag a missing field, and prepare the draft for review. A person still decides the classification, approves the wording and signs. The result depends on each employer's own figures and process, which the free audit measures.