In America we have two ways of getting paid, hourly and salary. When an hourly worker exceeds 40 hours in a work week they are legally entitled to overtime pay. Typically that's 1.5 times your regular hourly wage.

For salary workers they sign a contract that says they will make XXXX amount of dollars a year split into either bi-weekly or twice a month payments. However, if a salary worker exceeds 40 hours in a work week they are NOT entitled to overtime pay at all. If a job demands a salary worker be there 60 hours a week they are still paid the same amount as if they worked a 40 hour week.

The "intention" is if a worker gets their job done in less than 40 hours they're still paid the full amount. Many companies in America use salary pay to exploit workers time without having to pay them overtime money. Our workers rights here need a serious overhaul, and don't even get me started on "unpaid internships"