I built and manage a TV station and make $17.10/hr. Yeah, I know my pay is absurdly low for my line of work, but I have a reason for staying despite the pay.
I was a salaried employee for a bit earning around 35k/yr. I went through something devastating in my life and could not come to work for a few weeks. They agreed to keep me on and said to come back when I was ready. They're typically pretty great people.
When I got back, I told them I don't think I can manage a 40-hour work week anymore due to what happened and they understood, so they put me back to an hourly wage. They told me I'd earn $17.10 “because that was close to what you were making before.” Turns out $17.10 x 40 is $684, the minimum a person has to make in my state to be exempt from overtime pay.
Due to a new assignment I'm working on, I've been going into overtime more. Turns out that they can consider me a “creative professional” and not pay me overtime.