My boyfriend is salaried and works 10-12 hours a day but gets paid for 8. Is this normal?

I’ve never had a salary, always been hourly so I’m not sure how they work exactly. I know he’s exempt (or is it non-exempt?) or whatever so they don’t have to pay him any overtime. So I know it’s legal. I’m just wondering if this is typical of salaried jobs. Do you usually work a lot more hours than you’re paid for? It seems really fucked up to me. I want to convince him to change jobs, but if this is normal for a salaried job, then fuck. Edit: this is in California