In order to be exempt from overtime pay under the Executive Exemption, you must be an bona-fide "executive." In order to be considered an "executive" you must be paid a salary of at least $640/week and:
1. Manage the entire enterprise in which you work or a customarily recognized department or subdivision.
2. Direct the work of at least 2 subordinates in your department.
3. Have authority to hire or fire – directly or indirectly.
4. Exercise independent business judgment.
5. Spend more than 50% of your time doing the above.
The executive exemption is sometimes incorrectly called the "supervisors" exemption. It is important to know that there is no "supervisors" exemption. You can supervise people and still be entitled to overtime.
Many people see requirement #2 and think that if you supervise 2 people, you are exempt. This is simply not the case. First of all, if you only supervised 2 people, it is extremely unlikely that you would spend 50% of your time supervising them. More than likely, you will be considered a "working foreman" and would be entitled to overtime.
In addition, the most important item above is that you must be an executive in charge of a real department or subdivision of the enterprise. Jobs such as "Team Lead", "Development Manager", and "Project Manager" are likely not in charge of a fixed department. The DLSE enforcement manually aptly puts the challenge of this exemption in that an "employee must be in charge of the unit, not simply participate in the management of the unit." This is why most low and mid level managers are improperly classified under this exemption. If you were told you were not entitled to overtime because you are a "manager," you can email me with a brief description of your job duties and I can tell you whether or not this exemption might apply to you.
To meet requirement #3, you must be able to do the following: hire or fire, AND review performance. You do not need to be the one that actually performs the hiring or firing, but your opinion must be given strong preference. If a voting system is used, and you only get one vote like everyone else, then your opinion is not being given strong preference and you don't meet the exemption. You do not need to both hire and fire, participating in either one will be sufficient. However, you must take part in performance reviews or other activities which relate to the advancement of employees.
Remember that job titles are not used in determining exemption from overtime. Just because you company prints "Director of XXX" or "Vice President of YYY" on you business card does not make you exempt. If you spend 50% of your time doing the same type of work as your subbordinates, it doesn't matter what your title is, you are probably entiteled to overtime.
