The FLSA Duties Tests: All Six Exempt Categories (2026)

The manager spends approximately 80% of their shift performing the same non-supervisory tasks as hourly associates: stocking shelves, running registers, assisting customers, unloading trucks. They have the title 'assistant manager' and a salary above $684/week. However, their primary duty as actually performed is not management - it is the same production work as hourly employees. The executive exemption requires that management be the primary duty. Courts and the DOL have found similar roles non-exempt in the Dollar General and Walmart litigation.

The supervisor manages a shift, directs 3 crew members, handles customer complaints, and assigns work - but also regularly operates the fryer and cash register alongside the crew. If management is the most important aspect of the position (even if less than 50% of clock time), and if the supervisor has genuine hire/fire input, the executive exemption may apply. Key: does the employer give particular weight to the supervisor's staffing recommendations? If yes, likely exempt. If the 'recommendations' are rubber-stamped by a district manager, the authority test may fail.

Paralegals apply specific legal procedures and standards defined by attorneys. They do not exercise the kind of independent professional discretion that characterises exempt professionals. The DOL Fact Sheet #17S specifically identifies paralegals as typically non-exempt under the learned professional exemption, because their training (typically a 2-year associate degree or certification) does not constitute the 'prolonged specialised intellectual instruction' required, and because they apply specific standards rather than exercising advanced professional judgment.

Registered Nurses (RNs) with bachelor's-level nursing degrees typically qualify as learned professional exempt: they possess advanced knowledge acquired through prolonged specialised instruction, and their primary duties require application of that advanced knowledge. Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), however, typically do not qualify - their training (typically 12-18 months) is shorter and more applied, and their duties are more routinised. The DOL has specifically noted this distinction. Note: California's stricter test requires that more than 50% of time be on exempt duties.

A software engineer at a SaaS company designing, developing, and testing application code qualifies under the computer employee exemption - this is precisely the work the regulation targets. An IT support technician whose primary duty is password resets, hardware troubleshooting, and ticket triage does NOT qualify - applying specific standards from vendor manuals is not 'systems analysis' or 'software engineering' as defined in 29 CFR 541.400. The distinction matters frequently in tech companies that apply a blanket computer exemption to all IT roles.