Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees must be paid a minimum hourly wage and an overtime premium of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of forty per week. This is the one of a continuing series that discusses FLSA exemptions. The executive exemption allows employees who qualify as “executives” to be exempted from both minimum wage and overtime requirements. One of the tests to be met is that an executive must manage an enterprise or department or subdivision thereof. The department or subdivision must be permanent and continuing. The regulations explain that a “human resources department might have subdivisions for labor relations, pensions and other benefits, equal employment opportunity, and personnel management.” Enterprises with more than one establishment may consider each establishment a subdivision for this purpose. There is however, no physical presence test for a department or subdivision. Likewise, the fact that the employees that the executive manages may change from time-to-time is irrelevant. Neither the physical presence nor the static employee test is determinative; instead the facts and circumstances surrounding the employee’s management activities are what are critical to classifying the employee as an executive. State laws may provide rules that are more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions about the executive exemption.