FLSA executive exemption: two or more employees.

The four tests in 541.100(a)

1. Paid on a salary basis under 541.602 at not less than $684 per week (lower figures apply in the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in American Samoa), exclusive of board, lodging or other facilities.
2. Primary duty is management of the enterprise, or of a customarily recognized department or subdivision.
3. Customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more other employees.
4. Has the authority to hire or fire, or whose suggestions and recommendations on hiring, firing, advancement, promotion or any other change of status are given particular weight.

What "two or more other employees" means (541.104)

• Full-time equivalents. Two full-time employees or the equivalent. One full-time and two half-time employees equal two; four half-time employees also equal two.
• Distributed supervision. Supervision can be spread across several supervisors, but each must customarily and regularly direct two full-time employees or the equivalent. A department with five full-time nonexempt workers may have up to two exempt supervisors if each directs two of them.
• Acting manager. Someone who merely assists the manager and supervises two or more employees only when the actual manager is absent does not meet the test.
• No double counting. Hours worked by an employee cannot be credited more than once for different executives. Shared responsibility for supervising the same two employees does not satisfy the requirement, but a full-time employee who works four hours for one supervisor and four for another can count as half-time for each.

Particular weight (541.105)

Factors include whether making such suggestions is part of the job, how often they are made or requested, and how often they are relied on. Generally the recommendations must pertain to employees the executive customarily and regularly directs; an occasional suggestion about a co-worker's change of status is not enough.

Worked example

A shift lead earns $900 a week, runs the evening department and directs one full-time and two half-time employees, and the owner usually follows the lead's hiring recommendations. Salary, management duty and authority tests are met; the headcount is 1 + 2 x 0.5 = 2 full-time equivalents, so the "two or more" test is met on these facts. If the same lead directed one full-time and one half-time employee, the count would be 1.5 and the test would fail.

Limits

The checker applies the numeric and yes/no tests. "Primary duty" and "customarily and regularly" are defined at 541.700 and 541.701 and depend on the facts of the job, and state law may set a higher salary level. A $684 weekly salary is $35,568 over 52 weeks, but the rule is stated weekly.

Sources

• 29 CFR 541.100 General rule for executive employees: the four tests and the weekly salary level. Read November 2, 2026.
• 29 CFR 541.104 Two or more other employees: full-time equivalents and shared supervision. Read November 2, 2026.
• 29 CFR 541.105 Particular weight: factors for recommendations. Read November 2, 2026.

Regulation text is the eCFR version current to October 29, 2026. The $684 weekly figure is the number printed in 541.100 and 541.300 in that version, which cite a May 15, 2026 amendment.