“Labor advocates claim that the duties test gives employers too much leeway. In a press release Tuesday, Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, noted just that: “we are concerned that failure to address the existing test’s vague definition, laissez-faire approach to the mix of ‘salaried’ and ‘hourly’ duties required for exempt statutes, and other shortcomings threaten to deny far too many workers the overtime pay protections that they deserve.” Owens urged for specific reforms, including clarifying that exempt workers cannot spend more than half of their time on non-exempt work.”
