Mass-Peculiarities: An Employers Guide to Wage & Hour Law in the Bay State 2022 Edition

98 | Massachusetts Wage & Hour Peculiarities, 2022 ed. © 2022 Seyfarth Shaw LLP The following sections discuss the various components of the administrative exemption and provide guidance on what types of job classifications fall within this exemption. (1) Primary Duty Is Office or Non-Manual Work Directly Related to the Management or General Business Operations of the Employer To qualify for the administrative exemption, an employee’s primary duty must be the performance of office or non-manual work that directly relates to assisting with the running or servicing of the business, as distinguished from production or sales work. 541 Thus, an employee whose primary duty is working on a manufacturing production line or selling products in a retail or service establishment would not qualify for the administrative exemption. 542 Non-manual or office work considered to be directly related to management or general business operations includes but is not limited to work in functional areas such as: • Tax • Finance • Accounting • Budgeting • Auditing • Insurance • Quality control • Purchasing • Procurement • Advertising • Marketing • Research • Safety and health educat ional establishment . See 29 C.F.R. § 541.204. Employers with employees who may meet the requirement s of the academic administ rat ive exempt ion are encouraged to speak to legal counsel regarding the specific element s of this provision. 541 29 C.F.R. § 541.201(a). 542 Id .