Content Last Revised: 4/23/04 ---DISCLAIMER---

29CFR541.703 - Directly and closely related.

• Section Number: 541.703
• Section Name: Directly and closely related.

    (a) Work that is ``directly and closely related'' to the 
performance of exempt work is also considered exempt work. The phrase 
``directly and closely related'' means tasks that are related to exempt 
duties and that contribute to or facilitate performance of exempt work. 
Thus, ``directly and closely related'' work may include physical tasks 
and menial tasks that arise out of exempt duties, and the routine work 
without which the exempt employee's exempt work cannot be performed 
properly. Work ``directly and closely related'' to the performance of 
exempt duties may also include recordkeeping; monitoring and adjusting 
machinery; taking notes; using the computer to create documents or 
presentations; opening the mail for the purpose of reading it and 
making decisions; and using a photocopier or fax machine. Work is not 
``directly and closely related'' if the work is remotely related or 
completely unrelated to exempt duties.
    (b) The following examples further illustrate the type of work that 
is and is not normally considered as directly and closely related to 
exempt work:
    (1) Keeping time, production or sales records for subordinates is 
work directly and closely related to an exempt executive's function of 
managing a department and supervising employees.
    (2) The distribution of materials, merchandise or supplies to 
maintain control of the flow of and expenditures for such items is 
directly and closely related to the performance of exempt duties.
    (3) A supervisor who spot checks and examines the work of 
subordinates to determine whether they are performing their duties 
properly, and whether the product is satisfactory, is performing work 
which is directly and closely related to managerial and supervisory 
functions, so long as the checking is distinguishable from the work 
ordinarily performed by a nonexempt inspector.
    (4) A supervisor who sets up a machine may be engaged in exempt 
work, depending upon the nature of the industry and the operation. In 
some cases the setup work, or adjustment of the machine for a 
particular job, is typically performed by the same employees who 
operate the machine. Such setup work is part of the production 
operation and is not exempt. In other cases, the setting up of the work 
is a highly skilled operation which the ordinary production worker or 
machine tender typically does not perform. In large plants, non-
supervisors may perform such work. However, particularly in small 
plants, such work may be a regular duty of the executive and is 
directly and closely related to the executive's responsibility for the 
work performance of subordinates and for the adequacy of the final 
product. Under such circumstances, it is exempt work.
    (5) A department manager in a retail or service establishment who 
walks about the sales floor observing the work of sales personnel under 
the employee's supervision to determine the effectiveness of their 
sales techniques, checks on the quality of customer service being 
given, or observes customer preferences is performing work which is 
directly and closely related to managerial and supervisory functions.
    (6) A business consultant may take extensive notes recording the 
flow of work and materials through the office or plant of the client; 
after returning to the office of the employer, the consultant may 
personally use the computer to type a report and create a proposed 
table of organization. Standing alone, or separated from the primary 
duty, such note-taking and typing would be routine in nature. However, 
because this work is necessary for analyzing the data and making 
recommendations, the work is directly and closely related to exempt 
work. While it is possible to assign note-taking and typing to 
nonexempt employees, and in fact it is frequently the practice to do 
so, delegating such routine tasks is not required as a condition of 
exemption.
    (7) A credit manager who makes and administers the credit policy of 
the employer, establishes credit limits for customers, authorizes the 
shipment of orders on credit, and makes decisions on whether to exceed 
credit limits would be performing work exempt under Sec.  541.200. Work 
that is directly and closely related to these exempt duties may include 
checking the status of accounts to determine whether the credit limit 
would be exceeded by the shipment of a new order, removing credit 
reports from the files for analysis,
and writing letters giving credit data and experience to other 
employers or credit agencies.
    (8) A traffic manager in charge of planning a company's 
transportation, including the most economical and quickest routes for 
shipping merchandise to and from the plant, contracting for common-
carrier and other transportation facilities, negotiating with carriers 
for adjustments for damages to merchandise, and making the necessary 
rearrangements resulting from delays, damages or irregularities in 
transit, is performing exempt work. If the employee also spends part of 
the day taking telephone orders for local deliveries, such order-taking 
is a routine function and is not directly and closely related to the 
exempt work.
    (9) An example of work directly and closely related to exempt 
professional duties is a chemist performing menial tasks such as 
cleaning a test tube in the middle of an original experiment, even 
though such menial tasks can be assigned to laboratory assistants.
    (10) A teacher performs work directly and closely related to exempt 
duties when, while taking students on a field trip, the teacher drives 
a school van or monitors the students' behavior in a restaurant.