Among the famous last words in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act Hall of Infamy are, "Let's write the job descriptions to make them exempt." The problem is this: Job descriptions do not "make" employees exempt.

Instead, most FLSA exemptions apply, if at all, only on an employee-by-employee basis according to the nature of each individual's actual work as judged against specific and often-detailed requirements.* Moreover, in any U.S. Labor Department investigation or in a lawsuit, the legal burden of establishing that a person is exempt rests with the employer, who must prove that each exemption requirement is met as to any individuals whose exempt status has been challenged. The Labor Department and the courts construe FLSA exemptions very narrowly, and doubt is often resolved against the employer.