IT Overtime Exemption: Audit Primary Duty, Not Title

A manager asks whether an IT employee with a degree and a senior title can be paid without overtime. The audit starts with the actual work. On October 29, 2026, the U.S. Sixth Circuit issued guidance in Bennink v. Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company, LLC, clarifying that the FLSA computer-employee exemption is not limited to employees with traditional credentials or coding roles.

The exemption does not depend on a specific academic credential, education level, or job title. The decision affirmed the lower court's summary judgment for Cincinnati Bell and held that Loren Bennink qualified as an exempt computer employee under FLSA Section 213(a)(17). Loren Bennink was paid $3,000 per week regardless of how many hours he worked.

The decision applied the Department of Labor's primary-duty test, asking whether the exempt work was the central or most important part of the job as a whole, while treating time allocation as relevant but not decisive. His core work on the company's interactive voice response system, including design, development, and documentation, was his primary duty even though he also handled project management and coordination. The ruling held that a key part of the Department of Labor's overtime-eligibility guidance still applies after the Supreme Court's 2023 Loper Bright decision ending Chevron deference, the practice of deferring to agency interpretations.

The exemption follows the central job, not the label

A title can flatter. A degree can impress. Neither proves that the employee's main work is exempt systems work. The law asks about the main work, and the file shows how you decided.

For HR, the practical question is whether the role is built around exempt systems work. If the answer is yes, the exemption may fit. If the role is mostly support, scheduling, or coordination, the exemption may not. A role can include nonexempt tasks and still be exempt if the systems work remains central.

The audit is a five-step duty split

Use a primary-duty classification worksheet to audit the job description against the actual work. It gives a later reviewer the reasoning behind the call.

• List the actual duties. Write every recurring task, not just the headline project. Done looks like a one-page inventory with task names, tools, and the business problem each task solves.
• Split exempt systems work from nonexempt work. Put the exempt systems work in one column. Put support, coordination, scheduling, and general maintenance in the other. The finished product is two columns with no task left unassigned.
• Record time allocation as context. Estimate weekly hours or percentages for each column. Do not let the percentage decide the case. You should end with a rough split between systems work and coordination, with a note that the split is evidence, not the verdict.
• Ask what the role was hired to do. Note why the position exists, what the employee is paid to accomplish, and what would happen if the exempt work stopped. The result is a short paragraph that explains the role's main focus.
• Write the documented call. State the facts, the duty split, the centrality finding, and the conclusion. The output is a memo with the employee's actual duties, the reviewer, the date, and the exemption call.

People go wrong when they treat a one-time project mix as the job. A short deployment can look like systems work, but the recurring role may be support. If the audit is done after the fact, say so and update it when duties change.

If the split is close, do not default to the title. Identify the task that would disappear if the employee left. Put that written reason in the memo, because a later reviewer will need to see the reasoning, not just the label.

The file should show the duty split

A classification file should show how the call was made, not just the call itself. Include the duty inventory, the exempt and nonexempt split, the time allocation, the centrality note, and the final memo.

Review the file when the role changes. A new project, a new title, or a new reporting line can shift the primary duty. Keep the worksheet current, and re-run the audit before changing pay status.