In Combs v. Skyriver Communications, 159 Cal. App. 4th 1242 (2008), a California appellate court upheld a ruling that a director of network operations for a small broadband ISP company was exempt from overtime and meal and rest periods requirements of the Labor Code and Wage Order No. 4. The employee claimed he was misclassified under the administrative exemption of IWC Wage Order No. 4-2001, arguing that although he supervised a few employees, he was essentially performing the same functions as those who reported to him (i.e. maintaining, developing, and improving the ISP?s network).
The court found that Combs? primary work for Skyriver was directly related to the company?s general business operations, and that he customarily exercised discretion and judgment over significant matters. As a result, the court determined that he was correctly classified as an administratively exempt employee.

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