Overtime Exemptions = Employer’s Burden of Proof

When litigating overtime claims, employers must assert any applicable exemptions as an affirmative defense, and the employer has the burden of proof to prove that the employee was exempt from being entitled to receive overtime pay: “[T]he assertion of an exemption from the overtime laws is considered to be  an affirmative defense, and therefore the employer bears the burden of proving the employee’s exemption.” (Ramirez v. Yosemite Water Co. (1999) 20 Cal.4th 785, 794-795 [85 Cal.Rptr.2d 844, 978 P.2d 2].)