(a) The Industrial Welfare Commission may establish exemptions from the requirement that an overtime rate of compensation be paid pursuant to Sections 510 and 511 for executive, administrative, and professional employees, if the employee is primarily engaged in the duties that meet the test of the exemption, customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment in performing those duties, and earns a monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment. The commission shall conduct a review of the duties that meet the test of the exemption. The commission may, based upon this review, convene a public hearing to adopt or modify regulations at that hearing pertaining to duties that meet the test of the exemption without convening wage boards. Any hearing conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be concluded not later than July 1, 2000.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section and in subdivision (g) of Section 511, nothing in this section requires the commission to alter an exemption from provisions regulating hours of work that was contained in a valid wage order in effect in 1997. Except as otherwise provided in this division, the commission may review, retain, or eliminate an exemption from provisions regulating hours of work that was contained in a valid wage order in effect in 1997.
(c) For the purposes of subdivision (a), “full-time employment” means employment in which an employee is employed for 40 hours per week.
(d) (1) For the purpose of computing the overtime rate of compensation required to be paid to a nonexempt full-time salaried employee, the employee’s regular hourly rate shall be140th of the employee’s weekly salary.
(2) Payment of a fixed salary to a nonexempt employee shall be deemed to provide compensation only for the employee’s regular, nonovertime hours, notwithstanding any private agreement to the contrary.
(e) For the purposes of this section, “primarily” means more than one-half of the employee’s worktime.
(f) (1) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (a), a registered nurse employed to engage in the practice of nursing shall not be exempted from coverage under the orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, unless he or she individually meets the criteria for exemptions established for executive or administrative employees.
(2) This subdivision does not apply to any of the following:
(A) A certified nurse midwife who is primarily engaged in performing duties for which certification is required pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 2746) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(B) A certified nurse anesthetist who is primarily engaged in performing duties for which certification is required pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 2825) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(C) A certified nurse practitioner who is primarily engaged in performing duties for which certification is required pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 2834) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall exempt the occupations set forth in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) from meeting the requirements of subdivision (a).