This decision reverses a judgment for the employee in a suit for unpaid overtime wages because of a botched special verdict question regarding the employer’s affirmative defense that the employee was an exempt executive under Wage Order No. 5.  The question asked only if the employee spent more than 50% of her time on exempt duties.  The question overemphasized the purely quantitative issue of number of hours spent, ignoring other factors that the Wage Order and the federal regulations it incorporates require–such as the employer’s realistic expectations the job’s realistic requirements, and if non-exempt duties were performed as part of exempt ones–such as for training purposes.  Given the 9-3 verdict, the error in the special verdict was prejudicial and required reversal of the $38,000 damage award and $932,000 attorney fee award.