United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 22-30227 FILED ____________ September 4, 2024 Jack Venton Venable; Brent K. Kemp, Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Plaintiffs—Appellants,

versus Smith International, Incorporated,

Defendant—Appellee, ______________________________ William Aguirre,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus Smith International, Incorporated,

Defendant—Appellee, ______________________________ Karl Drobish,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus Case: 22-30227 Document: 132-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/04/2024

Smith International, Incorporated,

Defendant—Appellee, ______________________________ Charles Walter Myers,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus Smith International, Incorporated,

Defendant—Appellee, ______________________________ Joel Brent Story,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus Smith International, Incorporated,

Defendant—Appellee. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC Nos. 6:16-CV-241, 6:17-CV-860, 6:19-CV-238, 6:19-CV-239, 6:19-CV-240 ______________________________ Before Barksdale, Southwick, and Graves, Circuit Judges. James E. Graves Jr., Circuit Judge:

2 Case: 22-30227 Document: 132-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 09/04/2024

No. 22-30227

Employees of Smith International, Inc., filed a claim for unpaid overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The district court granted Smith’s motion for summary judgment and denied the employees’ motion for partial summary judgment. Because each employee is a “bona fide executive,” each employee is exempt from the FLSA’s overtime pay guarantee. We AFFIRM. BACKGROUND Smith International, Inc., is a corporation that provides a range of services to oil and gas exploration companies in Louisiana, Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. DTR Field Specialists, also referred to as “reamers,” play a critical role in Smith’s business operations by supervising exploration companies’ use of Smith’s underreaming tool on offshore drilling rigs. Reamers’ job responsibilities include: supervising the rig crew as they attach and remove the reamer tool to/from the drill string, monitoring and overseeing the reaming operation, providing advice and suggestions to the driller on how to operate and use the underreaming tool, and ensuring that the driller does not operate the underreaming tool in a manner that will damage the well or the tool. Drillers operated the underreaming tool; reamers supervised drillers. Smith’s compensation scheme for reamers was bifurcated—an annual salary and daily-rate job bonuses. Reamers’ annual salary was paid bi-weekl