Warehouse supervisor job description template: span of control, the exemption test, forklift evaluation and injury reporting

"Warehouse supervisor: lead a team, drive productivity, ensure safety" fits every building in the country, which is why it screens nobody. The applicant cannot tell whether the job is a working lead on second shift who still drives a reach truck, or a salaried supervisor over 40 associates and two leads in a freezer. That difference matters for more than fit: it decides whether the job can be classified as exempt from overtime, whether the supervisor will be training and evaluating forklift operators, and what they own when someone gets hurt. A useful warehouse supervisor job description names the shift, the headcount, the work area and the decisions the supervisor makes. Below are the common supervisor seats, the wage-and-hour and OSHA lines with sources, a copy-ready template, screening and scorecard rows, and the mistakes to avoid. For the phone screen itself, use warehouse supervisor screening questions.

Pick the supervisor seat before you write

Then fix four numbers with the operations manager: direct reports and leads on the shift, the shift times and overtime pattern, the square footage or number of docks, and whether the supervisor is expected to operate equipment. The last one drives the exemption question below. If the role is a working lead who mostly does the work, write it as a lead role and start from the warehouse associate job description template.

Exempt or nonexempt: the duties test

Many warehouse supervisor postings say "salaried" without checking whether the job qualifies. Under the federal executive exemption, as summarized in the Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #17B (revised August 2024), all of these must be true:

• Paid on a salary basis at no less than the standard salary level. The DOL's salary-levels page lists $684 per week ($35,568 a year) as of October 2026.
• The primary duty is managing the enterprise or a customarily recognized department or subdivision, such as a shift or a function.
• The employee customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more full-time employees or their equivalent.
• The employee can hire or fire, or their recommendations on hiring, firing, promotion and other changes in status are given particular weight.

Supervisors can still do some hands-on work. The concurrent duties rule says an exempt executive may perform nonexempt work alongside management, but a working supervisor whose primary duty is production work does not become exempt because they occasionally direct others (29 CFR 541.106). If the supervisor will spend most of the shift picking or driving to cover gaps, classify the job as hourly and say so. State overtime laws can set a higher salary threshold; see pay transparency laws by state for the separate rules on posting the pay range.

Forklift evaluation and injury reporting

Forklift training and evaluation. In most warehouses the supervisor signs off on new operators. The OSHA powered industrial truck standard says trainees may operate only under the direct supervision of people with the knowledge, training and experience to train operators and evaluate their competence, and that all operator training and evaluation must be conducted by such people (29 CFR 1910.178(l)(2)). If your supervisor will be the evaluator, put it in the duties and make experience on your truck types a must-have. The operator side of this is in the forklift operator job description template.

Injury reporting. OSHA requires a reasonable procedure for employees to report injuries, and says a procedure is not reasonable if it would deter or discourage a reasonable employee from reporting; employers must not retaliate against anyone for reporting (29 CFR 1904.35(b)(1)). Serious events have deadlines: a fatality must be reported to OSHA within 8 hours, and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours (29 CFR 1904.39). The supervisor is usually the first manager to know, so the escalation duty belongs in the posting.

The warehouse supervisor job description template

Warehouse Supervisor — [Inbound / Outbound / Inventory Control /
Client Account], [Day / Night / Weekend] Shift
[Company], [street area or nearest town, state]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] [per year, salaried exempt / per hour,
overtime eligible], plus [shift differential, bonus with
conditions]. [Benefits summary, if required.]

SUMMARY
You will lead the [function] team on [shift days and hours] in a
[N] square foot [ambient / cooler / freezer] [distribution center /
3PL / plant warehouse] with [N] docks. You will direct [N]
associates and [N] leads and report to the [operations manager].

WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Plan the shift: assign people to areas against the volume plan
  and adjust when trucks arrive late or orders spike.
- Run the start-of-shift huddle on safety, volume and priorities.
- Hold [pick rate / dock-to-stock / cycle count accuracy] targets
  and explain misses in the shift report.
- [Train and evaluate forklift operators on our trucks and sign
  their evaluations.]
- Coach, document and recommend hiring, discipline and promotion
  decisions [or: hire and terminate with HR review].
- Make sure every injury and near-miss is reported through our
  procedure, and escalate serious injuries to [role] at once.
- [Resolve WMS exceptions, short picks and inventory variances.]

YOU MUST HAVE
- [N] years leading a warehouse team of [N] or more, including
  assigning work and handling performance problems.
- Experience with [WMS name or "a warehouse management system"]
  and RF scanning.
- [Experience operating and evaluating [truck types].]
- Availability for [shift, weekends, peak-season overtime].
- Ability to walk the building for most of the shift, with or
  without reasonable accommodation.

NICE TO HAVE
- [Cold storage / 3PL client reporting / union environment]
  experience.
- [Language] for team members who speak it.
If you meet the must-haves and none of these, please apply.

FIXED CONDITIONS
- Offers are subject to [checks] as permitted by law.
- Peak season: [months and expected hours].

[EEO STATEMENT]
To request an adjustment to apply or interview, contact [contact].

Pay and EEO

Post the range and the classification (salaried exempt or hourly with overtime). Check your state's pay transparency rules before posting, and close with an EEO statement that covers the characteristics the EEOC lists. Keep medical and fitness questions out of the posting and the screen: the ADA bars disability-related inquiries before a conditional offer (42 U.S.C. 12112(d)).

From must-haves to screening questions and scorecard rows

For sourcing, the Boolean search strings for warehouse roles include supervisor and lead titles. For the panel stage, the interview guide for warehouse roles covers the on-site walk, and the 30-60-90 day plan for warehouse managers is a useful model if you want finalists to describe their first month.

Common mistakes in warehouse supervisor job descriptions

"Salaried" without the duties to back it

If most of the shift is picking, loading or driving, the job will struggle to meet the primary-duty test. Classify it before you post.

No headcount

"Lead a team" could mean 3 people or 60. The number filters applicants better than any adjective.

Safety goals that discourage reporting

"Maintain zero recordable injuries" as a personal target can push a supervisor to talk people out of reporting, which is what 29 CFR 1904.35 prohibits. Measure safety activity instead: huddles held, hazards fixed, near-misses reported.

Hiding peak season

If November through January means six-day weeks, say so. Supervisors who leave in December cost more than the ones who never applied.

Before you publish

• Seat, shift, headcount, building and temperature are in the summary.
• Exempt or hourly classification matches the duties and the current salary level.
• Forklift evaluation duty and injury escalation are stated if they apply.
• Pay range, peak-season pattern, EEO statement and accommodation contact are present.
• No medical questions; physical demands are real tasks with an accommodation line.