Federal law generally requires that employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek.
However, certain types of employees are classified as "exempt employees" and are not required to be paid minimum wage or overtime. One of these exemptions is the computer employee exemption.
For an employer to classify an employee as "exempt" under the computer employee exemption, the employee must be employed as a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer or other similarly skilled worker in the computer field.
Computer employees must be paid a salary of at least $455 a week or no less than $27.63 an hour on an hourly basis, and primary duties must consist of:
Note: The computer employee exemption does not include employees who manufacture or repair of computer hardware and related equipment. Nor does it include employees whose work is highly dependent on the use of computers or software programs, but who are not primarily engaged in computer systems analysis, programming or other similarly skilled computer-related occupations.
Think you are misclassifed as exempt? It is not uncommon for employers to misclassify employees. Whether employees are misclassified intentionally or mistakenly, improperly classified employees may be owed back-wages and other benefits.
Girard Gibbs is a national litigation firm representing consumers, investors, employees, and small businesses in cases involving consumer protection, personal injury, securities, antitrust, and employment laws. The firm’s senior partners, Daniel Girard and Eric Gibbs, have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012 and Northern California Super Lawyers, and have earned AV-Preeminent ratings from Martindale-Hubbell, recognizing them in the highest class of attorneys for professional ethics and legal skills.
