Among other things, it defines which employees are eligible for overtime pay. The fair labor standard act flsa is a federal law that sets minimum wage, overtime, and minimum age requirements for employers and employees. The flsa requires employers to pay all nonexempt employees the. Nearly all employees are covered by the flsa unless they qualify for one of the exemptions. These include systems analysts, programmers who write code, or software engineers. The application of any flsa exemption is highly factspecific. Fair labor standards act flsa exemptions fair labor. How will the new flsa rules on salaried non exempt employees affect me. The fair labor standards act flsa establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor standards affecting fulltime and parttime workers in the private sector and in federal, state and local governments. The dol noted that the primary duty of the it support specialist. Under sections a1 anda17 of the flsa, computer systems analysts, computer programmers, software engineers, and other similarly skilled workers in the computer field who meet certain tests regarding their job duties are eligible for exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay as professionals. Are information technology it specialists entitled to overtime pay.
It support specialist position may in fact be highly technical in nature. Airline employees who work over 40 but not more than 60 hours during the workweek due to a temporary modification in their normal work schedule not required by the employer and arranged at the request of the employee. The burden of proof for establishing that an flsa exemption applies to a particular position rests with the employer, and the exemptions are narrowly construed against employers seeking to assert them. This index of job titles and duties, which is by no means an exhaustive list, is provided as a guide to help users of the flsa overtime security advisor determine where to begin their analysis of exempt versus nonexempt status of a particular employee. The department of labor dol has issued an opinion letter addressing an issue that many employers have faced whether an employee who provides computer help desk support is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the fair labor standards act flsa. The fair labor standards act flsa is best known as the law determining the exempt or nonexempt status of jobs and overtime requirements. It support workers are some of the most commonly misclassified employees. Hr support on computer employee exemption flsa overtime. The flsa requires that most employees in the united states be paid at least the. Information technology support specialist whose primary duty consists of installing, configuring, testing. Fortunately, the flsa and california law enable employers to offer flexibility to these employees, as they both provide a complete minimum wage and overtime pay exemption for employees engaged in certain computerrelated occupations. The computer professional employee exemption under the fair labor standards act flsa does not apply to a health care employers information technology it support specialists, who also are not. When employers dont give employees at least the minimum wage and overtime wages when required, employees might be able to receive flsa back pay for the wages they missed out on. The computer professional employee exemption in california.
In addition to setting certain minimum wage requirements, the fair labor standards act flsa, in most circumstances, requires employers to pay all nonexempt employees an overtime rate of one and onehalf times the employees regular hourly rate for each hour the employees work in excess of forty hours per workweek. Flsa and salaried nonexempt employees procare support. Some employees are exempt from flsa requirements, such as pay for overtime and minimum wages, even though their employers are covered. Want to know whether it specialists are exempt from overtime. The administrative exemption is one of the most nuanced exemptions from overtime. The duties and the amount of time, in general, that an it support specialist. These new levels, approximately 2% higher than those established last year, apply to any penalties.
Common flsa fair labor standards act exemptions employers use to define computer it techs as exempt employees are the administrative exemption and computer employee exemption. Navigating the flsa duties test decoding overtimes trickiest rules. The two classifications are exempt employees and non exempt employees. Southern district magistrate judge clarifies flsa computer professional exemption by sheppard mullin on august 4, 2014 posted in fair labor standards act flsa, wage and hour in an april 2014 decision in the southern district of new york, olorode v. The flsa and california computer employee exemptions are very similar in two important respects. The fair labor standards act hours worked rules can help you determine when your employees are working and therefore when you should pay for hours worked. The fair labor standards act flsas rules governing overtime pay have challenged employers for decades, in large part due to whats referred to. Treatment of inside salespeople under the fair labor.
Department of labor published increases in the civil money penalties it can impose for certain violations of the federal fair labor standards act. However, section a1 and section a17 of the flsa provide an exemption from both minimum wage. Are information technology it specialists entitled to. Breaking overtime laws either knowingly or unknowingly is one of the most common violations. Previously, computer professionals had been considered exempt under section a1, along with the exemption for executives, administrators, and professionals, but under section a17 a specific exemption was provided for any computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer, or other similarly skilled worker who had. In 2020, computer professionals may be exempt from overtime if they are paid at.
Assists users in identifying hardwaresoftware needs and provides advice. An employee meets the administrative exemption if he or she is. When congress enacted the flsa, it created an exemption from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity or in the capacity of outside salesman. Do helpdesk workers qualify for the computer exemption. Please refer to the flsa index pages 611 of this document for a description of the terms in. Computer it overtime lawyer unpaid overtime for tech jobs. Some violators are well known multimillion dollar corporations. Many employers and employees struggle to analyze its various requirements and make a classification decision as to whether an employee is exempt. Recent judgments for breaking overtime laws are staggering. The fair labor standards act flsa is a federal law which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting fulltime and parttime workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. Hr support on professional exemption flsa overtime. Computer workers and flsa the online wages, hours and. Exempt from order 9, except sections 4, 10, 11, 12, 20, and 22. State overtime laws differ significantly with many states having overtime laws that are more stringent than the flsa overtime standards.
The fair labor standards act requires the payment of overtime to all employees unless their work fits within one of the statutes exemptions. The law covers minimum wage, overtime pay, hours worked, record keeping, and youth employment standards for employees both in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. The title computer it tech can cover a wide range of technologies and job functions, and what a lot of major companies are realizing now is that vast majority of it workers should earn overtime even when paid on a salary basis. Employees eligible for overtime pay must be paid 1. The department of labor faq page says in the first year, the department estimates that 4. The it professional is a poorly understood exemption category and it is not uncommon for an employer to get this one wrong i. Comparing administrative exemption ca law and flsa. A closer look at flsas computer professional exemption. It is a common mistake for employers to classify it workers as exempt from overtime. A few employers, including small farmsthose that use relatively little outside paid laborare explicitly exempt from the flsa. Exemption for employees in computerrelated occupations under the fair labor standards act flsa this fact sheet provides information on the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay for employees in computerrelated occupations provided by sections a1 and a17 of the flsa as defined under 29 c. State of california department of industrial relations.
Foreign exemption fact sheet mso992 june 1999 the foreign exemption is a provision of the fair labor standards act of 1938 the act or flsa, as amended, under which the minimum wage, overtime, and child labor provisions do not apply to any employee who spends all hours of work in a given workweek in an exempt area. Aside from your wage level, you are only exempt if you also perform specific job duties as defined by the flsa. In response to one employer, the department of labor dol issued an opinion letter on this subject stating that based on the parameters. The fair labor standards act is designed to insure that wage earners are compensated for overtime hours and provides. There is no general exemption for employees who work with computers. Blr fair labor audit standards act flsa checklists checklist. While the fair labor standards act says certain computer professionals are exempt employees, be ultracautious about applying this exemption. These requirements are outlined in the flsa regulations promulgated by the u. The following are summaries of the flsadefined exemption criteria.
Checklists for the most commonly applied exemption criteria may be used to help employees and managers assess whether a position is likely to be covered by or exempt from the flsa overtime regulations. Determining the employees exempt status is a factintensive task that requires a. Employees with flsa exempt status, however, means their employers are. Dol opinion letter finds it support specialist not exempt from. If you design or modify computer systems related to machine operating systems, then you are also exempt. Two types of professionals are exempt from the overtime requirements of the fair labor standards act flsa and many state wage and hour laws. The flsa requires employers to pay all nonexempt employees the federally mandated minimum wage for all hours worked and an overtime premium equal to at least 1. The fair labor standards act has been around since 1938. For the administrative exemption in the financial services industry the fair labor standards act flsa requires covered employers to pay employees at one and a half times the employees regular rate of pay for time worked in excess of 40 hours per week, unless the employee satisfies the criteria for certain exemptions, including. All employees that hold positions determined to be covered under the mandatory.
As a general rule, employees who provide it support will not meet the. Executives have management of the enterprise or of a customarily recognized department or subdivision of. That said, without knowing more about your husbands primary job functions i cannot say whether the position is overtime exempt under the federal flsa or not. Flsa overtime eligibility and exemption compensation. Sales of any software as a service products saas i. Unlike certain other categories of exemptions under the flsa, there is.
The fair labor standards act is a federal law that entitles employees to a minimum wage and overtime wages. Below is a discussion of the administrative exemption and computer. Chamberlain, kaufman and jones is a law firm with a nationwide reputation in helping employees receive the wages they are due for all hours worked, specializing in overtime law specifically collection of unpaid overtime pay due under the federal fair labor standards act flsa. Hours worked are compensable time, meaning you have to pay the employee for worked hours. Employees who work with computers may qualify for an exemption from the overtime requirements of the fair labor standards act flsa as well as some state wage and hour laws however, this exemption is available only for employees whose duties involve. The flsa is the federal fair labor standards act which has been around in various forms since 1938.
Please note that purchase of the shrm flsa audit tool falls under shrms return policy for purchases of software as a service saas products. Department of labor dol will affect a large swath of. What you may have to pay your it employees overtime. The question of whether or not it help desk support positions are or are not exempt from the federal minimum wage and overtime requirements laid out in the fair labor standards act flsa is a common one. You are exempt if you design, develop, analyze or modify software to meet user or design specifications. As a general rule, employees who provide it support will not meet the duties test required for the computer professional exemption. He had checked the fair labor standards act flsa and concluded that such support involved overtime pay. Flsa exemption checklist f lsa exemptions from minimum wage requirements are applicable to the types of employees listed below if their job duties satisfy all these criteria. Which computer professionals are exempt from being paid overtime in california. Certain computer programmers, analysts and software engineers can be exempt from overtime requirements.