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 Generally, all employees in California are entitled to overtime pay unless the employer can prove that a particular “exemption” applies. Overtime exemptions are determined by the specific job duties performed by the employee and the amount of salary or wages provided by the employer. Job titles do NOT determine whether the overtime exemption applies. In California, most employees in the computer-related and hi-tech occupations are NOT EXEMPT from overtime compensation, regardless of job title or how they are compensated (e.g. by salary or hourly wage). Nonetheless, employers sometimes mis-classify their computer or high tech employees as exempt from overtime compensation and other wage and hour obligations in order to avoid compensating workers for overtime. If you are an employee in the computer related or hi-tech field and work more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week, there is a good chance that you are entitled to overtime pay and other wage and hour benefits. If you are classified as “an independent contractor,” you might also have a claim for overtime pay. (Employee vs. Independent Contractor) You are also protected by law in bringing such a claim against your employer. (Employee Rights) If you feel that you are being improperly denied overtime and would like to have your situation analyzed, please contact us for a free consultation or fill out the confidential questionnaire form below. We can help you reclaim the wages and benefits you are owed. In order to qualify for the overtime exemption, a California computer software employee who is paid hourly must earn no less than $ 45.84 per hour for every hour worked and must meet other specific job duties requirements set forth by California law. (California Computer Professional Exemption) Given the high level of independent judgment and discretion, and the highly specialized knowledge this exemptions requires, only a small subset of computer professionals will actually qualify for it. SALARIED COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS Many computer professionals who are paid a salary are also incorrectly classified as exempt from overtime. Few computer and high tech employees fall under the traditional exemptions commonly applied to salaried workers in California. ( Executive, Administrative and Professional Exemption) OR (California Salaried Worker Overtime Exemptions) These exemption requirements, which are also based on a minimum amount of compensation and specific job duties, are difficult to meet. You should know that
although both California and federal law provide an overtime exemption
for computer software professionals, California law places greater restrictions
on the overtime exemption availability. (Federal Computer
Professional Exemption) |
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