What Are Computer Employee Exemptions?

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employees to be paid at least the minimum wage and to receive overtime pay at the rate of 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for hours worked in addition to a 40-hour workweek. However, only “non-exempt” employees have these protections under the FLSA. The FLSA identifies a range of “exempt” employee categories, and when an employee meets all the requirements for exemption, then the employer can classify the employee as “exempt.” Accordingly, the employer does not have to pay overtime wages to exempt employees. Given that there are a range of employee exemptions, it is important to understand the elements of each. Today, we want to explain the computer employee exemption and how it works.

Duties of an Exempt Computer Employee

Not all employees who work with, around, or on computers are considered to be computer employees for purposes of this exemption. In order to be classified accurately as an exempt computer employee, the following must be true of the employee’s job and duties under the FLSA:

• Employee must be employed in a specific kind of computer job, including as a “computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer, or other similarly skilled work in the computer field”; and
• Employee must have specific primary duties that include one of the following:
  • 1) Application of system analysis techniques that can include consultations with user, and determining specifications for hardware, software, or system functionality;
  • 2) Design or creation or testing or modification or similar of computer systems or programs;
  • 3) Design or documentation or testing or creation or modification of computer programs that are related to machine operating systems; or
  • 4) Some combination of the above duties.

If you are unsure about whether your specific position allows your employer to classify you as exempt, it is important to seek legal advice since you could potentially be eligible for overtime pay if you do not qualify for this exemption.

Salary Tests for the Computer Employee Exemption

In addition to the duties test discussed above, in order for an employer to classify a computer employee as exempt based on their duties, the employee must also meet the requirements associated with the salary basis and salary level tests. In short, the employee must be paid on a salaried basis. As for the salary level test, the employee must earn at least $43,888 annually or $844 per week, and that salary threshold will rise to $58,656 annually or $1,128 per week beginning January 1, 2025.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Wage and Hour Lawyers

If you have any questions or concerns about exempt employees under the FLSA, including the computer employee exemption, it is important to speak with a lawyer who can help. One of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens wage and hour attorneys at Sconzo Law Office can provide you with more information about employee exemptions generally, and we can also clarify the computer employee exemption. As we noted above, the computer employee exemption certainly does not apply to all employees who do some form of work on or with computers. Recognizing that, it may be possible that your employer has misclassified you and that you are owed overtime wages. Contact us today to discuss your case.

Source:

dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a-overtime