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Library - Employment Law
Wage Claims, Overtime & Other Employee
Compensation
ARE COMPUTER TECHNICIANS ENTITLED TO
OVERTIME PAY?
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Q:
I am a computer
technician and I work for a company that services the
computers of other offices. I usually travel to various
locations to do computer repairs and maintenance. I also
install and update software and create and maintain
computer networks. I usually work at least 10-hour days,
six days a week. I receive $3,000 a month and my manager
tells me I am exempt from overtime laws. Is this true?
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A:
No, it is not. Based on your actual job
duties, you are not exempt from overtime laws and
should, therefore, be paid overtime if you work in excess of 8 hours
per day or in excess of 40 hours per week.
The law provides that the following
employees in the computer software field are entitled to overtime:
1) The employee is a trainee or an
entry-level employee learning to become proficient in the
theoretical and practical applications of highly specialized
information to computer systems analysis, programming, and software
engineering.
2) The employee is in a computer-related
occupation but has not attained the level of skill and expertise
necessary to work independently and without close supervision;
3) The employee is engaged in the
operation of computers or in the manufacture, repair, or maintenance
of computer hardware and related equipment;
4) The employee is an engineer,
drafter, machinist, or other professional whose work is highly
dependent upon or facilitated by the use of computers and computer
software programs and who is skilled in computer aided design
software but who is not engaged in computer systems analysis,
programming, or any other similarly skilled computer-related
occupations;
5) The employee writes materials such as
box labels, product descriptions, documentation, promotional
material, setup and installation instructions, and other similar
written information, or who writes or provides content material
intended to be read by customers, subscribers, or visitors to
computer-related media such as the internet or CD-ROMs.
6) The employee is engaged in computer
or computer-related work for the purpose of creating imagery for
effects used in the movies, television, or theater.
The following computer software field
employees are exempt from overtime:
1) The employee is primarily engaged in
work that is intellectual or creative and requires the exercise of
discretion and independent judgment;
2) The employee is primarily engaged in
duties consisting any or all of the following: a) Application of
systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting
with users to determine hardware, software, or system functional
specifications; b) The design, development, documentation, analysis,
creation, testing, or modification of computer systems or programs,
including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design
specifications; or c) The documentation, testing, creation, or
modification of computer programs related to the design of software
or hardware for computer operating systems;
3) The employee is highly skilled and is
proficient in the theoretical and practical application of highly
specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming,
or software engineering;
4) The employee is paid not less than
$36 per hour or, if full-time and salaried, the employee’s salary is
not less than $6,250 per month.
©
Law Offices C. Joe Sayas, Jr.
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