Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I work in Southern California as a Computer Software Analyst. I am often asked to work overtime - weeknights & on the weekends. As I'm a salaried employee, I do not get paid overtime for the time worked. The issue is, even though I am a full-time, salaried employee, I do not believe that I am 'exempt' from overtime pay. I read that, under California Law, for a non-manager computer professional to be exempt from overtime pay, the employee would need to be paid twice the average salary for a person in that same profession. I am currently paid $69k a year. How can I determine what the exact dollar amount (for my profession) that I need to be making in order to be 'exempt' from overtime pay? Is there a table somewhere that lists this information?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Contact the California department of Labor to find out.
You are mistaken about the standard for exemption. It is not twice the average annual salary. There is a fixed dollar amount set by the Labor Code and adjusted for inflation annually. However, the current minimum salary for exemption of a non-managment computer professional is $79,050/year. Therefore, unless they give you a raise of $10,050 a year, or you qualify as exempt under some other provision of California wage and hour law, you are correct that you are non-exempt.
Taking the above answers to heart, if you are serious about pursuing a legal claim for OT, you can either file with the Labor Commissioner, or directly file a civil suit. Either way, if you win at trial you are entitled to your attorney fees in addition to the unpaid amounts, interest, and penalties. If your claim is large enough, the civil suit route carries more 'threat' to most employers because of the issue of penalties and attorney fees. IF serious about doing either, feel free to contact me.
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