Computer Programmers Owed Overtime Pay

Santa Ana, CATo those not employed as a computer programmer or other IT specialist, jobs in the computer industry probably sound highly specialized—and they are. With job titles such as Database Architect, Programmer Analyst and Web Developer, it stands to reason that computer programmers in California make a good income. However, many are not receiving their proper overtime pay, instead being classified as exempt from overtime.

As more and more computer professionals in California are realizing, working with computers often means working long hours and not being paid for all those hours. It often means weekends in the office rather than with the family and long nights staring at the computer screen—and no extra pay for those overtime hours.

This happens even if the computer programmer really is eligible for overtime pay, meaning she is working extra hours but not getting her deserved compensation. It happens more frequently than people think—computer programmers are being misclassified as exempt from overtime and many do not even know it. They have no idea that they should be paid for all those hours they put in.

How do employers get away with not paying their computer programmers? One method is by giving employees a job title that makes it appear they have a high position at the company. For example, take the role of Programmer Analyst. One might not expect that a programmer analyst has the ability to exercise much independent judgment and discretion in her job. However, put the word "senior" in front of that job description and the impression changes. Now the Senior Programmer Analyst appears to have an important role within the company—one that requires the use of discretion and independent judgment, which are among the requirements used to determine exemption from overtime pay.

The title Senior Programmer Analyst gives the impression that the analyst has a staff working beneath her; that she calls at least some of the shots at her company and gets to make important decisions. It also gives the impression that she is not simply an entry-level employee, but one who has worked her way up, or at the very least has been involved in the industry for a long time. But the truth is that the word "Senior" can be put in front of any job title, without any actual proof that the employee exercises discretion or judgment in her role.

Futhermore, just because the job is titled "Programmer Analyst" does not mean that the employee spends the majority of her time actually analyzing programs. In fact, she could spend most of her time writing content for a company's website, while doing only minimal analysis. That is why it is important not to rely only on a job title to determine whether or not an employee is exempt from overtime. The employee must figure out how much time is spent in various job-related duties and determine whether or not the majority of her time is spent in exempt duties. If it is not, then she may be eligible for overtime pay.

It is also important that computer programmers and other IT professionals not just take their employer's word that they are exempt from overtime pay. After all, the employer has a vested interest in not paying for overtime—the less money given out in pay the more money the company saves. So, it is in the company's interest to classify as many employees as possible as being exempt from overtime.

Even well-intentioned employers may not properly understand the overtime exemption, leading them to accidentally misclassify employees as exempt from overtime. They may not fully understand the various job-related duties that are required for an exemption or may rely solely on the employee's job title as proof that the employee is exempt.

If you work in computer programming or other IT positions and are not being paid overtime, there is a chance you are owed money. It might be wise to investigate further and determine whether or not you should be paid for your overtime hours.