California Overtime Law Case Affects IT Workers

San Diego, CAThe California overtime law settlement between Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and its IT workers will be closely monitored by drug companies, where pay rate lawsuits can be abundant, CBS's BNET reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">The $2.9 million settlement threatens to bring IT staff into the overtime wage fray, according to the news provider. The case centered around Kaiser's "senior business application coordinators" whose jobs included training hospital staff to use new software and assist when the software did not work properly.

The job required the coordinators to remain on call for extended periods of time, throughout the entire day and night, so that they could respond in a timely manner. Dress rehearsals and information sessions were also given by the coordinators during regular business hours, including mealtime.

While the Kaiser settlement may not create a precedent, it may pose a challenge to managers of pharmaceutical companies looking to increase their productivity or cut costs by requiring junior staff members to work the longer hours, according to the news source. This could put the companies at risk of overtime pay law violations.

According to the news provider, the federal courts are currently split on the issue of overtime pay for drug sales representatives.