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Tech companies and overtime pay under the FLSA

Information technology companies have to compensate employees according to the FLSA in order to avoid labor violations. AT&T, Electronic Arts, IBM, and Apple have all been hit with wage and hour lawsuits in the past. AT&T settled a class-action wage lawsuit for $12.5 million, and Apple settled an FLSA lawsuit for almost $1 million. In 2006, IBM settled a class-action overtime lawsuit for $65 million.

Now, Google joins the list, with an overtime wage claim filed against them from a former employee.

Case in Point
Former Google employee claims she worked 60 hours weekly without overtime pay.

A former facility coordinator for Google's business facility in Iowa is bringing an overtime lawsuit against the tech company for failure to pay her overtime wages.

The former Google employee claims that she was required to work 50 to 60 hours per week, six days a week and she was not compensated with overtime pay.

Google, the search engine company, and two contract service providers (Mainelli Mechanical Contractors and Eurest Services) are named in the suit. Whether the former employee was a direct Google employee or an employee of a Google contractor is being determined.

Many tech workers may be under the impression that the computer professional exemption makes them ineligible from receiving overtime pay. There are strict guidelines for this exemption, however, and many employers have a difficult time proving the computer professional exemption applies.

Read: Why the computer professional exemption may not apply to you.

Video: Employment Lawyer Explains Computer Professional Exemption