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The “Computer Professional Exemption” does not apply to all Computer professionals.

Computer professionals and Information Technology (IT) workers perform crucial support roles for companies in today’s technology-driven economy. Without computer and IT workers, who make sure that everything is up and running, day-to-day business operations would simply collapse.

Order your FREE copy of 10 Biggest Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Wage & Overtime Claim, written by the Texas wage and hour lawyers at Kennedy Hodges to help victims of wage and overtime violations.

Watch our video, Computer Professional Exemption, for an overview.

Thousands of computer workers misclassified
Many computer workers believe they are not due overtime because they’ve heard about an exemption called the “computer professional exemption.” It certainly sounds like it applies to all computer workers. However, that title was a poor choice of words by the legislature. Despite the title of the exemption, many employees who work with computers as part of their job are still eligible for overtime pay. The exemption was primarily intended to apply to computer programmers (coders) and architects.

That explains why thousands and thousands of computer workers have been misclassified and have recovered overtime pay through claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act. These are computer professionals who perform their company's valuable technical support functions such as installing, maintaining, supporting, and repairing computer software and hardware.

Common Computer Job Titles Held Not Exempt

• IT Specialist
• System Administrator
• Database Administrator
• Web Administrator
• Network Engineer
• Helpdesk Support
• System Analyst
• Network Operator
• Business System Consultants
• Any other similar position

Job Duties and Long Hours

Do you spend the majority—meaning more than 50%--of your time doing things such as:

• Installing computer systems and software applications
• Troubleshooting networking and hardware problems
• Creating new user accounts and troubleshooting login issues

If so, then you and many IT workers like you might be entitled to overtime pay, in addition to your salary, from your employer. The federal government enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act to protect the rights of workers like you. The FLSA says that you must be paid 1.5 times your hourly rate for each hour over 40 hours worked in a week. If you are paid a salary, we convert your salary into an hourly rate to figure out what you’re owed.

The amount owed to computer and IT workers in back pay sometimes amounts to tens of thousands of dollars. This is especially true if you often find yourself, like many IT workers, putting in long hours, wearing pagers at all hours of the day or night, and responding to calls during the off-hours and weekends.

At Kennedy Hodges, we have built up years of experience in working with federal overtime law and helping workers like you to get the compensation you have rightfully earned. 

Read Part 2: ”Computer Professional Exemption.”

To read about an actual client we have represented please click here.

Blog for Computer and IT

• Top Questions to Ask Before Working as a Houston IT Professional
• Is your boss cashing in on this overtime scheme?
• Senate states FLSA outdated: Wants new wage and hour updates for computer professionals.
• Advertising sales employees denied millions in lost wages nationwide - Yellowpages publisher allegedly failed to follow FLSA
• California workers eligible for overtime
• Desktop support technicians file lawsuit for overtime pay under FLSA - Texas overtime attorneys
• Tech companies and overtime pay under the FLSA

Library for Computer and IT:

• Should I Be exempt From FLSA If I Work on Computers in Houston?   
  Exempt from overtime as a Houston computer IT worker? You need information. Contact Kennedy Hodges at 888.449.2068 for your free book.
• The “Computer Professional Exemption” does not apply to all Computer professionals.   
  Did you know the Computer Professional Exemption does not actually apply to every computer professional? Find out if you should be getting Overtime Pay.

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Frequent Questions for Computer and IT:

• Does Misclassification as a Houston IT Professional Really Affect My Paycheck?
  
• I work for a computer company but my employer claims I am not due overtime pay because of the "Computer Professional" exemption. Is this true? 
• Does the computer professional exemption apply to all IT workers?
• I am an IT worker - am I covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act?