Overtime Lawyer Blog

The California Supreme Court has just issued its decision in Harris v. Superior Court, an overtime pay case that addresses whether certain employees are exempt v. non-exempt under California’s Wage Order, which is similar the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The FLSA provides that all employees who are not exempt from the FLSA be paid at a rate of one and one half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any work week.

Whether an employee is exempt or not may be a complex determination and can have a potentially significant impact on an individual’s take home pay. If you have questions concerning whether you are entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA, it is important to consult an experienced Georgia overtime pay attorney.

In Harris, the California Supreme Court reviewed the “administrative exemption” to determine whether a group of insurance adjusters were exempt or not exempt. The court of appeal held that employees were only considered exempt where work is performed “at the level of making company policy.” Work that “merely carries out the particular day-to-day operations of the business is production, not administrative work.” Based on this definition, the administrative exemption was narrowly applied.

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Earlier this month President Obama announced that home-care workers will now be eligible to receive overtime pay and minimum wage. These protections guaranteed by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act have previously not been available to workers who provide valuable care-giving services in the home. The minimum wage and overtime protections will now extend to nearly 2 million in home employees.

As stated by President Obama, “The nearly 2 million in-home workers across the country should not have to wait a moment longer for a fair wage. They work hard and play by the rules and they should see that work and responsibility rewarded.”

This announcement comes as part of Obama’s “We Can’t Wait” campaign that seeks to implement several measures aimed at boosting economic growth without needing congressional approval. The debate concerning overtime pay for in-home workers has lasted several decades, beginning in 1974 when the workers were first declared exempt.

Whether a worker is considered exempt vs. non-exempt is a critical overtime pay consideration and can mean the difference in hundreds – even thousands – of dollars in compensation over the course of a year. Those individuals considered “exempt” under the FLSA are not entitled to overtime pay no matter how many hours worked in a week or month. On the other hand, non-exempt workers are entitled to receive overtime pay at a rate of one and one-half their regular rate of pay for every hour more than 40 worked in any workweek. If you have questions concerning whether you are exempt or not exempt, an experienced Atlanta wage and hour attorney can help answer your overtime compensation questions.

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Earlier this week the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals revived the Oracle overtime lawsuit, ruling in favor of a group of Oracle employees and finding that the company may be liable for unpaid wages. At issue, whether Oracle must pay out-of-state computer trainers for overtime work performed in California.

In Sullivan et al v. Oracle Corp., a group of employees filed a class-action overtime lawsuit based on alleged overtime pay violations. The workers, Donald Sullivan, Deanna Evich and Richard Burkow, were hired to teach customers how to use Oracle’s products. The teachers lived in Arizona and Colorado but performed work in California. Although they put in overtime hours, the employees were not paid overtime compensation.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides that all non-exempt workers are entitled to be paid overtime wages for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in one workweek. Typically, workers are paid at one and one-half times their regular rate of pay. Similarly, under California overtime law employees entitled to receive overtime pay for working more than 40 hours in a week or more than 8 hours in a day.

If you have questions concerning whether you are entitled to overtime compensation, or believe that you have been denied all the overtime pay you are entitled to, it is important to speak to an experienced wage and hour lawyer.

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Senate Bill 1747, the Computer Professionals Update Act (CPU Act) has been making its way through congress and will significantly impact the amount of time computer professionals will earn in overtime. The CPU amends the Fair Labor Standards Act by expanding the definition of who is an employee in the computer or IT field. It also broadens the duties included under the exemption. If the CPU Act passes, many computer professionals who previously earned overtime will no longer be able to receive overtime compensation.

If you have any questions about the CPU Act or whether you are entitled to overtime pay, it is important to speak to an Atlanta wage and hour attorney. Whether you are exempt or non-exempt can significantly affect your take home pay.

The CPU Act proposes adding new language that exempts employees from earning overtime who work on databases, computer networks, information security and in other IT positions. This means that many more workers in the computer field will be salaried and no longer “hourly.” Because salaried employees are no longer entitled to receive overtime pay, this amendment may result in a significant number of workers receiving less money.

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