Labor Code sec. 515.5 defines when computer software professional in California can be considered exempt. The requirements are both vague and detailed.
The vagueness comes from requiring that the employee be “highly skilled” and “proficient” in “theoretical and practical application of highly specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming, and software engineering.” Those terms just
The Department of Labor has proposed a rule to raise the minimum salary workers must earn to qualify for “white collar” exemptions from $23,660 per year to $50,440 per year. According to the announcement, the proposed rule would move nearly 5 million workers from exempt (i.e. salaried) to non-exempt status (i.e. hourly and overtime-eligible). In
It’s harder to determine whether employees are exempt from overtime requirements under California law than under federal law. Under federal law, exempt status depends on an employee’s primary duty and the time spent performing that duty is not dispositive. But California uses a “primarily engaged” test where how the employees spend their time is entirely
You don’t need a ton of HR or employment law experience to know that we do things a bit differently in the Golden State. Here are some of the ways that complying with Federal employment laws actually violates California law:
1. Using the Department of Labor approved forms to certify the need for FMLA/CFRA leave
California law generally requires the payment of overtime to non-exempt employees for hours worked over 8 in one workday, and over 40 in one workweek, and on the 7th day of the workweek. The calculation is straightforward for non-exempt employees paid only an hourly wage. But some employers pay hourly employees a fixed salary, such
California employees are exempt from the overtime requirements if they satisfy the executive, professional, or administrative exemptions. Of these, the administrative exemption is the least well-defined.
Much of this uncertainty stems from the requirement that the employee’s duties involve “performance of office or non-manual work directly related to management policies or general business operations of
In November of 2009 we wrote about Campbell v. Pricewaterhousecoopers, LLP, 602 F. Supp. 2d 1163, 1181 (E.D. Cal. 2009), which held that, as a matter of law, a putative class of unlicensed accounting professionals employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP are precluded from exemption from California overtime requirements under the Professional Exemption and the Administrative
I’ve ranted before about how hard it is for employers to comply with California employment laws. For example, there was this post about the unfairness of punishing employers for violating laws when the courts don’t even agree on what the law requires. A similar problem arises when the meaning of the law is relatively clear,