Minimum Salary for California Computer Professional Overtime Exemption becomes $90,790.07 for 2018
California overtime law exemption.
First and foremost is the pay requirement. As of January 1, 2018, to qualify for the exemption, employers must pay their California computer professional employees a minimum hourly rate of $43.58 per hour. The minimum pay for salaried computer professionals is $90,790.07 per year. These amounts are up 2.9% from last year due to the annual adjustment for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
As of January 1, 2016, the minimum hourly rate for computer professionals was $41.85 per hour (up 1.4% from $41.27). The minimum pay for salaried computer professionals was $87,185.14 per year (up 1.4% from $85,981.40). In 2013, the minimum hourly rate for computer professionals was $39.90 per hour, and the minimum pay for salaried computer professionals was $83,132.93 per year.
These rates have increased significantly from 2008, when the minimum pay was $36.00 per hour for hourly workers or $75,000 per year for salaried workers. The minimum pay is tied to the California Consumer Price Index (CPI). Because the CPI has increased, a sign of economic growth, the minimum pay for computer professionals has likewise increased.
In addition to the pay requirements, a computer professional must meet the following duties requirements.
Employers benefit from being able to classify certain workers as exempt “computer professionals.” As an exempt worker under California wage laws, computer professionals are not required to be paid a premium for overtime hours worked. However, the worker must meet certain requirements to qualify for this First, the worker must spend at least 50% of his time doing one or more of the following:
- Applying systems-analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or system-functional specifications
- Designing, developing, documenting, analyzing, creating, testing, or modifying computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user- or system-design specifications
- Documenting, testing, creating, or modifying computer programs related to the design of software or hardware for computer operating systems
- Technical writers
- IT or desktop support workers
- Workers who use computer-aided design (CAD) software and who do not work in computer systems analysis or programming
- Trainees, including workers who have not reached the skill level and expertise necessary to work without close supervision