Contractors on Salary?

An anonymous reader asks: "I recently got a new job (yes I am one of the lucky few) as a contract programmer. In part of the contract negotiations, the company would not allow me to work on an hourly rate, but instead placed me on salary. I have run into problems in the past where I have had to work an absurd number of hours as a programmer, and am curious where to draw the line. Obviously it is not ok to just leave at the end of an 8 hour shift if there is still lots to be done, but what if the poor project management is not your fault, and heavy deadlines are coming up? Can the company legally make you work 10-16 hour days? I would consider myself new to the industry but not unexperienced. At the company I used to work at, I worked crazy hours and didn't know it was OK to say that the hours are too much. What do you all think?"

Comments

I'd be careful

[ClosedSource]

It doesn't sound to me like you're really doing contract work. Do you have a contract with the company saying they're going to pay you X dollars a month for unlimited work? It sounds like the company has hired you as an employee but is pretending you're a contractor to avoid paying you benefits. The IRS may consider you an employee for tax purposes, I'd check into this with a tax accountant if I were you.

Salary, Hourly and Overtime

[Hungus]

As a former IT Director I am somewhat familiar with federal labor laws. It all depends on your salary range here is an exerpt from a labor site online:

" The federal salary level for professional employees remains at $170 per week, exclusive of board, lodging or other facilities; and the short test for professionals also uses a salary of just $250 per week. Computer professionals are treated somewhat differently, however. In 1990 the U.S. Congress passed legislation specifically to address the computer field. The exemption is applied only to "highly-skilled employees who have achieved a level of proficiency in the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly-specialized knowledge in computer systems analysis, programming, and software engineering." These computer professionals must receive a salary of at least $1,105 per week, which breaks down to an hourly wage of $27.35 for a 40-hour workweek; and is an annual salary of $57,460 - a far higher salary than most bona fide exempt EAPemployees receive in the human services field."