Are Coders Exempt From California's Overtime Laws?

Gizmo Kid asks: "How many of you Californian, full-time, software programmers are getting paid overtime? From what I understand, a law in California, passed within the last two years, says that software engineers who make less than $41/hour [PDF version] are required to be paid for overtime? Are your employers following the rules? I'm not sure mine is?"

Comments

overtime issues

[kbs]

What I've found (and this isn't really a California thing, but more like something I've found regularly at companies) is that overtime isn't mandatory, but if you have a deadline, you need to finish your responsibility by then. If you can do it within the normal work hours, then great! More power to you! But if you can't, it would reflect badly on you if you didn't put in the extra time, despite the fact the company doesn't pay for overtime. It's one of those "you're doing it because you want to, not because we're making you" despite the fact that you are really in a situation where you need to in order not to get a bad review.

Re:overtime issues

[forsetti]

In some circumstances, I would agree with you, however, most of the time I find myself burning the midnight oil because management decids to ignore the technical recommendations and have set unrealistic deadlines

Re:overtime issues

[Anonymous Coward]

And it was also a good idea for coal miners to put in that extra effort to get the extra ton of coal mined by the time they left for the day. Not because they make you, but because you wanted to. Heck, we're not making you work 16 hours today, you just want to to fulfill an obligation you feel you owe to the company. Overtime? You're exempt!

Sorry, but no. Exempt status is the new slavery. It shouldn't exist. All people should be paid hourly, period. If you work more than 40 hours a week for any reason you earn time and a half. Life in America would be a lot better for families if mom and dad weren't expected to put in 80 hours a week for their base salary with the threat of being fired looming over their head. Your number one obligation is to the people you love, your family, friends, etc. Work doesn't even place a distant second in my opinion. I'll help out if it doesn't effect my family life, but otherwise when my 8 hours are in I leave for the day and forget about work. Companies don't care about you! You're just a resource to be exploited like a machine processing materials.

Re:overtime issues

[Stephen Williams]

You're just a resource to be exploited like a machine processing materials.

Indeed. Notice how personnel departments are never called "personnel" any more? S'always "human resources" nowadays.

-Stephen

Go on strike!

[forgoil]

The situation for people working in the US seems to be quite bad, at least to me. Isn't it time you guys start a proper union and start raising some hell?

And how much paid vacation time I get per year? 6 weeks. How many weeks do you get in the states? And yes, I am only 26.

Complain, make it better, do something (and get free Coca Cola as mandatory).

(and if you happen to run a cool and nice company, with proper benefits, consider hiring me;))

Re:Go on strike!

[Anonymous Coward]

What worries me most is hearing of some of the shocking states of workers in the US. and mod me down for complaining about things worth complaining about. Seems every askslashdot with questions about work conditions brings up the "be glad you have a job" comments.

Yes, be glad you have a job... then in 15 years after y'all are continually 'glad just to have a job' and being paid less and less, working longer hours, with less benefits and worse conditions... it gets closer and closer to not having a worthwhile job at all

No I'm not in the US, yes I'm employed, and I'm earning a decent amount without insane overtime expectations because my co-workers and I won't take shit from our employers. We'll accept when there are hard times or projects that need extreme amounts of dedication to finish, but as for consistent long term crap... no way.

Re:Mandatory overtime payment

[Sparr0]

Maybe you misunderstand. Overtime isnt something you can give up. The law REQUIRES the company to pay you at 1.5x your normal rate of pay for time over 40 hours a week. It does not provide an option for you to opt for TOIL or any other alternative compensation.

Not getting paid? WTH

[myom]

IT businesses in USA seem to be the western equivalent to Nike sweat shops. Why would you NOT get paid for spending the remaining hours of your already limited time off work? Here in the communist soviet nordic countries, and most civilized EU countries, you get paid 150% or 200% of the hourly wage. And before you start talking about bringing down companies to their knees by them actually paying their workers, last time I checked, the nordic software/tech companies are doing just fine. But here I guess the terrorists have already won or what?

Re:What are you going to do though.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hah, yeah like in Italy where nobody below manager can be fired. And look what an economic powerhouse Italy is!

Having job protection makes the worker feel better, but it hurts the economy (Sometimes employers just have to cut 5000 jobs to stay afloat - is it better for the company to go out of business because it's paying a bunch of dead weights?) and it eliminates healthy competition.

Re:Mandatory overtime payment

[BWJones]

It certainly does where I work. If you hit a certain salary grade, they don't pay you overtime - you get TOIL instead.

I'm sorry, but this is laughable on one hand. In my fields, medicine and science, folks with earned doctorates (Ph.D.'s & M.D.'s) routinely get paid a pittance (~$30k) while piling on more hours than most folks can imagine (100-120 hrs/week). Granted, everyone wants to make more money, and there should be limits placed upon the amount of time one should have to work, but when I hear dudes making $75-80k/year bitching because they are not getting paid time and a half for the "extra" 5 hours a week they are working, I just have to shake my head and wonder what I have gotten myself into.