A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate (S. 1747) would significantly expand the scope of the current exemption for certain computer employees that is found at Section 13(a)(17) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The proposed "Computer Professional Update" Act (or "CPU" Act) was submitted by North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan and three co-sponsors. It is now pending in the Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

A Little History

The FLSA exemption status of employees in the computer field has been a bone of contention since the mid-1960s. The application of the FLSA's executive exemption in the computer field has been no different over that time, but for many years the U.S. Labor Department took a particularly narrow view of what sort of computer-oriented work qualified for the FLSA's administrative or professional exemption.