Last month to much fanfare, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced significant increases to the minimum salaries needed to claim the Fair Labor Standards Act’s so-called white collar exemptions found at 29 C.F.R. §541. Unless blocked by court order, the salary minimum will increase on July 1 from $35,568 to $43,888, and then to $58,656 on January 1, 2025. The salary floor will increase in subsequent years based on inflation. Similarly, the minimum salary required for the highly compensated employee exemption will increase from $107,432 to $151,164 by January 1.

However, the pay level for one of the federal regulation’s exemptions remains unchanged under the new rule. Computer professionals are exempt from overtime pay requirements if they make at least $27.63 per hour. Unlike the other white collar exemptions, computer professionals may be paid on an hourly and not a salaried basis.  

The computer professional exemption is narrow and does not apply to every employee in the information technologies area. It can be claimed for employees whose primary duties involve:

• The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software or system functional specifications;
• The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications;
• The design, documentation, testing, creation or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems; or
• A combination of the aforementioned duties, the performance of which requires the same level of skills.

Workers who simply use existing software, manufacture or repair computer hardware, or engage in typical IT "help desk" functions will not qualify for the computer professional exemption. In some situations, employees may fall under multiple exemptions under section 541. For those workers, employers have the option of paying them under the computer professional exemption and not applying the increased FLSA salary level that would otherwise be applicable after July 1.

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