Chapter § 2-23 29 CFR § 541.400. General Rule for Computer Employees

• Jurisdiction: United States

2-23 29 CFR § 541.400. General Rule for Computer Employees

(a) Computer systems analysts, computer programmers, software engineers or other similarly skilled workers in the computer field are eligible for exemption as professionals under section 13(a)(1) of the Act and under section 13(a)(17) of the Act. Because job titles vary widely and change quickly in the computer industry, job titles are not determinative of the applicability of this exemption.

(b) The section 13(a)(1) exemption applies to any computer employee compensated on a salary or fee basis at a rate of not less than $455 per week (or $380 per week, if employed in American Samoa by employers other than the Federal Government), exclusive of board, lodging or other facilities, and the section 13(a)(17) exemption applies to any computer employee compensated on an hourly basis at a rate not less than $27.63 an hour. In addition, under either section 13(a)(1) or section 13(a)(17) of the Act, the exemptions apply only to computer employees whose primary duty consists of:

(1) The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software or system functional specifications;
(2) 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;
(3) The design, documentation, testing, creation or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems; or,
(4) A combination of the aforementioned duties, the performance of which requires the same level of skills.

(c) The term "salary basis" is defined at § 541.602; "fee basis" is defined at § 541.605; "board, lodging or other facilities" is defined at § 541.606; and "primary duty" is defined at § 541.700.

2-23:1 Commentary

2-23.1.1 Exemption Is Driven by Job Duties, Not Job Titles

The DOL considered requests to include other job titles within the scope of this exemption, such as network managers, LAN/WAN administrators, database administrators, website design and maintenance specialists, and systems support specialists performing similar duties with hardware, software, and communications networks. The DOL rejected these suggestions because Congress limited the scope of the exemption in the statute to specific positions. The DOL stressed that the exemption is driven by job duties, not job titles. "Where the prescribed duties tests are met...