Section 515.5 Of Chapter 1. General From California Labor Code >> Division 2. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 1.
515.5
. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), an employee in
the computer software field shall be exempt from the requirement that
an overtime rate of compensation be paid pursuant to Section 510 if
all of the following apply:
(1) The employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual
or creative and that requires the exercise of discretion and
independent judgment.
(2) The employee is primarily engaged in duties that consist of
one or more of the following:
(A) The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures,
including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or
system functional specifications.
(B) 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.
(C) The documentation, testing, creation, or modification of
computer programs related to the design of software or hardware for
computer operating systems.
(3) The employee is highly skilled and is proficient in the
theoretical and practical application of highly specialized
information to computer systems analysis, programming, or software
engineering. A job title shall not be determinative of the
applicability of this exemption.
(4) The employee's hourly rate of pay is not less than thirty-six
dollars ($36.00) or, if the employee is paid on a salaried basis, the
employee earns an annual salary of not less than seventy-five
thousand dollars ($75,000) for full-time employment, which is paid at
least once a month and in a monthly amount of not less than six
thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($6,250). The department shall
adjust both the hourly pay rate and the salary level described in
this paragraph on October 1 of each year to be effective on January 1
of the following year by an amount equal to the percentage increase
in the California Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers.
(b) The exemption provided in subdivision (a) does not apply to an
employee if any of the following apply:
(1) The employee is a trainee or employee in an entry-level
position who is learning to become proficient in the theoretical and
practical application of highly specialized information to computer
systems analysis, programming, and software engineering.
(2) The employee is in a computer-related occupation but has not
attained the level of skill and expertise necessary to work
independently and without close supervision.
(3) The employee is engaged in the operation of computers or in
the manufacture, repair, or maintenance of computer hardware and
related equipment.
(4) The employee is an engineer, drafter, machinist, or other
professional whose work is highly dependent upon or facilitated by
the use of computers and computer software programs and who is
skilled in computer-aided design software, including CAD/CAM, but who
is not engaged in computer systems analysis, programming, or any
other similarly skilled computer-related occupation.
(5) The employee is a writer engaged in writing material,
including box labels, product descriptions, documentation,
promotional material, setup and installation instructions, and other
similar written information, either for print or for onscreen media
or who writes or provides content material intended to be read by
customers, subscribers, or visitors to computer-related media such as
the World Wide Web or CD-ROMs.
(6) The employee is engaged in any of the activities set forth in
subdivision (a) for the purpose of creating imagery for effects used
in the motion picture, television, or theatrical industry.