I don’t know how many States this applies to
http://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime/fs17e_computer.pdf
But IMHO it needs to change in a bad way.
No excuse for 60+ hour work weeks without overtime just because it’s IT...
The problem is not so much the volume of work or the hours, it’s the effect on the body. The overwhelming majority of IT workers I know are drinkers, many of us are overweight, and at least half have health issues related to obesity, lack of sleep, and work-related musculoskeletal issues. I often go for 90 - 120 minutes between breaks at the office due to the volume of work. My managers require that I be available anywhere at any time, because if something in the office goes down, they’re losing money.
I don’t mind being needed, but I don’t expect compensation over the already very generous salary I make.
I think a majority of IT people actually fall under the FLSA administrative rules since they are directly supporting management and the business operations..
“...No excuse for 60+ hour work weeks without overtime just because it’s IT...”
Another IRS rule that specifically includes IT contractors — there is an IRS rule that says (in brief), if you have to travel (week to week or whatever) to the client site for your IT contract, at the point you become aware the travel required by the contract will cover longer than a year (365 days), then your home of record becomes the client site for tax purposes and any travel per-diem you receive for travel expenses is taxable income. Note that it doesn’t change at the one year mark - it changes at the point you learn travel for the contract will exceed one year.
Had some contractors on my team get caught unexpectedly by that one on a commercial sector project. It only applies when you are getting a flat per-diem rate for your travel expenses (usually just food, but could include lodging & transportation) without having to provide receipts. If you are reimbursed penny-for-penny with receipts, it does not apply.
The reasoning we got was that if you get per-diem rate for food, you could bank some of that money by eating cheaper and it does not matter if it is a govt or commercial sector gig. They just can’t bear the thought that you might figure out how to bank some of that per-diem, even if you choose to stock up on peanut-butter and tuna instead of steak restaurants every night.
And if you are taken off the contract for a period of time and put back on it, the clock does not reset — if it’s under the same contract. That was described as “an illegal tax avoidance strategy” and you could be penalized with fines or prosecution.
The solution at the time was to increase their per-diem to where it would cover the estimated taxes and I have no idea how they figured the extra amount.
The part of IT that kills me is “off-hours support,” also known as “on-call.”. You are effectively on the clock, accountable to the company for all your behavior, subject to all their rules and regulations, and liable to be interrupted in your private life on a moment’s notice, but you don’t get paid for it.
And then companies have the nerve to tell employees not to bring their problems to work. The companies sure have no problem insisting you take THEIR problems home with you.
I was a programmer during the ‘70s-’90s, the last 10 as an hourly-paid contract programmer. On those rare occasions when I worked overtime, I was paid straight-time, and never griped because the rate was so high.
I was talking with a new-hire (contractor) who told me this gem - one I suspect others can vouch for.
The interviewer told the Newbie contractor that they didn’t like clock-watchers, that programmers were expected to work extra hours, etc., etc.
The Newbie said that was OK, he was willing to work holidays and weekends. The interviewer’s face paled at a sudden revelation. “You are a contractor!” he blurted out, as if it was an epithet. Newbie says “Yup”.
Newbie reported the interviewer nearly pulled a muscle doing a flip-flop, “Oh, well, you’ll have to get authorization from you team leader before working any overtime. You just can’t do it on your own.”