I was a hourly contractor doing system administration work with 1.5x and 2x overtime from 2000-2001 in California. If I return to do hourly contracting work doing the same thing in California, do they have to pay me overtime?

I have a temp agency contract now which says I get paid straight time for "overtime". My hourly rate is far higher than $50/hr. Did the OT laws change between 2001 and now?

Yes, they did, as a matter of fact. Overtime laws changed at the Federal level in 2004. They were in the process of changing, if I recall correctly at the state level in 2000-2001. For your state, I mean.

But it is, and always has been, your job duties that determine whether you are exempt from overtime laws, not your job title. You have not given us remotely enough information to say whether you qualify as exempt or not. But one thing to keep in mind is that an employer always has the opt of treating an employee as a non-exempt and paying overtime. The possibility exists that your position is exempt from overtime, that former employer opted to pay overtime and your current empoyer is not.

But the fact remains that we would have to know a great deal more about your specific job duties in order to make even an informed guess as to whether you are due overtime or not.

cbg,

Thanks for your response.

As to your questions, when I am doing temporary contracting, I am presented with an hourly contract (only get paid for acutal hours worked, no benefits, no sick leave, no vacation, at-will). I architect and administer computer systems so it's typically salaried and exempt. In 2000-2001, I did the same work and didn't have to ask for 1.5x and 2x overtime. I figure the state laws back then didn't allow them to shortchange me despite my high hourly rate (way over $50/hr back then too). I also read there is currently a California OT exemption for highly paid computer professionals. I'm curious if that existed in 2000-2001.

I don't know if there is a CA exemption specifically. There is at the Federal level, and yes, it existed in 2000-2001.

But you're missing the point, which is that, assuming you qualify as exempt (which has still not been established), what your former employer opted to do with regards to voluntary overtime is not binding on a current employer.

And, of course, all of this is dependent upon your being an employee and not an IC. If you are an IC, then all of this goes out the window and it all becomes contract-driven.

The law that allows certain highly compensated computer programmers to be exempt from the overtime requirement took effect in 2001. In general, "System Administrators" do not meet the requirements. However, "Software Architects" do. I have a brief history of the law and its applications posted here:
http://www.gotovertime.com/computer_pro.html

The law that allows certain highly compensated computer programmers to be exempt from the overtime requirement took effect in 2001. In general, "System Administrators" do not meet the requirements. However, "Software Architects" do. I have a brief history of the law and its applications posted here:
http://www.gotovertime.com/computer_pro.html

Thanks for the info on your website. I think I'm going to work this gig and then look into claiming back any OT pay once my contract ends.