U.S. · Employment · FLSA overtime
Computer employee exemption.
Two routes to overtime exemption for computer workers, one salaried and one hourly. Enter pay type and amount.
Computer employees can be exempt from overtime when paid at least $684 per week on salary or at least $27.63 an hour, and their primary duty is one of four specific tasks. The hourly route is unusual: section 13(a)(17) lets a computer employee paid by the hour be exempt from overtime only, with no salary basis required. Job titles do not decide anything. The duties do.
Pay and duties
Result
Two exemptions in one rule
Section 541.400 covers computer systems analysts, programmers, software engineers and other similarly skilled workers in the computer field. It is exempt under two different sections of the FLSA. Under section 13(a)(1), a salaried computer employee is exempt from both minimum wage and overtime if paid on a salary or fee basis of at least $684 per week, or $455 in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands (non-federal employers), or $380 in American Samoa. Under section 13(a)(17), the exemption applies to a computer employee compensated on an hourly basis at a rate of not less than $27.63 an hour (541.400(b)). The amounts are the ones printed in the current eCFR text, last amended at 91 FR 27835 (May 15, 2026).
Hourly workers
The hourly route has no weekly salary requirement in the text of 541.400(b): it simply asks that the computer employee be compensated on an hourly basis at a rate of not less than $27.63 an hour, and section 541.600(d) repeats that for computer employees the compensation requirement may be met on an hourly basis at that rate. Whether a particular state also recognizes the hourly route is a state-law question this page does not answer.
The four primary duties
In addition to pay, a computer employee’s primary duty must consist of one of the following, or a combination that requires the same level of skill (541.400(b)):
- applying systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software or system functional specifications;
- designing, developing, documenting, analyzing, creating, testing or modifying computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications;
- designing, documenting, testing, creating or modifying computer programs related to machine operating systems; or
- a combination of these duties requiring the same level of skills.
Job titles are not determinative, because titles vary widely and change quickly in the industry (541.400(a)). A "developer" who spends the week installing printers and resetting passwords does not meet the duties test, and an employee called "technician" who designs and modifies programs may. Primary duty has its own definition in 541.700.
What the duties test excludes
The exemption is limited to employees whose primary duty is the work described above. An employee whose primary duty falls outside those four categories does not fit, whatever the job title, and is tested instead under whatever other exemption might apply. Primary duty is defined in 541.700, which this page does not reproduce.
Worked example
A software tester is paid $1,000 per week on a salary basis and spends most of the week testing and modifying programs against design specifications. Pay is above $684 and the primary duty is a listed one, so section 13(a)(1) applies and no overtime is owed. A contractor-turned-employee who writes scripts for $30 an hour with no guaranteed weekly salary can be exempt under 13(a)(17) because $30 is above $27.63. If the same worker earned $25 an hour, neither route is met, and overtime is due after 40 hours.
Limits
This page applies 541.400 and the related pay rule, 541.600. It does not determine primary duty from facts you have not entered, address state law (state laws can differ), or treat the many other FLSA exemptions an employee might satisfy instead. If the pay or duties test fails, the employee may still be exempt under the executive, administrative or professional tests.
Sources
Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What salary does a computer employee need to be exempt?
At least $684 per week on a salary or fee basis in the states and D.C. (29 CFR 541.400(b), 541.600(a)); $455 in the CNMI, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and $380 in American Samoa, for non-federal employers.
What is the hourly rate for the computer exemption?
Not less than $27.63 an hour under section 13(a)(17) for a computer employee compensated on an hourly basis (541.400(b), 541.600(d)).
Does an hourly computer employee need a salary?
No. The 13(a)(17) route covers computer employees paid by the hour at $27.63 or more, so no salary basis is required, though the duties test must still be met.
What duties qualify under the computer exemption?
Systems analysis to determine hardware, software or system specifications; designing, developing, documenting, testing or modifying computer systems or programs; the same for operating-system programs; or a combination at the same skill level (541.400(b)(1)-(4)).
Do job titles matter for the computer exemption?
No. The regulation says job titles vary widely and change quickly in the computer industry, so they are not determinative (541.400(a)).
Is a help desk technician exempt under this rule?
Not on the title alone. The primary duty must be one of the four listed duties, such as analysis, design, development, testing or modification of computer systems or programs; otherwise the employee is tested under other exemptions.
Which FLSA sections create the computer exemption?
Section 13(a)(1) for computer employees paid on a salary or fee basis, and section 13(a)(17) for computer employees paid on an hourly basis at not less than $27.63 an hour (541.400(b)).
Not legal or compliance advice
This page is general information drawn from the sources listed, not legal, tax or compliance advice, and it is not run by any government agency. Rules, forms and dates change and your agency, base jurisdiction or enforcement officer decides your case, so confirm with the office named on this page before you rely on it. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.