FLSA in the Technology Industry

Meredith Levinson, a writer for CIO.com (a website geared toward technology professionals), has written a series of articles on the surging use of employment laws -- especially the FLSA -- by workers in the technology industry.  As she puts it:

I'm noticing (particularly with the [FLSA case recently brought by Apple employees]) a maturation of some kind among the technology workforce.  Tech workers have always been fiercely independent. They've always prided themselves on their specialized knowledge and on working 50-60 hours a week to solve technical problems and get their jobs done.  But the Apple case--and other similar cases that have come before it, such as the one IBM workers filed against IBM in 2006--seems to suggest that technology workers are beginning to feel taken advantage of by their employers.  They seem to be tiring of working the long hours and for no additional compensation. They're growing so tired that they're filing these lawsuits, which call into question they way they're classified according to the FLSA.  As you know, to be eligible for overtime, they have to prove that the work they're doing requires no independent discretion or judgement and that they're effectively following steps, guidelines and instructions.  Such a case really calls tech workers' identities and specialized  knowledge into question. I find the identity issues the Apple case raises fascinating . . . .

Here are links to some of Levinson's articles on the topic:

• 6 Things Tech Workers Need to Know about The Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Apple Lawsuit Could Decide Whether Network Engineers Are Eligible for Overtime Pay.
• Non-Solicitation Agreements: What IT Leaders Can Learn from Edwards vs. Arthur Andersen.

rb