MADISON, Wisc. — Early in February 2015, technical writers for Epic Systems brought two proposed class action overtime pay lawsuits against the company in Wisconsin federal court. The two lawsuits against the medical software maker are nearly identical. Both lawsuits allege the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when it misclassified the technical writers as exempt from overtime and denied them the overtime wages to which they were entitled.
The Technical Writers’ Claim
The two technical writers’ claims are actually the same claim, but they have been separated because of Epic’s efforts to require arbitration. On April 2, 2014, Epic sent an email to all of its employees informing them of the company’s new agreement to arbitrate wage claims. Any employee who received the email and continued working for Epic was considered to have accepted the arbitration agreement. Because of this agreement, one lawsuit will likely include employees who were no longer working for Epic as of April 2 and the other will include employees who continued to work for Epic after April 2.
According to the technical writers’ claim, the writers do not qualify for any exemption from overtime. The technical writers’ responsibilities consist of preparing documents like setup and support guides, release notes, and implementation handbooks. The documents are prepared using Epic’s style guide and a content management system. The technical writers’ claim no computer expertise or advanced knowledge is needed to perform their duties.
Computer Employee Exemptions
The FLSA and many state labor laws provide exemptions for certain employees working in computer-related positions. The exemption is based around the fact that computer employees tend to be well compensated and have specific training which, in theory, provide them with greater negotiating power when it comes to compensation. Under the FLSA, computer employees qualify for overtime exemptions when they meet a specific set of requirements.
These requirements include compensation of no less than $455 per week or $27.63 an hour. The computer employee must also be employed as a computer programmer, computer systems analyst, software engineer or be in the computer field with qualifying primary duties. For instance, an employee in the computer field primarily performing any or a combination of the following duties will likely be exempt from overtime pay: applying systems analysis techniques and procedures to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications; designing, developing, documenting, analyzing, creating, testing, or modifying computer systems or programs; or designing, documenting, creating, or modifying computer programs related to machine operating systems. If a computer employee meets all of these requirements, they are likely exempt from overtime under the FLSA.
If you or someone you know works in the computer field and has been denied overtime wages when working more than 40 hours in a workweek, call our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 to discuss your situation. Or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our knowledgeable legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.