In 1996, Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to add a new exemption to that law’s overtime requirements for employees with certain IT-related duties. Even though that exemption is now 30 years old, we continue to see litigation over the boundaries of exempt computer work. Last week, the Sixth Circuit of Appeals agreed that an employee whose primary duties involved development of interactive voice response technology fell within the computer employee exemption.

In Bennink v. Cincinnati Bell Telephone Co. LLC, the plaintiff was responsible for design and development of the company’s IVR system. He eventually left the company and filed suit alleging that he was a non-exempt worker entitled to payment of overtime under the FLSA. The district court disagreed, finding that the plaintiff fell within the computer employee exemption. The plaintiff appealed this decision to the Sixth Circuit.

The Sixth Circuit agreed, affirming dismissal of the claim. The court noted two important differences between the computer employee exemption and other Part 541 FLSA exemptions, such as those for professional and administrative workers. First, the computer exemption focuses on the employee’s primary duties. If those duties involve the design, development, and implementation of computer systems, the employee is exempt even if they do not have the degree of discretion or independent judgment required for the other white collar exemptions. Second, the fact that the plaintiff was never formally educated as a coder is not a factor in determining eligibility for the computer exemption.

Employers often mistakenly claim the computer exemption for IT help desk or other employees who use and troubleshoot computer networks, but whose primary duties do not involve the design and development of such systems. If the employer can prove that the employee is heavily involved in system development and implementation, they may qualify as FLSA exempt even if they would not meet the test for another white collar exemption.

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