California Increases Minimum Exempt Pay Rates for Computer Professionals and Licensed Physicians/Surgeons

California Labor Code sections 515.5 and 515.6 provide an overtime exemption for certain computer professionals and licensed physicians/surgeons who meet specified criteria for exemption. One of those criteria is that they earn specified minimum pay, the amount of which is subject to annual adjustment by California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). The DIR has announced increases to the minimum pay for these workers as follows:

• The DIR has increased the computer software employee's minimum hourly rate of pay for exempt status from $38.89 to $39.90, the minimum monthly salary from $6,752.19 to $6,927.75, and the minimum annual salary from $81,026.25 to $83,132.93, effective January 1, 2013; and
• The DIR has increased the licensed physicians and surgeons employee's minimum hourly rate of pay for exempt status from $70.86 to $72.70, effective January 1,2013.

The DIR’s announcements are here and here. Employers relying on these exemptions for exempt computer professionals and licensed physicians/surgeons will want to take note of these changes and adjust their pay practices accordingly.