The Battle Over Overtime
from the confusion-reigns-supreme dept
Traditionally, most professional jobs were considered exempt from overtime rules — but changes in federal laws have made it so that certain programming jobs now fall back under overtime rules, leading to some lawsuits from techies who feel underpaid. On the other side of the coin, many complain that the rules are not particularly clear, and leave many more employers open to lawsuits. However, to some extent, you have to wonder if these laws make sense. Obviously, protecting employees from being exploited is a good thing — but certain jobs don’t necessarily make sense from an hourly basis. It punishes the better, more efficient workers, while rewarding the slackers who take their time or the clueless workers who are “learning on the job.” The trick is to create the right balance, and it’s not clear we’re there yet.
Comments on “The Battle Over Overtime”
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Pay programmers by the number of bugs they fix.
I’m going to write me a minivan!
...laws make sense...
“However, to some extent, you have to wonder if these laws make sense.”
amen. but, tell the government this truism, and see the justifications fly!
hourly pay ...
Having been forced into the world of contracting thanks to offshore competition, I’m finally seeing a paycheck that’s worth my time. Contracting is no less certian than being a “permanent” employee and it gives the added benefit of getting paid for overtime.
I get no paid vacation and no paid sick leave, but that’s an unfortunate byproduct of the commoditization of software work.