L&I Weasels:
We are writing to express our opposition to the proposed Computer Overtime Exemption to the Washington Minimum Wage Act, which would eliminate time-and-a-half overtime pay for the software industry employees working under hourly contracts. This proposed change is a transparent ploy on the part of the Washington state software industry to get a special break from the state government at the expense of temporary and contract workers. It serves no compelling public interest and is overwhelmingly opposed by thousands of workers that would be directly affected by this change in state law.

Despite the fact that many of these contract employees work at the same job for years, they generally labor without sick leave or holiday pay and have moderate health coverage, if they have any at all. They typically lack any semblance of job security, are not entitled to the industry's fabled stock options, and do not get severance pay if their jobs are eliminated without notice. Overtime pay at least guarantees that these workers are appropriately compensated when they are required to work more than 40 hours per week.

The software industry is already notorious for its rigorous work schedules; software companies such as Microsoft are able to regularly demand 50- to 70-hour weeks from their salaried employees because compensation packages include salary, bonuses, and stock options. Contract employees, on the other hand, are paid by the hour and are often called upon to work significant amounts of overtime during critical periods in the software production cycle. Eliminating overtime pay for these workers would deprive them of a large portion of their income and allow an already highly profitable company such as Microsoft to save millions of dollars while demanding ever-increasing hours of its temporary workers.

In addition, the fact that many software industry temps are well-paid on an hourly basis should not eliminate their ability to earn time-and-a-half for working more than 40 hours per week. These workers are well-compensated because they have acquired the requisite training and experience. In the case of Microsoft or The Boeing Co., they create enormous value for very successful companies. They should not be singled out and punished because their skills are in demand. As with any other employee, working more than 40 hours a week detracts from their ability to spend time with their family and friends. If a company wants these workers to put in the extra hours, they deserve to be paid at a premium.

We also view this proposal as just the latest in a series of legislative assaults on pro-worker regulations, at both the state and federal levels. The changes made to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at the federal level in 1995, exempting software professionals from overtime pay, were simply part of a nationwide effort on the part of corporate America to roll back pro-worker regulations that have existed for more than 50 years. The ability of hourly employees to earn overtime pay is a fundamental workplace right- along with the ability to organize a union and the very notion of the 40-hour week -that was won in the past century by the U.S. labor movement. Arguing that this proposed change will bring state regulations into alignment with existing federal regulations is no justification for changing overtime laws to the detriment of thousands of working people in Washington state.

This proposed change is also bad law. It is loosely worded and could be broadly interpreted. Although it aims to explicitly exempt software engineers, developers and programmers from overtime pay, the "Éor other similarly skilled workerÉ" clause ensures that it could be applied to many other employees. Language saying that it would apply to workers whose primary duties include "designing, documenting, testing, creating or modifying computer systems, applications or programsÉ" could allow the exemption to also cover thousands of software testers and technical editors and writers. In short, this overtime exemption could be interpreted so that it applied to the majority of the contract employees working in this state's software industry.

Finally, the two corporations that would benefit the most from this change, Microsoft and Boeing, are two of the most successful companies in the world. They both consistently argue against and resist government regulation of their respective industries- except when it benefits them. In this case, they are both supporting an effort to get the Washington state government to restrict the earning power of software industry workers, for their own benefit. Microsoft and Boeing don't need a special break from the state of Washington at the expense of temporary and contract employees.

Washington Governor Gary Locke, to whom the Department of Labor and Industries is accountable, recently campaigned as a friend of working people in Washington state. Eliminating overtime pay for thousands of hard-working contract employees is most certainly anti-worker. We call on Gov. Locke to oppose this proposed change, and the Department of Labor and Industries to reject it outright.