Reversing the D.C. Circuit’s 2013 opinion, the Supreme Court today held that the U.S. Department of Labor did not violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when, in 2010, it issued its Administrator’s Interpretation stating that mortgage loan officers generally do not qualify for the administrative exemption without first affording the public the opportunity for
mortgage bankers association
Ohio Judge: Mortgage Underwriters Properly Classified As Exempt Administrative Employees
The exempt status of loan officers continues to make headlines as the Mortgage Bankers Association presses for Supreme Court affirmance of its successful challenge to a DOL opinion regarding the applicability of the administrative exemption to those workers. A new court decision highlights the fact intensive nature of exemption inquiries, and also the potentially misleading…
Supreme Court To Review DOL Authority To Issue Administrator Interpretations
Perhaps no single exemption classification under the FLSA has been subject to as much scrutiny, or generated as much inconsistent authority from courts and the United States Department of Labor, as the classification of loan officers in the mortgage banking industry. In 2013, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit invalidated the Department of…
D.C. Circuit Strikes Down 2010 USDOL Administrator’s Interpretation Regarding FLSA Status of Loan Officers
In 2010, the Department of Labor announced it would cease its “opinion letter” practice, wherein employers could submit written questions regarding application of the FLSA and its implementing regulations, and receive guidance. Replacing the opinion letter structure were “administrator interpretations,” wherein the Department would simply issue an advisory opinion on its own volition. Contemporaneous with announcing…
Court Upholds DOL’s “Administrative Interpretation” Concerning FLSA Status of Loan Officers
Following the DOL’s controversial 2010 Administrative Interpretation concluding that the administrative exemption to overtime does not apply to mortgage loan officers, numerous industry responses followed, including a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) lawsuit challenging the Interpretation. The MBA suit was initiated pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and sought a court ruling that the DOL…