News & Commentary February 24, 2023

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/february-24-2023/

Julio Colby

Julio Colby is a student at Harvard Law School.

In today’s News and Commentary: the Supreme Court rules that highly paid professionals can only be overtime exempt under the FLSA if paid on a salary basis; a federal judge rolls back a nationwide injunction ordering Starbucks to stop firing workers for union activity; OSHA fines another Amazon distribution center for a federal workplace safety violation.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that highly compensated professionals can only be overtime-exempt if they are paid on a salary basis under the Fair Labor Standards Act and longstanding companion regulations. In a 6-3 decision, the Court found that Helix Energy Solutions Group violated the FLSA by classifying oil rig worker Michael Hewitt as overtime exempt but paying him on a day rate instead of on a salary basis. The case involved Section 541.602(a) of the federal code, which exempts certain white-collar workers if they are paid a guaranteed weekly amount that does not fluctuate based on quantity or quality of work. Justice Elena Kagan’s majority opinion emphasized that the FLSA’s text and structure mandated the Court’s finding that day-rate workers are excluded from 602(a), which is consistent with the purpose of the salary-basis test. Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s dissenting opinion questioned whether the “dubious” Department of Labor regulations would survive if challenged as inconsistent with the statute, which legal experts say may hint at future legal battles over whether the regulations exceed the statutory authority granted to the agency by the FLSA.

FULL story at link above.