HR Magazine quoted Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner Adam Sencenbaugh on the April 2 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that car service advisers are exempt from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The 5-4 decision in Encino Motorcars LLC v. Navarro rejected the principle that exemptions to the FLSA should be construed narrowly, the report said.
This is a win for employers, noted Adam Sencenbaugh, an attorney with Haynes and Boone in Austin, Texas, HR Magazine reported. ...
The suit was brought by five service advisers at Encino Motorcars, a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Los Angeles, claiming the dealership broke the law by failing to pay them overtime compensation. They sought time-and-a-half compensation for hours worked beyond 40 hours each week, as required by the FLSA for nonexempt positions.
Encino Motorcars argued that the plaintiffs fit within the FLSA exemption for "any salesman, partsman or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles" at a covered dealership. ...
The Supreme Court decided that service advisers fit within the FLSA exemption. ... Service advisers are integral to the servicing process, the court found, which Sencenbaugh said will be useful language for employers to defeat misclassification claims. For example, other jobs at car dealerships might be integral to the servicing process too. ...
Excerpted from HR Magazine. To read the full article, click here.