U.S. District Court Upholds DOL Position that MLOs are not Exempt from Overtime Pay

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia recently issued a judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) in the case of Mortgage Bankers Association v. Solis regarding whether mortgage loan officers (“MLOs”) are exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The judgment upholds an Administrator’s Interpretation issued by the DOL on March 24th, 2010 (the “2010 AI”), interpreting the FLSA to require that MLOs who work more than 40 hours per week receive overtime pay.

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ABA Joins Others Against Department of Labor’s Classification of Mortgage Loan Officers

The American Bankers Association recently joined with other financial trade organizations to file an amicus brief in federal district court in opposition to the Department of Labor’s classification of most mortgage loan officers as non-exempt employees for wage and hour purposes.  Under the non-exempt classification, mortgage loan officers would be entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours during a work week.  Key to the Department’s classification is the view that most mortgage loan officers are essential inside sales employees, and not administrative employees.  For many banks, the limitations imposed by a non-exempt classification could result in significant changes in how mortgage loan officers are compensated.  A copy of Administrator’s Interpretation at issue from the Department of Labor may be found here:

http://www.dol.gov/whd/opinion/adminIntrprtn/FLSA/2010/FLSAAI2010_1.htm