Are Service Advisors Exempt from Overtime?

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to consider a long standing dispute in employment law regarding who is entitled to overtime pay, and service advisors are at the center of this latest question. The statute in question allows the exemption for any “salesman, partsman, or mechanic” who engages in “selling or servicing automobiles.” This impacts automotive shops, car dealerships and repair facilities across the country, and courts have been split on the issue. Some believe the exemption applies and some do not.

Making this more difficult, the DOL’s most recent position on the issue has changed somewhat. Since 1978, their handbook stated that these workers are exempt, a position reiterated in 1987 and again in 2008. But, in 2011, the DOL reconsidered its position and determined that the exemption may not apply in certain circumstances.

Whatever your position on the matter, the Supreme Court looks to settle the dispute this term.

To receive an update about the Supreme Court’s ruling on this issue, contact our office to speak with an attorney.