April 2, 2018 – Previously, in a break from the decades-old practice of treating service advisors as exempt under the salesman exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that service advisors were entitled to overtime compensation and not considered salesmen, partsmen, or mechanics under the FLSA. This ruling was appealed and argued before the Supreme Court on January 17, 2018

Today, April 2, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its written opinion holding that: “service advisors are exempt from the overtime-pay requirement of the FLSA because they are salesm[e]n . . . primarily engaged in . . . servicing automobiles.”

The effect of the Court’s decision is that service advisors continue to remain exempt from the payout of overtime in Michigan and now across the Country.

If you would like more information on the ruling, or if you need assistance determining if your employees are exempt from overtime pay, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Dealer Practice Group for guidance at 248-645-9300 or by email.

Chuck LeFevre, Chair – [email protected]
Lawrence F. Raniszeski – [email protected]
Michael J. O’Shaughnessy – [email protected]
Eric R. Bowden – [email protected]Alycia Pallach Wesley – [email protected]
Nicholas J. Ranke – [email protected]