Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, 584 U.S. ­­­___, 138 S. Ct. 1134 (2018)

An amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) exempts from its overtime requirements “any salesman, partsman, or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, or farm implements.” The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) subsequently issued an opinion letter and amended its Field Operations Handbook to state that service advisors also are exempt from overtime under the statute. However, in 2011, the DOL issued a new rule that limited the exemption only to employees who sell automobiles, trucks, or farm implements, thus giving service advisors a right to overtime under the FLSA. In this opinion, the United States Supreme Court ruled for the second time in as many years that service advisors are exempt from the FLSA’s overtime-compensation requirements. (Following the Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling, the case was remanded to the Ninth Circuit where that court decided for the second time in as many years that the exemption does not include service advisors.)