Westlaw Journal Quotes Rex Heinke on Supreme Court’s Encino Ruling

Rex Heinke, co-head of the Supreme Court and appellate practice at Akin Gump, was quoted in the Westlaw Journal Employment article “Conservative justices expand scope of FLSA overtime exemptions,” which reviews the Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 decision in Encino Motorcars LLC v. Navarro et al. In that case, the Court ruled that the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime exemption for sales workers and mechanics also applies to service advisors.

Heinke said the decision will likely be felt well beyond the automotive industry, pointing out that the majority rejected the court’s decades-old principle that FLSA exemptions should be interpreted narrowly. “The Court has long relied on this principle, but the Court does not even discuss that fact,” he said. “Instead, it rejects this principle because exemptions to the FLSA are as much a part of that act as are its requirements.”

Heinke predicted the ruling will be cited often in future arguments over the scope of the FLSA and its exemptions and will lead “to narrower applications of the FLSA. In cases where the scope of an exemption is unclear, it will no longer be possible to argue that the exemption should be construed narrowly.” The findings, he added, will also likely be cited in litigation involving other statutes and used to broaden those laws’ exemptions.