What You Need to Know

• The justices wrestled with three sections of the statute's regulations governing overtime pay exemptions in Helix Energy Systems v. Hewitt.
• Michael Hewitt, who earned more than $200,000 in 2015 and 2016, filed a class action, claiming overtime was due under the federal law.
• Some justices appeared concerned about the impact on lower-wage earners if Helix's arguments that Hewitt is exempt prevail.

A “clunker” sentence in a federal labor regulation bedeviled the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as the justices sought to decide whether a highly paid employee with executive duties is exempt from overtime pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Depending on the outcome, the case, Helix Energy Systems v. Hewitt, could affect employees and their employers across a broad range of industries. Helix Energy Systems, an offshore oil and gas services company, brought the case to the justices after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Michael Hewitt was not exempt from overtime pay because he was paid at a daily rate, not on a “salary basis.”

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