An impending US Supreme Court decision in a case asking if a worker making more than $200,000 a year is entitled to overtime compensation is prompting questions over whether federal wage law was intended to protect such highly paid employees.
Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. is fighting to overturn an appeals court ruling that former oil rig worker Michael Hewitt wasn’t exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirement for work performed over 40 hours in a workweek because Helix paid him a day rate and not a guaranteed weekly salary.
The justices last week wrestled with the nuances of the FLSA’s implementing regulations concerning executive, administrative, and professional employees who are exempt from overtime, but gave no clear indication of how they might rule.
The court’s liberal wing challenged Helix’s claim that day rate pay could be considered a salary because the company gave Hewitt a daily rate of at least $963—well above the required minimum weekly amount for salaried employees. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the regulations were intended to ensure workers get predetermined payments regardless of the quality or quantity of work performed in a given workweek.
But conservatives, including Justice Clarence Thomas, were concerned about the practical implications of granting overtime to a highly paid worker, and said an ordinary person...
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