Are California “Service Writers” & “Service Advisers” are they entitled to Overtime Pay?
Last April the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a statementthat they were overturning their 30 year stance that service writers or service advisors are exempt from overtime. Service writers typically work at car dealerships and are the people that greet you in the service department to sell you various mechanical services like oil changes or engine repair.
The DOL has revived the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act’sSection (exemption)13(b)(10)(A) stating it does not apply to employees whose role is to diagnose the mechanical condition of or to determine service needed by a vehicle, to assign service work to employees, to monitor their progress and results, and otherwise to take responsibility for the service work.
As you can imagine, dealerships all over are now severely concerned with not only how they should pay their service writers moving forward but also if they have been paying them incorrectly they may be liable to issue back pay for all of the overtime hours that were worked and unpaid. Some dealerships are reluctant to make any changes, hoping that the 30 years of case law will allow them to continue to pay service advisors as exempt from overtime.
However, the DOL recently made it clear to a dealership that even though their appropriated funds have temporarily limited their ability to pursue this issue they fully intend to pursue it in the future. One can only assume that means the DOL is waiting on congress for appropriated funds in 2013. Regardless, this issue is prime for debate and litigation.
Labor law is complex; if you have any questions regarding your employment it is recommended that you contact a California labor law attorney who can help you understand your rights and in many cases will review your situation without charge.
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