A recent opinion of the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor states that mortgage loan officers are not exempt workers and must be paid the minimum wage and overtime pay as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A previous opinion stated that mortgage loan officers were exempt administrative employees and therefore employers were not required to pay them the minimum wage and overtime pay.
However, the recently issued opinion states that mortgage loan officers are more like "production" employees that actually produce the primary output of the business as opposed to "administrative" employees that perform work directly related to the management of the business. The opinion identified the following duties performed by mortgage loan officers: (i) responsible for receiving internal leads and contacting potential customers or receiving contacts from customers generated by direct mail or other marketing activity; (ii) collect required financial information from customers they contact or who contact them, including information about income, employment history, assets, investments, home ownership, debts, credit history, prior bankruptcies, judgments, and liens. (iii) run credit reports; (iv) enter the collected financial information into a computer program that identifies which loan products may be offered to customers based on the financial information provided; (v) assess the loan products identified and discuss with the customers the terms and conditions of particular loans, trying to match the customers' needs with one of the company's loan products; (vi) compile customer documents for forwarding to an underwriter or loan processor, and (vii) may finalize documents for closings.
Based on the foregoing duties, the Deputy Administrator's opinion states that mortgage loan officers are generally non-exempt production employees that are covered by the FLSA and, as such, must be paid the federally mandated minimum wage and one and one-half times their regular rate for all hours that they work over forty (40) in a workweek unless another exemption applies.
If you have questions regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act or other employment laws, contact the Law Offices of Santiago J. Padilla, P.A. as soon as possible. Based in Miami, Florida, we represent employers and employees throughout South Florida in employment cases. To set up a free initial consultation, you can contact us through the Internet or call us at (305) 358-1949.
