Law360, New York (April 22, 2010, 1:21 PM ET) -- In a sweeping interpretation memo issued on March 24, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that “typical” mortgage loan officers do not qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s administrative exemption.

Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2010-1 represented an abrupt reversal of the DOL’s past position, as reflected in a 2006 opinion letter, on this heavily litigated issue.

In addition, this first “Administrator’s Interpretation” represents a departure from the DOL’s long-standing practice of issued detailed opinion letters in response to fact-specific requests. Instead, the...