Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association
United States Supreme Court
575 U.S. 92 (2015)
Under authority the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) gave the Department of Labor to define exemptions from minimum-wage requirements, the Department issued a 2006 opinion letter (without notice-and-comment) concluding mortgage-loan officers were exempt, then reversed course in a 2010 opinion letter (also without notice-and-comment) concluding they were not exempt. The Mortgage Bankers Association (plaintiff) challenged the 2010 reversal, arguing the Administrative Procedure Act required notice-and-comment before an agency could change its regulatory interpretation; the district court sided with the Department, but the court of appeals reversed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether an administrative agency can revise a previous interpretation of its own regulation without using notice-and-comment procedures.