Classifying A Loan Underwriter As Exempt Is A Risk Worth Taking, Says Sixth Circuit

The demise of bank loan underwriters' exempt status has been greatly exaggerated—at least according to a recent Sixth Circuit decision upholding the dismissal of a putative collective action against Huntington Bank. The court disagreed with underwriters who alleged that they were improperly classified as exempt and thereby wrongfully denied overtime pay. Instead, the court agreed that underwriters are administrative employees and thus exempt from overtime. This ruling stands in stark contrast to the Second Circuit's 2009 opinion in Davis v. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which held that such employees were non-exempt employees engaged in "production" type activities.

The underwriters at Huntington Bank at issue performed two main functions: (1) they reviewed the information in bank loan applications to verify its accuracy; and (2) they determined whether applicants qualified for a particular loan. While they utilized extensive guidelines in determining whether to approve