As mortgage employers continue to battle lawsuits filed by loan originators who allege unpaid overtime, a court decision to keep a related regulation in place is being appealed. But even if the appeal is successful, lenders still face similar lawsuit being filed by underwriters. Other recent court decisions in mortgage employment lawsuits involve mortgage branching, commissions on originations and losses in 401(k) plans.

On June 6, a federal judge granted a motion to dismiss the Mortgage Bankers Association's January 2011 lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor.

The trade group sought to set aside the department's Wage and Hour Division Administrator's Interpretation No. 2010-1 withdrawing a 2006 opinion letter to MBA interpreting the department's own regulations and concluding that typical loan officers were exempt from Fair Labor Standards Act requirements for overtime payments under the "administrative exemption."