High court denies overtime pay

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday limited overtime pay for service advisers at auto shops nationwide, ruling that those employees are primarily sales people and not service workers.

The 5-4 ruling is a victory for Encino Motors in California’s San Fernando Valley, but the case has been watched by auto dealerships across the country.

The Obama administration had sought to expand the reach of laws that promise minimum wages and overtime pay for most workers, but the Trump administration and the dealerships argued that salespeople, including service advisers, are not entitled to overtime pay.

The court’s conservatives joined an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, which held that service advisers who greet new customers are primarily engaged in selling, and therefore are exempted from overtime pay.

Tesla may have violated rules

Tesla may have run afoul of federal rules governing safety investigations when it released information over the weekend about a fatal crash involving one of its Model X SUVs in California late last month.

The release of investigative information was the latest instance of Silicon Valley bucking long-standing norms in dealing with government authorities.

The National Transportation Safety Board voiced its displeasure Sunday, saying it was “unhappy” Tesla had released information about the March 23 crash that killed Walter Huang, 38, when his Tesla slammed into a highway barrier on U.S. 101 outside Mountain View, California.

In a blog post Friday, Tesla attributed the severity of the wreck to a missing crash “attenuator,” a barrier meant to act as a sort of shock absorber during collisions. It also said the Tesla was operating in semiautonomous “Autopilot” mode, but that Huang had not followed guidelines intended to make sure drivers are fully attentive while the vehicle is in Autopilot.

The statements appear to place at least some of the blame on the driver. However, both the attenuator and Autopilot remain central to the NTSB investigation, which also is examining reports from Huang’s family members that he had complained previously about the performance of Autopilot on the same stretch of highway. Federal investigators have not drawn any conclusions, but said a preliminary report is expected in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s decision to disclose its findings could have further implications — up to being removed as a party to the investigation — according to the rules governing investigations.

— From wire reports