The U.S. Department of Labor's recent guidance on the exempt status of mortgage loan officers has survived a federal court challenge by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The dispute began in March 2010, when the DOL declared that mortgage loan officers are not exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Reversing and withdrawing two prior opinion letters on the subject, the DOL stated in an administrator's interpretation that employees who perform the typical duties of a mortgage loan officer do not qualify as administrative employees exempt from overtime under the FLSA.