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HELIX ENERGY SOLUTIONS GROUP, INC. v. HEWITT
like Hewitt is not paid on a salary basis under the plain text of §602(a). And supposing that the HCE rule incorporates only §602(a), and not §604(b), those two provisions still must be read to complement each other because §602(a) cannot change meanings depending on whether it applies to the general rule or the HCE rule. Regardless, Helix is wrong that the HCE rule operates independently of §604(b). The HCE rule refers to the salary-basis (and salary-level) requirement in the same way that the general rule does. Compare §541.601(b)(1) (requiring “at least $455 per week paid on a salary or fee basis”) with §541.100(a)(1) (requiring payment “on a salary basis at a rate of not less than $455 per week”). And the two provisions giving content to that requirement—explaining when a person is indeed paid on a salary basis—are §602(a) and §604(b). So both those provisions apply to both the general and the HCE rule. There is a difference between the HCE and general rule; it just has nothing to do with the salary-basis requirement. That difference instead involves the duties standard, which is more flexible in the HCE rule. Pp. 13–17.
(b) The Court’s reading of the relevant regulations properly concludes this case. Helix urges the Court to consider supposed policy consequences of that reading, but even the most formidable policy arguments cannot overcome a clear textual directive. See BP p.l.c. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 593 U. S. ___, ___. And anyway, Helix’s appeal to consequences appears less than formidable in the context of the FLSA’s regulatory scheme. Helix’s complaint about “windfalls” for high earners fails, as the HCE rule itself reflects Congress’s choice not to set a simple income level as the test for exemption. As to Helix’s cost-based objections, the whole point of the salary-basis test is to preclude employers from paying workers neither a true salary nor overtime. So too, Helix’s complaints about retroactive liability lack force because the salary-basis test is not novel, but rather traces back to the FLSA’s beginnings. Pp. 17–20.
Kagan, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which
Roberts, C. J., and
Thomas,
Sotomayor,
Barrett, and
Jackson, JJ., joined.
Gorsuch, J., filed a dissenting opinion.
Kavanaugh, J., filed a dissenting opinion in which
Alito, J., joined.
