The Supreme Court of the United States on Captiol Hill, photographed on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an offshore oil rig worker who earned more than $200,000 annually — and whose company classified him as a “bona fide executive” — is entitled to overtime pay for having worked more than 40 hours per week.
“This decision could result in an enormous windfall for workers in a variety of occupations,” said Lou Pechman, a New York City employment attorney who has handled more than 300 cases involving the FLSA, but who was not involved in this case.
“The Supreme Court has sent a message to all workers paid on a day rate basis that they are entitled to overtime after 40 hours of work,” Pechman said.
In a 6-3 ruling Wednesday, the Supreme Court noted that the case hinged on the issue of whether Hewitt, whose job is called tool pusher, was paid on a salary basis.
The majority opinion, written by Justice Elena Kagan, noted that Hewitt’s bi-weekly paycheck amounted to his daily pay rate multiplied by the number of days he worked in the pay period.
“The question here is whether a high-earning employee is compensated on a ‘salary basis’ when his paycheck is based solely on a daily rate — so that he receives a certain amount if he works one day in a week, twice as much for two days, three times as much for three, and so on,” wrote Kagan.
“We hold that such an employee is not paid on a salary basis, and thus is entitled to overtime pay,” Kagan wrote.
A federal district court judge who first heard the case agreed with Helix’s view, finding Hewitt was paid on a salary basis and thus was not due overtime pay.
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The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision. It said that Helix Energy’s compensation for Hewitt did not satisfy a special rule of the FLSA that allowed so-called daily-rate workers to be paid on a salary basis.
In its ruling Wednesday, the Supreme Court affirmed the appeals court decision. The majority opinion said that “Hewitt was not an executive exempt from the FLSA’s overtime pay guarantee,” and that “daily-rate workers, of whatever income level, qualify as paid on a salary basis only if the conditions set out in” the special rule are met.
Kagan in her opinion noted that Hewitt’s compensation did not meet the conditions of that special rule, “which focuses on workers whose compensation is “computed on an hourly, a daily or a shift basis.”
Two justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, filed dissenting opinions.
Kavanaugh, in his dissent joined by Justice Samuel Alito, noted that Hewitt had a daily predetermined minimum pay rate of $963 per day. And under federal labor regulations, Kavanaugh added, “an employee who performs executive duties and earns at least $100,000 per year with a ‘predetermined’ weekly salary of at least $455 for any week that he works is a bona fide executive and not entitled overtime.”
“Per those regulations, Hewitt readily qualified as a bona fide executive,” Kavanaugh wrote. “As everyone agrees, Hewitt performed executive duties, earned about $200,000 per year, and received a predetermined salary of at least $963 per week for any week that he worked.”
Gorsuch, in his extremely short, two-page opinion, said he would dismiss the case as having been “improvidently granted” by the Supreme Court.
Gorsuch wrote that the court had allowed Helix to appeal the lower court’s ruling on the expectation that the question to be determined was “which regulations certain well-paid employees must satisfy to fit within the overtime-pay exemption.”
“Unfortunately, this case does not tee up that issue in the way we hoped,” Gorsuch wrote. “With the benefit of briefing and argument, it has become clear that the ‘critical question here’ is not how” two sections of the FLSA interact, he wrote.
The New York lawyer Pechman, who teaches a class on wage theft at Fordham Law School, said, “This case highlights one of the quirks about the FLSA in that sometimes liability is not a result of how much a worker gets paid but rather how he is paid.”
Porsche today showed off two of its new products at IAA in Munich. The long-awaited Cayenne EV showed up with a new trick: an 11kW induction charger.
Details are still a little sparse at the moment, but it looks like a forthcoming Cayenne, which we hope to get a better look at later this month, will have 11kW wireless charging capability. Also new: the Cayenne will DC charge at up to 400kW, one of the fastest charging cars we’ve seen outside of China. But back to induction charging…
Porsche’s press release didn’t mention the type of induction charging, whether it would be compatible with other types of inductive chargers, or whether this was something that would come on other Porsches, wider VW vehicles, or even across the industry. The price is listed at €2000 for the option on the car and €5000 for the charging pad.
How inductive charging works in detail
Inductive charging is known from smartphones, but also from electric toothbrushes. The energy is transferred through the air via a magnetic field. For this purpose, a transmitter coil made of copper and ferrites is located in the base plate. Alternating current flows through this coil, which generates a magnetic field.
Porsche’s innovative concept uses ultra-wideband technology to determine the vehicle’s relative position above the floor plate. When the optimal parking position is reached, the driver is informed. In the vehicle’s secondary coil, which acts as a receiver unit, the magnetic field then generates alternating current. A rectifier then converts this into direct current so that the Cayenne’s high-voltage battery can store it.
The mechanism works by showing the charger on the front-view display. The driver must align the car to a certain place on the front of the car. Once over the spot, the car will lower itself to within 4-6 inches of the charging pad.
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Porsche wireless charging
Up to 11 kW
Efficiency up to 90 %
Active cooling
Charging pad 50 kg and 1,17 m 46“ long
Car lowers automatically when it parks over the pad
Motion sensor shuts down the plate when living beings or metal is being detected
Price 2.000 Euro vehicle, 5.000 Euro for the inductive plate, plus an electrician
At 240V, the 11kW Inductive charger would have a ~46A load. Porsche says the unit is up to 90% efficient, which means that the draw would be at least 12.2kW, which is about a 48A load at 240V.
Local media got a first hand look:
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Honda is finally getting ready to show off a full-size electric motorcycle, and it’s coming with something we rarely see on two wheels: fast charging. The company confirmed it will reveal more details about the bike on September 16, and all signs point to it being the long-awaited production version of the EV Fun concept first teased last year.
That’s a big deal. While we’ve seen plenty of electric scooters and small commuter bikes from Honda and other legacy manufacturers, a full-size electric motorcycle with legitimate highway performance – and fast charging – would put Honda into much more serious territory.
Most current e-motos in this category either rely on slower Level 2 charging or have limited battery capacity (with a few notable exceptions like the LiveWire One). A lack of DC fast charging can make long-distance travel impractical on an electric motorcycle, or at least time-consuming with longer coffee breaks while Level 2 charging. Honda’s decision to integrate fast charging could be the differentiator that makes their bike a real contender for riders who don’t want to be tied down by long charge times.
While we don’t have full specs yet, teaser images of the bike clearly showcase a CCS Combo 2 charge port, which is used in Europe for fast charging.
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It’s an interesting move, especially since the company previously described the range of the upcoming model as being sufficient for urban use, without providing solid battery capacity information.
The bike looks nearly identical to the EV Fun concept, with a modern naked sport-bike style and Honda’s classic design language.
From the renders and spy shots floating around, it’s clearly meant to compete in the same class as mid-size combustion motorcycles like Honda’s CB series. That means it won’t be a tiny urban commuter; we’re talking about something built for the highway.
In addition to a dearth of info regarding the battery size, Honda hasn’t shared exact range or pricing yet, but those three specs will make or break this launch. Range has been the Achilles’ heel of many electric motorcycles, with real-world numbers often falling short of what riders expect from a gas bike, making faster highway-speed trips trickier without fast charging stops.
Price is another key factor. If Honda tries to compete head-to-head with Harley’s LiveWire or the high-dollar Zero models, it could find itself in a three-way battle to attract new riders. But if it manages to slot into a more accessible price bracket, we could see Honda move a lot of units.
While Honda says we’ll get the official details on September 16, the end-of-year timing also lines up well with the EICMA show in Milan this November. Don’t be surprised if Honda makes a bigger splash there, giving the bike its proper global debut in front of the industry.
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Kia launched the EV5 in South Korea, its stylish new Sportage-sized electric SUV. With prices starting at just $35,000, the Kia EV5 arrives as an affordable SUV that’s built for the masses. But those in the US may never get to see it.
Kia launches the EV5 in Korea at an affordable price
After opening orders in the UK earlier this week, Kia launched the EV5 in its home market of South Korea on Wednesday.
Like overseas, the electric SUV is available in three variants: Air, Earth, and GT-Line. Powered by an 81.4 kWh battery, the EV5 offers a range of up to 460 km (285 miles).
A single front-mounted electric motor provides up to 215 hp (160 kW) and 295 Nm max torque. It can also recharge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes using a 350 kW charger.
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The EV5 is 1,875 mm wide, 4,610 mm long, and 1,675 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,750 mm, which is slightly smaller than that of the Tesla Model Y. To give you a better idea, that’s 10 mm wider, 70 mm longer, and 30 mm taller than the Kia Sportage.
The Kia EV5 (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)
The extended wheelbase provides “best-in-class” rear passenger space, according to Kia, with 1,041 mm second-row legroom.
Despite an upright stance like the larger EV9, the EV5 still has a sporty look with Kia’s latest design elements. The vertically stacked LED headlights and slim DRLs with Star Map lighting add to the bold styling.
The Kia EV5 boasts “best-in-class” second row legroom (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)
The interior features Kia’s latest ccNC infotainment system, featuring dual 12.3″ driver cluster and infotainment screens in a panoramic display. Plus, there’s an added 5″ AC display.
Kia introduced several new features, including a new sound bar and display theme. Through a partnership with Disney, the EV5 will play welcome and goodbye tunes, EV-specific sounds, and more.
The interior of the Kia EV5 (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)
The base EV5 Air starts at 48.55 million won ($35,000) in Korea, while the Earth trim is priced from 52.3 million won ($37,600). Upgrading to the sporty GT-Line costs 53.4 million won ($38,400).
With government and local subsidies, Kia expects the EV5 to be available for purchase at around 40 million won ($28,800).
Starting Price
Driving Range
Kia EV5 Air
48.55 million won ($35,000)
460 km (285 miles)
Kia EV5 Earth
52.3 million won ($37,600)
460 km (285 miles)
Kia EV5 GT-Line
53.4 million won ($38,400)
460 km (285 miles)
Kia EV5 prices and driving range by trim in South Korea
In comparison, the base Tesla Model Y RWD starts at 52.99 million won ($38,000) and has a driving range of up to 400 km (248 miles).
Although Kia plans to launch the EV5 in North America, it will be exclusively sold in Canada. We’ve seen a few EV5 models testing in the US, sparking speculation (or hope) that it could arrive, but don’t get your hopes up too soon. The last official statement from Kia still says the EV5 will be exclusive to Canada in the North American market.
What do you think of Kia’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one in the US? With Trump’s tariff war, don’t get your hopes up.
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