Department of Labor Issues New Wage and Hour Opinion Letters
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced today that it has issued four new opinion letters to help promote clarity, consistency, and transparency in the application of federal labor standards: FLSA2026-5 : Whether an e mployee exempt pursuant to section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can perform additional work in a secondary role at an hourly rate , and if so, what overtime implications may arise. FLSA2026-6 : Whether a bonus calculated by comparing an employee’s total straight-time and overtime earnings to the total straight-time and overtime earnings of all employees eligible for the bonus is a “percentage of total earnings” bonus under 29 C.F.R. 778.21 0 that provides for the simultaneous payment of any overtime compensation due on the bonus, thus satisfying the FLSA’s overtime pay requirement. FLSA2026-7 : Whether time spent during a meal break voluntarily traversing an employer’s premises and passing through a controlled access entr...