U.S. Department of Labor Issues Wage and Hour Opinion Letters

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it has issued two new opinion letters. These letters demonstrate the Department’s commitment to providing meaningful compliance assistance to help employees understand their rights and ensure that employers have the tools they need to comply with federal labor law.

The letters released today address the following compliance issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA):

• Determining minimum wage and overtime compliance for employees with varying average hourly rates.

• Application of the ministerial exception to members of an egalitarian religious commune.

The Department now offers a search function allowing users to search opinion letters by key word, year, topic, and a variety of other filters. An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the person or entity requesting the letter. Opinion letters represent official statements of agency policy.

The public is encouraged to submit opinion letters to the Wage and Hour Division and can visit this webpage to learn how to request an opinion letter or determine whether existing agency guidance already addresses their questions. The Division will exercise discretion in determining whether and how it will respond to each request.