US Department of Labor points a pair of opinion letters addressing commuter journey, distant work below FLSA

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor right this moment issued two opinion letters addressing how the Fair Labor Standards Act applies to the commuter journey of workers who work a part of their workday at house. 

Opinion letters present official written interpretations from the division’s enforcement companies, together with the Wage and Hour Division, that handle real-world questions from people or organizations. The letters clarify how the legal guidelines the division enforces, together with the FLSA, apply to particular factual circumstances and that will additionally assist the general public perceive their rights and duties.

“These opinion letters offer comprehensive guidance that allows employers to confidently make informed decisions regarding a wider variety of employee work arrangements,” mentioned Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers. “By elucidating how the FLSA applies to various commuting situations, the division is enabling organizations to successfully implement compliant practices that support operational and employee needs, while ensuring that workers are properly compensated for all hours worked.”

The two opinion letters issued right this moment are:

• FLSA2026-9: Whether mid-day journey between an worker’s house and work workplace is worktime that an employer should document and pay for below the FLSA, the place the worker performs work at each areas and the mid-day journey is obtainable as a voluntary different to unpaid commuter journey that may in any other case happen earlier than or after the worker’s workday.
• FLSA2026-10: Whether time spent by an worker receiving pages, calling shoppers and different staff to schedule appointments, and driving from house to the primary shopper appointment is worktime that an employer should document and pay for below the FLSA.

In June 2025, the division introduced the relaunch of the opinion letter program, which expands its longstanding dedication to offering significant compliance help that helps staff, employers, and different stakeholders perceive how federal labor legal guidelines apply in particular office conditions.

The public is inspired to go to the division’s opinion letter web page to discover previous steering and to seek out data on the best way to submit a request for an opinion letter. The division will train discretion in figuring out whether or not and the way it will reply to every request and can focus totally on making an attempt to handle issues the place the appliance of current laws or steering is unclear or problems with broad-based concern.

Workers and employers can name the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance help at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are inspired to make use of the company’s industry-specific compliance help toolkits to study their duties below the legal guidelines enforced by the division. The company’s PAID program provides employers a possibility to self-report and resolve potential minimal wage and additional time violations below the FLSA, in addition to sure potential violations below the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Read opinion letters FLSA2026-9 and FLSA2026-10.