On May 29, 2026, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued four new opinion letters interpreting how the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to common workplace situations involving exempt status, bonus calculations, meal periods, pre-shift work, and rounding practices.
The four letters (FLSA2026-5, FLSA2026-6, FLSA2026-7, and FLSA2026-8) provide official written interpretations on fact-specific scenarios employers regularly face and may support a good-faith reliance defense under the Portal-to-Portal Act when an employer’s facts closely match the letters.
This update applies to employers subject to the FLSA and is effective as of the release date of May 29, 2026.
What Employers Need to Do
- Review classification, dual-role arrangements, and bonus structures to confirm they align with the FLSA principles discussed by the DOL.
- Audit timekeeping practices, including pre-shift work, clock-in procedures, and rounding policies, to confirm employees are paid for all compensable work.
- Confirm that unpaid meal periods are duty-free and that employees have a realistic option to take the break without performing work.
Overview
Exempt employees may perform secondary hourly work without losing exempt status, as long as the primary duty remains exempt and salary-basis requirements continue to be satisfied.
A quarterly bonus based on each employee’s share of total straight-time and overtime earnings may already include overtime due, avoiding a separate regular-rate recalculation.
A 30-minute meal period may remain unpaid even when employees voluntarily walk through controlled access points, as long as they are relieved from duty and may remain on-site.
Pre-shift work may be compensable if it is integral and indispensable, and rounding early clock-ins to the scheduled start time may not be neutral when employees are actually working.
Why This Matters
These opinion letters reflect the DOL’s current interpretation of common wage-and-hour issues that drive a large share of FLSA investigations and private litigation. While opinion letters are not statutes or regulations, they signal how the agency will likely apply the FLSA in future enforcement and may support a good-faith reliance defense for employers whose facts closely match the scenarios addressed.
Key Risks for Employers
- Signal of likely DOL enforcement focus: The topics addressed, exempt status, bonus overtime treatment, meal periods, pre-shift work, and rounding, are common audit and investigation areas, and the letters provide insight into how the agency currently interprets these issues.
- Practices that consistently favor the employer: The opinion letters addressed rounding practices that push early clock-ins forward, pre-shift work that employers know is being performed, and bonus structures that may not fully account for overtime obligations, all of which could create wage-and-hour compliance risks.
Source References
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