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 employee 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. 778.210 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 entry and exit is compensable under the FLSA when the employer allots employees a 30-minute meal period during which they are allowed to remain on the premises.

• FLSA2026-8: Whether certain pre-shift activities by hospital employees are compensable work and, if so, whether the hospital’s practice of rounding employees' clock-in time to their scheduled shift start time is permissible.

Opinion letters provide official written interpretations from the Division, explaining how laws apply to specific factual circumstances presented by individuals, employers, or organizations.

Last June, Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling announced the relaunch of the department’s opinion letter program. This program expands the department’s longstanding commitment to providing meaningful compliance assistance that helps workers, employers, and other stakeholders understand how federal labor laws apply in specific workplace situations.

The public is encouraged to use the Division’s opinion letters page to explore past guidance and to find information on how to submit a request for an opinion letter. Generally, opinion letters concern matters where the application of existing regulations or guidance is unclear. The Division will exercise discretion in determining whether and how it will respond to each request, and will focus primarily on attempting to address issues of broad-based concern.

The Wage and Hour Division offers multiple compliance assistance resources to provide employers the information they need to comply with the law. Employers and workers can contact the Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243).