The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division today announced four opinion letters designed to promote clarity, consistency, and transparency in the application of federal labor standards.
The opinion letters provide official written interpretations from the division that address real-world questions and explain how laws apply to specific factual circumstances presented by individuals or organizations, that may also have a broader interest to those impacted by the issue presented.
The opinion letters issued today are:
- FLSA2025-03: Addressing whether a restaurant employer may include “front-of-house” oyster shuckers in a traditional tip pool with servers for whom the employer takes a tip credit under section 3(m)(2)(A) of the FLSA.
- FLSA2025-04: Addressing whether “emergency pay” provided to firefighters and other employees of a city must be included in the regular rate of pay used to calculate overtime premiums under section 7(e) of the FLSA, and, if so, how to calculate the regular rate when such pay is included.
- FLSA2025-05: Addressing whether two entities that are physically connected, and whose ownership, management, and operations appear common, are jointly and severally liable for all aspects of compliance under the FLSA.
- FMLA2025-02-A: Addressing how to calculate the number of hours of Family and Medical Leave Act leave available to correctional law enforcement employees who work a fixed “Pitman Schedule” requiring 12-hour shifts over a two-week cycle that includes mandatory overtime.
The public is encouraged to use the division’s new opinion letters page to explore past guidance and submit new requests. The division will exercise discretion in determining whether and how it will respond to each request, which 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).