New DOL opinion letters address wage-and-hour issues.

• Position: Nuts & Bolts

The U.S. Department of Labor under the Obama administration suspended issuing opinion letters in response to employer requests for legal clarification. The Trump administration has renewed the opinion letter process in an attempt to keep employers informed of their obligations and protect employee rights.

Opinion letters apply to specific situations but provide some guiding principles to similarly situated employers. As always, consult your attorney before assuming any particular FLSA exemption applies to your situation.

THE LAW The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes the federal minimum wage, defines what tip credit employers may claim when paying tipped employees and requires employers to pay overtime for nonexempt workers who work more than 40 hours in a week. The FLSA regulatory framework allows the DOL great leeway in interpreting regulations.

WHAT'S NEW The DOL issued four opinion letters in early November in response to employer requests.

The most noteworthy letter dealt with administering tip credits to tipped employees. The new letter is a reissue of a rescinded 2009 letter that helped define how employers may apply tip credits when...