U.S. DOL Issues Three New Opinion Letters
The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced three new opinion letters that address compliance issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the person or entity that requested the letter.
The opinion letters issued are:
- FLSA2020-3: Addressing excludability of longevity payments from the regular rate of pay.
- FLSA2020-4: Addressing excludability of referral bonuses from the regular rate of pay.
- FLSA2020-5: Addressing excludability of an employer’s contributions to a group-term life insurance policy from the regular rate of pay.
All three of the opinion letters provide further clarity on the Department’s recently announced final rule on FLSA regular rate requirements, which allows employers to more easily offer perks and benefits to their employees.
Next Steps
Employers should audit of their overtime calculations and adjust their payroll practices to account for this new guidance.
