The Labor Department published 17 opinion letters Jan. 5, reviving legal position statements on wage and hour issues that were initially issued nine years ago and then withdrawn during the Obama administration.
The letters, which provide fact-specific legal interpretations—mostly to employers and management attorneys—mark the first publication of this form of guidance since the previous Wage and Hour Division deemed them an inefficient use of resources and abolished the practice in favor of more broadly applied administrator’s interpretations. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta announced last June that the letters would be revived.
While employers and employees have been seeking new letters ...