On April 12, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division released three opinion letters that address compliance issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other similar laws.

According to the DOL news release, these opinion letters discuss the following:

- What counts as work time under the FLSA when employees travel for work
- Whether 15-minute rest breaks required every hour by an employee’s serious health condition must be paid or may be uncompensated
- Whether certain lump-sum payments from employers to employees are considered “earnings” for garnishment purposes under Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act

For 70 years, the DOL had a longstanding practice of issuing opinion letters, which are used to show how a particular law applies in specific circumstances, but the practice was ended in 2010, according to the DOL news release. In June 2017, DOL Secretary Alexander Acosta announced that the department would resume issuing opinion letters. 

The DOL website provides additional information on requesting an opinion letter.