On July 22, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued two opinion letters addressing how the Fair Labor Standards Act applies to the commuter travel of employees who work part of their workday at home. As with all opinion letters, they provide WHD’s official interpretation of how the FLSA applies to the specific facts presented, and they may offer useful guidance to other employers facing similar questions.
FLSA Opinion Letters
The two new opinion letters address compensable travel time for employees who split their workday between home and another location. We encourage HR leaders to review each of these opinion letters because higher ed HR teams may encounter similar scenarios and questions as remote and hybrid arrangements continue.
- FLSA2026-9: Whether midday travel between an employee’s home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the midday travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee’s workday.
- FLSA2026-10: Whether time spent by an employee receiving pages, calling clients and other workers to schedule appointments, and driving from home to the first client appointment is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA.
While DOL opinion letters are not binding law, courts often give them persuasive deference and may look to them for guidance in understanding the department’s interpretation of the law and employers’ compliance practices.
CUPA-HR will continue to update members on future opinion letters.