On September 7, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued three opinion letters addressing how the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to unpaid meal periods, employees who volunteer for their nonprofit employer, and tip pooling by supervisors. As with all opinion letters, they provide the 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 three letters and a brief summary can be found below. CUPA-HR encourages members to review each of these letters to understand the WHD’s positions.
- FLSA2026-11: Whether an unpaid 60-minute meal period remains a bona fide, non-compensable meal period under the FLSA when employees spend between six and 14 minutes of that time walking to and from an employer-designated break area.
- FLSA2026-12: Whether exempt employees of a nonprofit organization may volunteer, outside of their normal work hours, to perform services for their employing organization, and how that time is treated when the volunteer work is the same as, or different from, the duties the employees are paid to perform.
- FLSA2026-13: Whether the FLSA allows a restaurant “shift supervisor” who also tends bar or assists other tipped employees to keep a portion of other employees’ tips through a tip pool or “tip out” arrangement.
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.