The regulations in this part contain the official interpretations of
the Department of Labor pertaining to the exemptions provided in
sections 13(a)(5) and 13(b)(4) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,
as amended. It is intended that the positions stated will serve as ``a
practical guide to employers and employees as to how the office
representing the public interest in its enforcement will seek to apply
it'' (Skidmore v. Swift, 323 U.S. 134, 138). These interpretations
indicate the construction of the law which the Secretary of Labor and
the Administrator believe to be correct and which will guide them in the
performance of their duties under the Act, unless and until they are
otherwise directed by authoritative decisions of the courts or conclude
upon re-examination of an interpretation that it is incorrect. The
interpretations contained herein may be relied upon in accordance with
section 10 of the Portal-to-Portal Act (29 U.S.C. 251-262), so long as
they remain effective and are not modified, amended, rescinded, or
determined by judicial authority to be incorrect.
