(a) Since the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the
views of the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division as to the scope
and applicability of the exemption provided by section 13(b)(1) of the
act have been expressed in interpretations issued from time to time in
various forms. This part, as of the date of its publication in the
Federal Register, supersedes and replaces such prior interpretations.
Its purpose is to make available in one place general interpretations of
the Administrator which will provide ``a practical guide to employers
and employees as to how the office representing the public interest in
enforcement of the law will seek to apply it.'' (Skidmore v. Swift &
Co., 323 U.S. 134)
(b) The interpretations contained in this part indicate, with
respect to the scope and applicability of the exemption provided by
section 13(b)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the construction of
the law which the Secretary of Labor and the Administrator believe to be
correct in the light of the decisions of the courts, the Interstate
Commerce Commission, and since October 15, 1966, its successor, the
Secretary of Transportation, and which will guide them in the
performance of their administrative duties under the
act unless and until they are otherwise directed by authoritative
decisions of the courts or conclude upon reexamination of an
interpretation that it is incorrect.
(c) Public Law 89-670 (80 Stat. 931) transferred to and vested in
the Secretary of Transportation all functions, powers, and duties of the
Interstate Commerce Commission: (1) Under section 204 (a)(1) and (a)(2)
to the extent they relate to qualifications and maximum hours of service
of employees and safety of operations and equipment, and (2) under
section 204(a)(5) of the Motor Carrier Act. The interpretations
contained in this part are interpretations on which reliance may be
placed as provided in section 10 of the Portal-to-Portal Act (Pub. L.
49, 80th Cong., first sess. (61 Stat. 84), discussed in part 790,
statement on effect of Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947), so long as they
remain effective and are not modified, amended, rescinded, or determined
by judicial authority to be incorrect.
