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An opinion letter signed by the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division is
an official ruling or interpretation of the Wage and Hour Division for purposes
of the Portal-to-Portal Act, 29 U.S.C. 259. Such rulings provide a potential
good faith reliance defense for violations of the FLSA.
In the event of a vacancy in the Administrator's position an opinion letter
signed by the Acting Administrator, Deputy Administrator, or other officer
of the Department of Labor to whom authority was properly delegated under
Reorganization Plan No.6 of 1950 (15 F.R. 3174) also constitutes an official
ruling of the Wage and Hour Division for purposes of the Portal-to-Portal Act.
Opinions signed by other Wage and Hour officials (i.e. Non-Administrator
letters), denoted by an NA following the opinion number; do not constitute
rulings or interpretations under the Portal-to-Portal Act.
The requirements of the laws
enforced by the Wage and Hour Division are set by statutes and
regulations. Our opinion letters explain these requirements
and how they apply to particular circumstances. This letter
constitutes Wage and Hour's interpretation of the requirements
discussed in the context of a specific factual situation.
Note that our enforcement guidance
may be affected by changes to the statute or the rules. Also, from time
to time we update our interpretations in response to new information, such as
court decisions. To keep apprised of such developments, consult Wage and
Hour's website and review more recent opinion letters on point. To be notified each time the web page is updated with new opinion letters,
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Opinion letters below are
available in PDF and TEXT format. You will need Adobe Reader installed on your
computer to view PDF files.
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