US Department of Labor issues a pair of opinion letters addressing commuter travel, remote work under FLSA

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor today 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.

Opinion letters provide official written interpretations from the department's enforcement agencies, including the Wage and Hour Division, that address real-world questions from individuals or organizations. The letters explain how the laws the division enforces, including the FLSA, apply to specific factual circumstances and that may also help the public understand their rights and responsibilities.

"These opinion letters offer comprehensive guidance that allows employers to confidently make informed decisions regarding a wider variety of employee work arrangements," said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers. "By elucidating how the FLSA applies to various commuting situations, the division is enabling organizations to successfully implement compliant practices that support operational and employee needs, while ensuring that workers are properly compensated for all hours worked."

The two opinion letters issued today are:

• FLSA2026-9: Whether mid-day 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 mid-day 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.

In June 2025, the department announced the relaunch of the opinion letter program, which expands its longstanding commitment to providing meaningful compliance assistance that helps workers, employers, and other stakeholders understand how federal labor laws apply in specific workplace situations.

The public is encouraged to visit the division's opinion letter page to explore past guidance and to find information on how to submit a request for an opinion letter. The division will exercise discretion in determining whether and how it will respond to each request and will focus primarily on attempting to address matters where the application of existing regulations or guidance is unclear or issues of broad-based concern.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency's industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency's PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Read opinion letters FLSA2026-9 and FLSA2026-10.