[co-author: Leah Shepherd]

On May 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released four opinion letters that shed light on several different wage-and-hour issues, including unpaid meal breaks and when pre-shift activities are compensable time.

Quick Hits

• The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division recently published four opinion letters that address several complex wage-and-hour issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
• Employees do not need to be compensated for meal breaks even when distance makes it difficult for them to leave the worksite for a meal in the allotted amount of time.
• Waiting in line to clock in or clock out at timekeeping stations generally is not compensable time.

Meal Breaks

Under the FLSA, a bona fide meal break is not compensable time when a nonexempt employee is freed from all work duties. FLSA2026-7 concerned a meal-break question from an employer with a large facility with controlled access points and parking located a considerable distance from work areas. The opinion letter states, “The fact that an employee is required to eat his or her meal on the employer’s premises or is minimally restricted in the activities they may perform does not convert this meal period into compensable time.”

Thus, an employer is not legally obligated to pay for time voluntarily spent travelling off-site to obtain or eat a meal. It also is not required to extend a thirty-minute meal period to accommodate time an employee may spend leaving and returning to his or...

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