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Employers need not pay for an employee's ordinary, midday travel between home and work, the U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday.
The agency reached that conclusion in one of two newly issued opinion letters addressing compensable working time.
The letters are part of DOL's 2025 recommitment to its opinion letter program, allowing stakeholders to request interpretations of how employment laws apply in specific situations.
DOL has in recent years used opinion letters to answer fact-specific employment law questions. Employer representatives have generally favored the program over alternatives because opinion letters have the potential to serve as a defense to litigation, they previously told HR Dive.
The agency's Wednesday letter on midday commutes, FLSA2026-9, came in response to a question from an employer with a large, nonexempt workforce. The employees don't regularly travel as part of their job duties, according to the letter, and can work from home when business needs permit.
They have not, however, been allowed to work in more than one location in a single workday because of concerns the Fair Labor Standards Act would require them to be paid for commuting in the middle of the workday. They haven't been allowed, for example, to work from home in the morning to avoid rush hour, and come to the office at...
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