DOL Publishes New Opinion Letters

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published two new opinion letters on the following issues:

• FLSA2020-17: Addressing whether the regular rate of pay of an employee who is paid on a piece-rate basis may be calculated by dividing total earnings by the number of productive and nonproductive hours worked during the workweek in the absence of a specific agreement with the employee to use such calculation.
• FLSA2020-18: Addressing whether insect farming qualifies as “agriculture” under Section 3(f) of the FLSA and whether certain workers employed by an insect farming operation may be exempt from overtime pay requirements under Section 13(b)(12).

An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the DOL on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the individual person or entity requesting the letter. It is the administrative agency’s opinion on how the law should be applied which may be given deference by the courts.

If you have questions about these opinion letters, please contact a KZA attorney.

KZA Employer Report articles are for general information only; they are not intended and should not be construed to be legal advice. Reading or replying to such articles does not establish an attorney-client relationship. In addition, because the subject matters and applicable laws discussed in Employer Report articles are often in a state of change and not always applicable to every type of business entity or organization, readers should consult with counsel before making decisions based on the same.