No More DOL Opinion Letters?
Posted on 26-Mar-10 by The Timekeeper
In the past, I’ve advised people to look up the Opinion Letters on file at the Department of Labor website to see if any of the situations covered there apply to them, and to take advantage of this program to write for guidance if they have a specific question about a tricky aspect of wage and hour law.
Now it looks as though the DOL will no longer be issuing detailed opinion letters in response to specific situations. Instead, they’ll issue “Administrator Interpretations” — in their words, “a general interpretation of the law and regulations, applicable across-the-board to all those affected by the provision in issue.”
To that end, they’ve issued the first such Administrator Interpretation, reaffirming the Division’s long-standing position that mortgage loan officers are not administrative exempt employees.
Here’s what the DOL has to say about their reasoning behind moving away from opinion letters to these new broader “Interpretations”:
In order to provide meaningful and comprehensive guidance and compliance assistance to the broadest number of employers and employees, the Wage and Hour Administrator will issue Administrator Interpretations when determined, in the Administrator’s discretion, that further clarity regarding the proper interpretation of a statutory or regulatory issue is appropriate… Guidance in this form will be useful in clarifying the law as it relates to an entire industry, a category of employees, or to all employees. The Administrator believes that this will be a much more efficient and productive use of resources than attempting to provide definitive opinion letters in response to fact-specific requests submitted by individuals and organizations, where a slight difference in the assumed facts may result in a different outcome.
Going forward, if you request an opinion letter, they’ll point you to the relevant laws and regulations, but won’t provide specific advice. They also say they’ll retain those opinion letter requests to help them determine which topics are confusing a lot of people and might need an “Interpretation.”
If you still want more specific answers and advice, the DOL advises you can talk to a Wage and Hour Division representative personally, either by going to the nearest WHD office, or by calling the Division’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Telephone help is available weekdays from 8:00am until 8:00pm (Eastern).
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