DOL Opinion Letters Are Back to Help You Navigate the Law

If you’ve ever stared at a confusing labor law and thought, “Could someone just tell me what this actually means?” good news! The Department of Labor is reviving a powerful tool that does exactly that.

After years on the shelf, DOL opinion letters are making a comeback, and this time, they’re expanding across five key agencies. That’s a helpful development for HR, legal, and compliance teams looking for more clarity in their day-to-day. These letters provide direct, customized employment law guidance straight from the DOL. In other words, real answers to real questions, backed by the agency that enforces the law.

Unlike general advisories or blog content, these are official interpretations from the DOL that can guide labor law compliance and support employer decision-making.

The DOL’s 2025 update makes this resource more accessible and applicable across more agencies, giving HR and compliance teams a clearer path to federal guidance.

What Are DOL Opinion Letters, Exactly?

Department of Labor opinion letters are official, written responses to questions submitted by employers, HR teams, or other stakeholders. The questions typically ask how a specific labor law applies to a particular real-world scenario. The DOL reviews the facts, interprets the law, and responds with a formal opinion that carries real weight.

This isn’t the same as a blog post or FAQ. Unlike general guidance, which might be broad or hypothetical, an opinion letter is customized to the facts of the request and published as an official agency interpretation. These letters are well-respected by courts, used by lawyers, and often referenced in compliance reviews.

Here’s the best part: if you rely on an opinion letter in good faith, it can serve as a compliance shield. That means if your policies or practices match the facts described in the letter, and you’ve followed its guidance, you may avoid penalties even if the law is later interpreted differently.

Think of it as getting the rulebook clarified by the people who wrote it.

You can learn more or submit your own request by visiting the DOL’s opinion letter program page.

A Little History Lesson

The Department of Labor’s opinion letter program has been around for a long time (nearly a century). It first started in the late 1930s, shortly after the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed in 1938. Back then, employers needed help understanding brand-new federal wage and hour rules, so the DOL began issuing written interpretations in response to their questions.

Over time, this became a go-to compliance tool. Employers would describe their real-world situations, and the DOL would respond with guidance they could trust. These letters helped shape policy decisions, influenced legal interpretations, and served as protection for businesses trying to stay on the right side of the law.

But like many government programs, opinion letters have seen their share of starts and stops:

• 1930s–2009: Opinion letters were issued regularly, especially through the Wage and Hour Division.
  
• 2010–2017: The program was replaced with general Administrator Interpretations. These were broader and didn’t provide case-specific answers.
  
• 2018: The Trump administration brought back opinion letters, citing a need for more employer-specific clarity.
  
• 2021: The Biden administration paused the program again and rescinded some recent letters.
  
• 2025: The DOL revives and expands the program across five agencies, making it more accessible and wide-reaching than ever before.

Now, the program is back with a broader scope than before. Instead of being limited to wage and hour issues, opinion letters will also cover federal contracting, veterans’ employment, union reporting, and workplace safety.

If you’ve been looking for more definitive guidance on a compliance question, this may be a helpful option.

Why This Matters Now (and Why It’s a Big Deal)

The DOL’s newly relaunched opinion letter program isn’t just a rehash of the old days. It’s bigger, more accessible, and covers far more ground. For the first time, the program now spans five Department of Labor agencies, not just the Wage and Hour Division.

Here’s who’s now involved:

• Wage and Hour Division (WHD) – wage and hour laws, overtime, FLSA issues.
  
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – workplace health and safety regulations.
  
• Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) – equal employment opportunity and affirmative action for federal contractors.
  
• Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) – union reporting and disclosure requirements.
  
• Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) – veteran reemployment rights and related laws.

This expansion means employers and HR teams can now get tailored guidance on a much wider range of compliance topics, beyond just overtime calculations or exempt classifications. If your organization works with federal contracts, employs veterans, or has union reporting requirements, you now have a direct line to clarification straight from the DOL.

For HR and compliance teams juggling complex obligations, this is a rare and valuable opportunity: clear, written answers from the same agencies that enforce the rules.

Cool (or Cautionary) Moments in Opinion Letter History

While Department of Labor (DOL) opinion letters might not always make headlines, they’ve played a pivotal role in shaping labor law compliance over the years. Here are a couple of notable instances where these letters provided crucial guidance:

Clarifying the Fluctuating Workweek Method

In Opinion Letter FLSA2020-14, the DOL addressed the application of the fluctuating workweek method for calculating overtime pay. This method allows employers to pay a fixed salary to non-exempt employees whose hours vary each week, with additional overtime compensation. The letter clarified that this method could be used even if an employee’s hours consistently exceed 40 per week, provided certain conditions are met. This guidance helped employers navigate complex overtime calculations and reinforced the importance of clear agreements with employees. 

Guidance on Non-Discretionary Bonuses and Overtime

Another significant opinion letter, FLSA2020-1, provided clarity on how non-discretionary bonuses impact the calculation of overtime pay. The DOL explained that when employees receive a lump-sum bonus for completing a training program, employers must retroactively include this bonus in the regular rate of pay for the period the bonus covers. This ensures accurate overtime compensation and helps employers maintain compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

These examples underscore how opinion letters serve as valuable tools for employers seeking to understand and comply with labor laws. By providing specific guidance on complex issues, they help prevent costly mistakes and promote fair labor practices.

How to Submit a Request for a DOL Opinion Letter

Submitting a request for a Department of Labor opinion letter is easier than you might think, and if you’re wrestling with a confusing policy or legal gray area, it could be a great way for you to get the advice you need.

Who can submit a request?

• Employers
• HR professionals
• Attorneys or compliance counsel acting on behalf of an employer

What makes a request successful?

The DOL won’t respond to broad, hypothetical, or speculative questions. To be considered, your request must be:

• Specific to a particular fact pattern
• Grounded in real circumstances you’re facing or expect to face
• Focused on federal law (state-specific issues are out of scope)

Essentially, you’ll need to describe your situation clearly, and ask how the law applies to that specific scenario.

You can find submission instructions and formatting requirements on the DOL’s official request page.

Bonus tip: If you’re facing a tricky handbook policy question or recurring employee classification issue, this could be your chance to get formal clarity. Not just for your team, but potentially for other employers too. Once published, your letter becomes a public reference that others in similar situations can rely on.

What HR and Compliance Teams Should Do Now

Whether you’re responsible for managing risk, updating employee handbooks, or making tough calls on classifications and pay, here’s how you can start using this resource right away:

1. Watch for new opinion letters as they’re published.

Each letter is made public, so even if you don’t submit a request yourself, you can still learn from the questions other employers are asking, and how the DOL responds. The searchable database is a helpful place to browse by topic, industry, or issue.

2. Consider submitting your own request.

Have a gray area in your policies or practices that keeps coming up? Something where the law isn’t crystal clear? That’s exactly the kind of issue that may qualify for a DOL opinion letter. Getting official guidance can offer clarity for your team and protection for your company.

3. Use opinion letters to support your handbook updates.

A well-drafted handbook is one of the strongest tools an employer has, but only if it reflects how the law is actually applied. Referencing published opinion letters as part of your policy development process can give your content more legal weight and help you explain decisions internally with confidence.

Final Thoughts: This Is the Kind of Help You Actually Want

The Department of Labor’s opinion letter program is back!. Employers can now request official, written guidance across five key agencies. That means more clarity on complex laws, more confidence in your decisions, and more support for the people responsible for getting compliance right.

If compliance often feels complex, this is a useful tool for getting clarity on specific issues.

At Blissbook, we believe in making policy creation clearer, smarter, and more human. Our platform helps you design and share policies that employees actually understand and that legal teams can stand behind. The DOL opinion letter program doesn’t replace your policies, but it can reinforce them when the rules get tricky.

If you’re creating a new handbook or revisiting one that’s overdue for an update, now’s the perfect time to do it right. Start your free Blissbook trial here and see how easy it can be to build policies that are both clear and compliant.