The Letters Keep Rolling In: DOL Issues 3 More FLSA and FMLA Opinions

On August 8, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it issued three new opinion letters. The letters cover issues related to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Here’s a brief summary of each letter:

FMLA2019-2-A addresses whether time off to attend a Committee on Special Education meeting to discuss the Individualized Education Program (IEP) of the employee’s child qualifies as FMLA leave.

FLSA2019-11 addresses the application of the FLSA section 7(k) overtime exemption and, specifically, whether an employee who works for a public agency’s fire department and police department is entitled to overtime compensation “irrespective of the number of hours worked in either position, or cumulatively.”

FLSA2019-12 answers a question regarding whether reserve deputies who volunteer their services but who are paid to perform security work for third parties “maintain their status as volunteers or are instead employees” under the FLSA.

According to the DOL’s press release, these are “the 44th, 45th, and 46th opinion letters issued by WHD during this Administration.”