Employment Law Report
U.S. Department of Labor Agencies Launch Opinion Letter Program
Written by: Brandon Girdley
The United States Department of Labor has announced the launch of an opinion letter program designed to expand compliance assistance. The program applies to five of the department’s key agencies, each of which will provide some form of written guidance to help stakeholders comply with the agency’s mandates.
- The Wage and Hour Division will issue opinion letters.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will issue letters of interpretation.
- The Employee Benefits Security Administration will issue advisory opinions and informational letters.
- The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service will issue opinion letters.
- The Mine Safety and Health Administration will release guidance, regulatory updates, training materials, and technical support via its new, centralized Information Hub.
Opinion letters from the various agencies are designed to provide official interpretations of applicable laws by explaining how those laws apply to specific, real-world factual circumstances. They are intended to provide guidance to both businesses and their employees. To facilitate the new opinion letter program, the Department of Labor has launched a landing page at dol.gov/opinion-letters. This online resource provides access to the Department’s past guidance, as well as an online portal to submit new compliance information requests to various agencies.
