On April 12, 2018, the United States Department of Labor issued
three opinion letters that provide guidance on how employees
without "normal working hours" should be compensated for
travel time involving an overnight stay, whether rest breaks
provided as a reasonable accommodation are compensable, and what
forms of lump-sum payments can be garnished for child support. In
addition, the DOL issued a fact sheet detailing when teachers,
coaches, and other professionals who work at higher education
institutions should be paid overtime.
The first opinion letter, FLSA2018-18, confirms long-standing DOL
positions regarding when travel time is compensable under the Fair
Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (e.g., hotel to worksite travel is a
normal non-compensable commute). However, the letter also addresses
a nagging issue that has remained unsolved for many years: For
employees with irregular schedules, how do you determine their
"normal work hours" during which they must be paid
