Labor Department issues guidance on commuting and remote-work time under federal wage law
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued two opinion letters Wednesday addressing how federal wage law applies when employees work part of the day from home.
The letters, issued July 22, 2026, address commuter travel and remote work under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law governing wage-and-hour standards. The guidance is aimed at questions affecting workers, employers and other stakeholders covered by federal labor law.
The development gives employers and employees written federal interpretations to consider when determining whether time connected with travel and home-based work must be counted as compensable work time. The answers can depend on the particular facts addressed in each opinion letter and on the requirements of applicable law.
What the guidance addresses
The two letters concern employees who work part of their workday at home. That arrangement can create questions about where the workday begins and ends, how travel relates to assigned duties, and whether time spent moving between locations is part of the work that must be paid.
The Wage and Hour Division’s action focuses on those recurring questions without changing the underlying statute. Opinion letters provide the department’s written interpretation of federal labor standards for specific factual circumstances. They are not the same as a statute, regulation or judicial ruling.
That distinction matters for anyone trying to apply the letters to a different workplace. The guidance can help explain the department’s position, but it does not mean every instance of travel to or from home must be treated identically. The relevant facts remain important.
Why hybrid work makes the issue important
Employees who split their day between home and another work location may perform duties in more than one setting. A question about pay can therefore involve both the work performed remotely and the travel associated with reporting to another location.
The department’s letters provide a federal reference point for those situations. For workers, the guidance may help clarify how the Wage and Hour Division views particular commuting and remote-work arrangements. For employers, it offers a written interpretation to consider when reviewing policies and timekeeping practices under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The practical effect is not a single rule for every hybrid schedule. The letters address specific factual circumstances, and the application of federal wage-and-hour law can turn on how an employee’s work and travel are structured. Employers and workers must therefore distinguish between the situations discussed in the letters and arrangements that involve different facts.
The guidance also underscores why accurate records and clear expectations matter in workplaces that combine remote and in-person work. Questions about when an employee is working, where assigned duties occur and how travel fits into the day can affect how time is evaluated under federal law.
What happens next
The Wage and Hour Division’s action is the issuance of two opinion letters dated July 22, 2026. The letters now stand as the department’s written interpretations for the particular circumstances they address.
They do not constitute a new nationwide regulation, and they do not replace the Fair Labor Standards Act. Instead, they provide guidance for workers, employers and other stakeholders assessing commuting and remote-work questions under existing federal wage law.
For hybrid workplaces, the immediate takeaway is to examine the actual arrangement rather than assume that all home-to-work travel or all time spent working at home receives the same treatment. The department’s interpretations are relevant to the facts covered by the letters, while other situations may require a separate analysis under the law.
Sources
- National Wage and Hour Division Releases, U.S. Department of Labor
- Schedule of Selected Releases 2026, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
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