{"id":9120,"date":"2026-01-22T10:40:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/employerdefensereport.com\/?p=9120"},"modified":"2026-03-20T12:03:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:03:43","slug":"reading-the-tea-leaves-what-are-the-wage-and-hour-divisions-priorities-in-year-two-of-trump-2-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.connmaciel.com\/employer-defense-report\/reading-the-tea-leaves-what-are-the-wage-and-hour-divisions-priorities-in-year-two-of-trump-2-0\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading the Tea Leaves: What are the Wage and Hour Division\u2019s Priorities in Year Two of Trump 2.0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Scott Hecker<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

With a little more than a year of the Second Trump Administration in the books, we are getting a better idea of the President\u2019s priorities, including at the U.S. DOL\u2019s Wage and Hour Division (\u201cWHD\u201d).\u00a0 Rulemaking plans described by the current Spring 2025 Unified Agenda are limited<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, but there are other avenues to deduce WHD\u2019s points of emphasis, for example, through press releases<\/a><\/strong><\/span> and opinion letters<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 This blog entry focuses on the latter, including a recent batch representing the first letters signed by WHD Administrator Andrew Rogers, who was confirmed by the Senate on October 7, 2025, during the government shutdown.<\/p>\n

WHD Opinion Letters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opinions issued by DOL cover numerous statutes, but we will address some recent activity concerning the Fair Labor Standards Act (\u201cFLSA\u201d).\u00a0 According to the Department, opinion letters represent \u201can official ruling or interpretation of the Wage and Hour Division,\u201d and \u201c[s]uch rulings provide a potential good faith reliance defense for actions that may otherwise constitute violations of the FLSA . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

2025<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2025, WHD issued five FLSA opinion letters, which addressed, generally, tip pooling, application of the Act\u2019s overtime requirements, what to include in\/exclude from the regular rate for overtime, and when an individual is an employee versus an independent contractor.\u00a0 Viewing the Department\u2019s press releases and through our recent experience with the government\u2019s enforcement priorities, these represent key wage-hour areas for employer compliance.<\/p>\n

2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Indeed, the latest opinion letters issued on January 5, 2026, under Administrator Rogers\u2019 signature cover many of the same broad topics.\u00a0 More specifically:<\/p>\n