Earlier this week the DOL issued a big win for employers offering flexible schedules. A new opinion letter (FLSA2026-9) clarifies that mid-day commutes between home and office may not have to be paid work time — even for non-exempt employees.

Employees often ask to travel mid-day for personal reasons, and historically, employers have been hesitant to accommodate these requests out of concern that the travel time would become compensable. This new opinion letter indicates that when employees split their day between home and office (e.g., working from home in the morning, commuting in mid-morning to skip traffic, then heading home later to finish up), that travel can remain part of the employee’s “ordinary” commute and stay unpaid — as long as it’s voluntary and employee-driven.

The takeaway: you may be able to offer non-exempt employees real flexibility in when and where they work, without creating new overtime or wage-and-hour risk.

Read the Opinion Letter here.

If you have questions or concerns, reach out to our employment team today.