Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Addressing Statements of General Policy or Interpretation Not Directly Related to Regulations

On July 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Statements of General Policy or Interpretation Not Directly Related to Regulations,” 90 Fed. Reg. 28985. Members of the public may submit comments on the NPRM at www.regulation.gov/docket/WHD-2025-0002 by the end of the comment period at 11:59 ET on August 1, 2025.

Since the 1940s, the Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has provided “Statements of General Policy or Interpretations Not Directly Related to Regulations” in Subchapter B of its assigned chapter in the Code of Federal Regulations, which presently spans parts 775 to 795 of Title 29. Most of the parts in Subchapter B provide interpretive guidance on topics related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that Congress has not specifically delegated rulemaking authority to the Department to address, such as: the principles of coverage under the FLSA (29 CFR part 776); the determination of an employee’s “regular rate of pay” used to calculate overtime premiums under the FLSA (29 CFR part 778); the definition of “hours worked” under the FLSA (29 CFR part 785); or independent contractor status under the FLSA (29 CFR part 795). While some of the parts or provisions located in Subchapter B were originally issued or subsequently amended through notice-and-comment rulemaking, many were not.

In this NPRM, the Department is proposing to remove parts located in Subchapter B that were not originally issued, or subsequently amended, through notice-and-comment rulemaking. Because these parts consist of interpretive rules and policy statements which do not carry the force and effect of law, the Department believes that these parts, to the extent that they have not benefitted from public comment, should be repurposed as subregulatory guidance. The Department welcomes commenter feedback on its NPRM. 

Laws

Regulations

  • 20 CFR 655 Subpart A — Labor Certification Process and Enforcement of Attestations for Temporary Employment in Occupations Other Than Agriculture or Registered Nursing in the United States (H-2B Workers)
  • 20 CFR 655 Subpart B — Labor Certification Process for Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States (H-2A Workers)
  • 20 CFR 655 Subpart H — Labor Condition Applications and Requirements for Employers Seeking To Employ Nonimmigrants on H-1b Visas in Specialty Occupations and as Fashion Models, and Requirements for Employers Seeking To Employ Nonimmigrants on H-1b1 and E-3 Visas in Specialty Occupations
  • 20 CFR 655 Subpart I — Enforcement of H-1B Labor Condition Applications and H-1B1 and E-3 Labor Attestations
  • 29 CFR Part 1 — Procedures for Predetermination of Wage Rates
  • 29 CFR Part 3 — Contractors and Subcontractors on Public Building or Public Work Financed in Whole or in Part by Loans or Grants From the United States
  • 29 CFR Part 4 — Labor Standards for Federal Service Contracts
  • 29 CFR Part 5 — Labor Standards Provisions Applicable to Contracts Covering Federally Financed and ASsisted Construction (also Labor Standards Provisions Applicable to Nonconstruction Contracts Subject to the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act)
  • 29 CFR Part 6 — Rules of Practice for Administrative Proceedings Enforcing Labor Standards in Federal and Federally Assisted Construction Contracts and Federal Service Contracts
  • 29 CFR Part 7 — Practice Before the Administrative Review Board With Regard to Federal and Federally Assisted Construction Contracts
  • 29 CFR Part 8 — Practice Before the Administrative Review board With Regard to Federal Service Contracts
  • 29 CFR Part 42 — Coordinated Enforcement
  • 29 CFR Part 500-899 — Wage and Hour Division
  • 41 CFR Chapter 50 — Public Contracts

Guidance Documents