Wage and Hour Division withdraws its proposal to remove Fair Labor Standards Act interpretive guidance from federal regulations
As of our last check on November 2, 2026, this has been withdrawn.
We check the Federal Register daily for later actions. We check federal court opinions for rulings on published rules weekly, on Mondays. A ruling can take time to reach us, so not finding one here does not mean there is none.
In short
- What changed
- The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) withdrew, as of October 6, 2026, its 2025 proposal to take certain Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) interpretive guidance out of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). That rulemaking is now over.
- Who's affected
- Employers and advisers who use the WHD interpretive guidance on FLSA topics found in the CFR, or who were tracking the 2025 proposal. The guidance was not removed.
- What to do
- This withdrawal creates no new duties for employers. You may want to note that the proposal is closed and keep watching for any new WHD action on its interpretive guidance.
What changed
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From the sourceSUMMARY
The Department of Labor (Department) is withdrawing its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on July 2, 2025 (90 FR 28985)
Also: SUMMARY
which proposed to remove parts located in Title 29, Chapter V, Subchapter B of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that were not originally issued, or subsequently amended, through notice-and-comment rulemaking.
The Department of Labor withdrew its notice of proposed rulemaking published July 2, 2025. That proposal would have removed parts of Title 29, Chapter V, Subchapter B of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that were not issued or amended through notice-and-comment rulemaking.
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From the sourceSupplementary Information, II. Summary of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The Department proposed to repurpose these parts as subregulatory guidance, remove them from the CFR, and post or provide them elsewhere.
The withdrawn proposal would have turned those parts into subregulatory guidance, removed them from the CFR, and posted or provided them elsewhere.
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From the sourceSupplementary Information, V. Conclusion
By withdrawing the proposed rule, the Department is formally concluding this rulemaking proceeding.
Also: Supplementary Information, V. Conclusion
If the Department determines in the future that revisions to any of the parts located in Subchapter B are warranted, it will undertake new regulatory action.
The withdrawal formally ends this rulemaking. Any future revisions to these parts would require new regulatory action.
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From the sourceSupplementary Information, IV. Rationale for Withdrawal
has concluded that further rulemaking action with respect to them no longer aligns with the Department's needs, priorities, and objectives.
Also: Supplementary Information, IV. Rationale for Withdrawal
Commenters raised a variety of concerns, including the impact of the proposed removal of certain longstanding regulations from Subchapter B on specific industries.
The Department says the proposal no longer fits its needs, priorities and objectives. It also notes that commenters raised concerns about how the removal would affect specific industries.
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Our analysisSupplementary Information, IV. Rationale for Withdrawal
the Department concludes that it would be inadvisable to move forward at this time with its proposal to remove certain parts from Subchapter B and repurpose them as subregulatory guidance outside of the CFR.
Because the proposal was withdrawn, the interpretive parts it targeted stay in the CFR as they were.
Who is affected
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Our analysisSupplementary Information, I. Background
Most of the parts in Subchapter B provide interpretive guidance and policy statements on topics related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Employers, payroll teams and advisers who rely on the Wage and Hour Division's interpretive guidance on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) topics in Subchapter B are the readers most interested. For them, nothing changes: the guidance stays where it was.
What it means in practice
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From the sourceSupplementary Information, II. Summary of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
These parts consist of interpretive rules and policy statements regarding the FLSA that do not carry the force and effect of law.
The Department describes the parts the proposal targeted as interpretive rules and policy statements on the FLSA that do not carry the force and effect of law.
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Our analysisDATES
The proposed rule published on July 2, 2025 (90 FR 28985) is withdrawn as of October 6, 2026.
Policies, handbooks or training materials that cite these CFR parts do not need updating because of this proposal, since the parts were not removed.
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From the sourceSupplementary Information, IV. Rationale for Withdrawal
will continue to consider more effective means to modernize and update its longstanding interpretive guidance
The Department says it will keep considering better ways to modernize and update its longstanding interpretive guidance, so further changes may come through a new action.
What to do
Required
This document withdraws a proposed rule. A withdrawn proposal creates no requirement, so employers have no new or changed duties from it.
Worth considering
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Our suggestionSupplementary Information, V. Conclusion
By withdrawing the proposed rule, the Department is formally concluding this rulemaking proceeding.
Consider noting in your compliance tracking that the 2025 proposal to move this FLSA interpretive guidance out of the CFR is closed, and that existing references to these parts remain current.
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Our suggestionSupplementary Information, V. Conclusion
If the Department determines in the future that revisions to any of the parts located in Subchapter B are warranted, it will undertake new regulatory action.
Consider watching for any new Wage and Hour Division action to modernize or revise its interpretive guidance in Subchapter B.
Open questions
The source leaves these open. We'll update this record if a later document answers them.
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Will the Wage and Hour Division propose a different way to update its FLSA interpretive guidance, and when?
History
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This document withdraws the July 2, 2025 proposed rule; the status was corrected from proposed to withdrawn.
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Statements of General Policy or Interpretation Not Directly Related to Regulations; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule Source (opens in a new tab)