The Department of Labor (DOL) issued opinion letters concerning meal breaks and employees serving as volunteers. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a rule eliminating the 60-day grace period provided to visa holders who lost their jobs. The Department of the Treasury has issued guidance concerning employer contributions to the new Trump Accounts.

Wage-Hour Opinion Letters Address Meal Breaks & Employees Serving as Volunteers

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) issued two opinion letters examining whether meal breaks were sufficient to be uncompensated and if exempt employees could volunteer for the organization that employed them.

Opinion Letter 2026-11

In this opinion letter, the WHD focused on whether an unpaid 60 minute lunch break, where employees spent between 6 and 14 minutes walking to and from the designated break area constituted a bona fide meal period. The WHD concluded that the “time set aside for the meal period is sufficient to allow you to use it for its purpose and is an uninterrupted period during which you are relieved from duty for the purpose of eating or engaging in personal activities,” and as a result is a bona fide meal period under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The WHD noted that generally a 30 minute meal period is long enough to constitute a bona fide meal period for which an employee does not need to be compensated. If a meal period of sufficient length is reduced significantly due to travel time or frequent or lengthy interruptions, then the meal period or portions thereof may need to be paid. In this case, the employees were relieved of any work duties during the meal break and the time allotted even after considering the need to walk to and from the break area is more than sufficient to constitute a bona fide meal period.

Opinion Letter 2026-12

The WHD issued an opinion letter addressing whether exempt employees could volunteer to provide different services for the organization that employs them. The WHD stated that they may volunteer “so long as they do so freely and without coercion, with no contemplation of pay for the volunteer services rendered, and the volunteer services are not the same type of services you employ the employees to perform.” If these conditions are not applicable, employees would be performing additional services that would constitute hours worked under the FLSA. If the employees are exempt, the WHD concluded that they could undertake the additional work without receiving more compensation, “if the employee’s primary duty remains the performance of exempt work and the employee continues to satisfy the salary requirements for the exemption.”

A nonprofit organization involved with training service dogs has both employees and volunteers who perform the operations of the organization. Several exempt employees have expressed interest in serving as volunteer juvenile canine caretakers and provide juvenile canine socialization services in their homes outside of working hours. These services are neither job requirements nor will they interfere with the regular work duties of the employees. The WHD cautioned that employers should be careful when engaging employees as volunteers to “ensure they are not inadvertently misclassified” resulting in costly potential liability for back wages, overtime, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees.

DHS Proposes Rule Eliminating 60-Day Grace Period for H-1B and Other Visa Holders

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a rule that would remove the up to 60-day grace period that had been provided to visa holders who had lost their jobs. According to DHS, the “proposed rule, by removing the up to 60-day discretionary grace period, would better align the regulations with the statutory provisions governing the relevant classifications by requiring an alien to depart from the United States immediately upon his or her failure to maintain the employment or activity that was the basis for the nonimmigrant classification or status.” DHS also believes that the proposed rule would reduce the administrative burden that occurs as a result of determining when the 60-day grace period may apply, reviewing submitted information, and determining whether to shorten or eliminate the grace period, which “may be time consuming and complex for the agency and confusing or unpredictable for the petitioner…” The proposed rule would apply to H-1B and other visa holders. Comments on the proposed rule are due by November 10^th.

Treasury Issues Guidance on Employer Contributions to Trump Accounts

The Department of the Treasury released guidance on how employers can contribute to Trump Accounts that are set up for their dependents with the amount contributed being excluded from the gross income of employees. The proposed regulations, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, will assist employers who want to establish these accounts that will allow “employers to contribute up to $2,500 tax-free each year for employees’ dependents and giving employees the option to contribute pre-tax dollars directly to those accounts.”

These accounts, which are designed for children, were created by Congress and are codified in Internal Revenue Code Section 530A. The accounts are tax-deferred retirement accounts that can be opened for children under the age of 18 who are US citizens with a Social Security number. Annual contributions up to $5,000 can be made to the accounts. When children reach 18, the accounts convert into traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). Those children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, may receive a one-time Treasury contribution of $1,000.

The Department of the Treasury advised that those employers who want to establish a Trump Account employer contribution program need to: maintain a separate written plan document; require validation that the account receiving the contributions are Trump Accounts, provide notices to employees, provide an annual statement to employees, and provide reporting to the Trump Account trustee. The law also allows employees to make pre-tax contributions through an employer cafeteria plan to their dependents’ Trump Accounts. Employers can contribute up to $2,500 annually with the amount being excluded from the gross income of employees.

Neil Reichenberg is the former executive director of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources. He is an attorney, a frequent writer and speaker on public policy and human resource issues, and an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University. For questions or additional information, contact Reichenberg at [email protected].