(a) The terms "administrative practice or enforcement policy" refer to courses of conduct or policies which an agency has determined to follow 111 in the administration and enforcement of a statute, either generally, or with respect to specific classes of situations. 112 Administrative practices and enforcement policies may be set forth in statements addressed by the agency to the public. 113 Although they may be, and frequently are, based upon decisions or views which the agency has set forth in its regulations, orders, rulings, approvals, or interpretations, nevertheless administrative practices and enforcement policies differ from these forms of agency action in that such practices or policies are not limited to matters concerned with the meaning or legal effect of the statutes administered by the agency and may be based wholly or in part on other considerations.
111 The agency may have
determined to follow the course of conduct or policy for a limited time only
(see paragraphs (c) and (f), this section) or for an indefinite time (see
paragraph (b), this section), or for a period terminable by the happening of
some contingency, such as a final decision in pending litigation.
112 See United
States v. Minnesota,270 U.S
181(1926); United
States v. Boston & Maine R.R. Co.,279 U.S
732(1929)
Lucas v. American Code Co.,280 U.S
445(1930); Estate of
Sanford v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue,308 U.S
39(1939). See also Final
Report of Attorney General's Committee on Administrative Procedure in
Government Agencies, pp. 26-29; 1 Von Baur, Federal Administrative Law (1942),
p. 474.
As to requirement that practice or policy be one with
respect to a "class of employers," see paragraph (g) of this section.
113 Pursuant to section 3 of
the Administrative Procedure Act, statements of general policy formulated and
adopted by the agency for the guidance of the public are published in the
FEDERAL REGISTER. An example is the statement of the Secretary of Labor and the
Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, dated June 16, 1947, published in
12 FR 3915.
(b) To illustrate this distinction, suppose the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division issues a general statement indicating that in his opinion a certain class of employees come within a specified...
