Federal Labor Guidance
Free plain-English summaries of opinion letters, administrative policies, and interpretive notices from the U.S. Department of Labor, with the current status and the official source on every page.
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Minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amounts, October–December 2026
ETA provides state workforce agencies with the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from October 1 through December 31, 2026. States use half their…
Fiscal Year 2027 unemployment insurance state resource planning targets and guidelines
ETA gives state unemployment insurance agencies preliminary funding and staffing targets for fiscal year 2027, along with the method used to allocate base resources among states. It asks states to…
Fiscal Year 2027 unemployment insurance State Quality Service Plan guidance
ETA tells state unemployment insurance agencies how to prepare their fiscal year 2027 State Quality Service Plans. It sets priorities for fraud prevention, payment accuracy, program performance,…
Automotive association health plan and MEWA status
An automotive association asked whether its health plan is an ERISA employer plan and a fully insured multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said the participating employers could form a…
Whether a restaurant shift supervisor may receive coworkers' tips
A restaurant server asked whether a shift supervisor who also bartends and helps other staff may take part of their tips. WHD said that, assuming the worker meets the duties test for a manager or…
When nonprofit employees may volunteer to care for service-dog puppies
A nonprofit that breeds and trains service dogs asked whether its employees can volunteer to raise puppies at home outside their work hours. WHD said they may do so without pay only if they…
Walking to a break area during a 60-minute unpaid meal period
A detention-facility employee asked whether an unpaid 60-minute meal period counts as a real meal break when walking to and from the required break area takes 6 to 14 minutes. WHD said the period…
Using WIOA Governor’s Reserve funds for workforce priorities
ETA explains that states may reserve up to 15 percent of Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth allotments for statewide activities, subject to the limits and reporting rules described in the letter.…
Program Year 2026 workforce and labor market information grants
ETA tells state workforce agencies how to use Program Year 2026 Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants to develop and share labor market data. Grantees must maintain the Workforce Information…
FY 2026 community project funding application guidance
ETA gives the named recipients of FY 2026 Community Project Funding instructions for applying for their designated grants. The letter says eligible recipients must submit the required application…
Permanently labeled locks for electrical lockout
A requester asked whether a lock with a permanent warning label could satisfy OSHA's electrical lockout and tag requirements. OSHA said yes, if the legible label states that unauthorized operation…
Helmet selection for lateral head-impact hazards
A requester asked when employers must choose Type II helmets for possible side impacts. OSHA said its head-protection rule does not name a required helmet type, but employers must select protection…
Fiscal Year 2026 RESEA grant allotments and operating guidance
ETA explains fiscal year 2026 grants for state Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment programs, which connect unemployment claimants with reemployment help and check benefit eligibility.…
Midday travel between home and office after telework
An employer asked whether office staff must be paid for travel between home and office when they work at both places in one day. In three scenarios where employees choose the timing for their own…
Field engineer's morning calls and drive to the first client
A field service engineer asked whether morning pages, calls to schedule client visits, and the drive to the first client site must be paid. WHD said the brief time receiving pages is incidental to…
Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund, second-round grant guidance
ETA announced a second round of approximately $40 million in Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund grants, including at least $5 million for shipbuilding training. This change to TEGL 02-25 gives…
Minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amounts, July–September 2026
ETA gives state workforce agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July 1 through September 30, 2026. States use half their average…
Rapid Reskill Employment Recovery grants for dislocated workers
ETA announced roughly $50 million in Rapid Reskill Employment Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants, with awards from $2 million to $8 million. The grants support projects to assess displaced…
FY 2026 Trade Adjustment Assistance funding requests, Change 1
ETA revises TEGL 01-25 to explain how states request FY 2026 Trade Adjustment Assistance funds. States seeking Training and Other Activities money must use Form SF-424 with a written justification;…
SCSEP stand-alone state plan modifications for 2026–2027
ETA tells states and territories how to submit modifications to stand-alone Senior Community Service Employment Program plans for program years 2026 and 2027. It applies to stand-alone SCSEP plans;…
Hospital pre-shift work, clock lines, and time rounding
A hospital employee asked whether early work, time waiting at clocks, and rounding clock-in times comply with the FLSA. WHD said some pre-shift tasks, such as a respiratory therapist's patient…
Leaving a secured site during an unpaid meal period
An employee at a secured facility asked whether walking to parking and passing through security gates during an unpaid 30-minute meal break must be paid when the employee chooses to eat off site.…
Quarterly bonus based on each worker's share of total earnings
An employer asked whether a quarterly bonus pool divided according to each worker's share of the group's total straight-time and overtime earnings needs an extra overtime payment. WHD said that, on…
Salaried hospital specialist taking additional hourly nurse shifts
A hospital asked whether a salaried nursing education specialist can take additional hourly staff-nurse shifts without losing the FLSA overtime exemption. Assuming the specialist qualifies for the…
Program Year 2026 SCSEP grant planning and allotments
ETA gives Senior Community Service Employment Program state, territorial, and national grantees their program year 2026 allotments and application requirements. The letter identifies authorized…
Program Year 2026 National Farmworker Jobs Program funds
ETA gives National Farmworker Jobs Program career training and housing grantees instructions for obtaining their program year 2026 allotments. It also explains how eligible grantees may apply for…
Allowable outreach under federal workforce and education grants
ETA explains how recipients of WIOA, adult education, Perkins V, and related grants may use funds to tell workers and employers about available services. It directs state and local workforce…
Administrative funding for expired pandemic unemployment programs, 2026–2027
ETA offers state unemployment agencies funding for remaining administrative work on four expired pandemic benefit programs: PUA, PEUC, MEUC and FPUC. The funds cover tasks such as fraud work,…
FY 2026 foreign labor certification grant allotments, Change 1
ETA updates TEGL 15-24 with FY 2026 foreign labor certification grant allotments for state workforce agencies and revised application requirements. The rest of the base letter remains in effect.…
Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grants, Change 1
ETA changes the policies for Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants under TEGL 09-24. It revises requirements for grants responding to the opioid crisis and updates other grant…
Asbestos precautions when restoring drywall after flood damage
A home restoration contractor asked how OSHA’s asbestos standard applies when new drywall is installed near asbestos-containing wallboard or joint compound left after flood repairs. OSHA said the…
Idaho farm bureau health plan as an ERISA employer plan
An Idaho farm bureau asked whether its proposed health plan would count as a group-sponsored ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said participating employers could qualify as a bona fide employer group, and…
Program Year 2026 WIOA and Employment Service allotments
ETA gives states and outlying areas program year 2026 allotments for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs, the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service, and Workforce Information Grants. It…
FY 2026 Work Opportunity Tax Credit administration allotments
ETA gives state workforce agencies their FY 2026 allotments to administer the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and tells them how to apply for the funds. It says Congress had not extended the credit for…
State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula Round 4 grants
ETA announced about $85 million in fourth-round formula grants for states and territories to expand Registered Apprenticeship. The letter and attachments set application, performance, and funding…
Enhanced unemployment insurance identity verification services and state funding
ETA describes enhanced Login.gov identity verification services for state unemployment agencies and offers grants for their participation costs. States already enrolled and those still onboarding…
Enforcement policy for recording and reporting COVID-19 cases
OSHA told its regional administrators that, effective immediately and until further notice, it will not cite employers for failing to record COVID-19 cases or report COVID-19 fatalities and…
Updated dates for the transition of UI reports and benefit accuracy data to UIRS
ETA updates the transition dates for state unemployment insurance reporting from the older database system to the Unemployment Insurance Reporting System. It says states must submit required UI…
Rescission of TEGL 10-23 Change 2 on work authorization
ETA rescinds TEGL 10-23, Change 2, which had addressed work authorization verification across several workforce grant programs. It says the Department will seek stakeholder input and engage in…
Minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amounts, April–June 2026
ETA gives state workforce agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April 1 through June 30, 2026. States use half their average weekly…
Reimbursement instructions for the March 2026 National UI Convening
ETA explains how state unemployment insurance agencies could request reimbursement for travel by up to two people to its March 10–11, 2026 National UI Convening. The letter lists covered…
Interim enforcement guidance for stair rails and handrails
OSHA gave inspectors interim instructions for handrails and stair rail systems installed before a future final rule takes effect. It says inspectors will not cite specified violations if those…
Bone conduction testing under OSHA’s noise standard
An employer asked whether bone conduction audiometry can replace the air conduction tests required for employees with severe hearing loss. OSHA said it cannot replace the testing specified in the…
Fiscal Year 2026 sequestration of mandatory unemployment programs
ETA tells state unemployment agencies which federally funded programs were subject to the 5.7 percent fiscal year 2026 sequestration cut. It says the federal share of Extended Benefits, certain…
WIOA state plan modifications for program years 2026–2027
ETA and the Education Department explain the required two-year modification of states’ four-year WIOA Unified or Combined State Plans for program years 2026 and 2027. The letter sets submission…
Recording workplace burns from personal lithium-ion batteries
An employer asked whether a burn from a personal e-cigarette battery fire at work is work-related for OSHA recordkeeping. OSHA said the workplace fire is the precipitating event and the injury is…
FMLA leave for travel to medical appointments
An employer asked whether employees may use FMLA leave to travel to medical appointments, including when a medical certification says nothing about travel time. WHD said travel to and from…
Partial-week school closures and FMLA leave counting
A school asked how a closure lasting less than a week affects an employee's FMLA leave balance. WHD said a closed day generally does not count when the employee takes leave for only part of that…
Federal wage threshold and tips in the commissioned-worker exemption
Restaurants asked whether the FLSA overtime exemption for certain commissioned workers uses a higher state minimum wage and how tips affect its commission test. WHD said the exemption's pay…
Mandatory 15-minute roll call for county 911 dispatchers
A union asked whether a required 15-minute roll call before each 911 dispatch shift could count as work but be left out of overtime calculations. WHD said the proposed agreement makes roll call…
Safety and performance bonuses in waste-driver overtime pay
A waste-management employer paid drivers preset safety and performance bonuses but calculated overtime using only their base hourly wage. WHD said the bonuses were earned under advance criteria, not…
Employer reclassification of a clinical social worker as nonexempt
A licensed clinical social worker asked whether losing supervisory duties disqualifies the worker from the FLSA learned-professional exemption and whether the employer may reclassify the role as…
Minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amounts, January–March 2026
ETA gives state workforce agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from January 1 through March 31, 2026. States use half their average…
2026 cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security and federal civilian pensions
ETA tells state unemployment agencies about the 2026 cost-of-living increases for Social Security annuities and federal civilian pensions. Where a state's law reduces unemployment benefits based on…
2026 locality pay rates for federal employees and unemployment claims
ETA points state unemployment agencies to the 2026 federal General Schedule locality pay rates published by the Office of Personnel Management. It says agencies may use those rates, with other…
2026 federal military pension cost-of-living adjustments
ETA tells state unemployment agencies about cost-of-living increases to federal military retired pay and survivor benefits effective December 1, 2025. Where state law reduces unemployment benefits…
Payment Management System payment request justifications
ETA tells grant and cooperative agreement recipients what to write in the mandatory justification field when requesting funds through the Payment Management System. It explains how ETA reviews the…
Amendments to fiscal year 2024 RESEA grant guidance
ETA amends its fiscal year 2024 grant guidance for state Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment programs. It removes specified language about program equity and a reference to a revoked…
Removal of language from six earlier unemployment insurance letters
ETA removes language about program equity and equitable access, along with references to Executive Order 13985, from the Summary or Background sections of six earlier unemployment insurance letters.…
Rescission of UIPL 01-24 on equitable access to unemployment insurance
ETA rescinds UIPL No. 01-24, its November 2023 guidance on access to unemployment insurance. The agency says parts of that earlier letter no longer align with executive orders issued in January…
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These are official interpretive documents from the U.S. Department of Labor: opinion letters answering questions from employers and workers, administrative policies, and interpretive notices. They show how the agency applies wage-and-hour and workplace law to real situations, but they are guidance, not statutes or court decisions, and the agency can supersede or withdraw them. Every page above shows the document's current status, when that status was last verified, and a link to the official source.