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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Group-term life insurance and the overtime regular rate
An employer asked whether the taxable value of group-term life insurance above $50,000 must enter employees' overtime regular rate. WHD said tax treatment alone does not decide the FLSA regular…
Employee referral bonuses and the overtime regular rate
An employer asked whether a two-part employee referral bonus must be included in the overtime regular rate. WHD said the first payment for a voluntary, off-hours referral by a worker with no…
City longevity payments and the overtime regular rate
A city asked whether tenure-based payments to full-time employees, possibly paid at Christmas, may be excluded from the overtime regular rate as gifts. WHD said the payments under the city's binding…
Temporary FFCRA non-enforcement period
WHD told investigators not to bring enforcement actions for FFCRA violations from March 18 through April 17, 2020 when an employer made reasonable, good-faith compliance efforts, remedied…
Families First emergency UI grants and state flexibility
ETA instructed states on the unemployment provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. It addressed emergency administrative grants, temporary flexibility in state UI operations, Title…
Renewed ETA 581 unemployment tax operations report
ETA provided states a renewed ETA 581 Contribution Operations form and instructions for quarterly unemployment tax reporting. States were told to replace the corresponding section of ETA Handbook…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance benefits for spring 2020
ETA published state-by-state minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April through June 2020. The figures set a floor when a claimant's calculated…
FY 2020 Work Opportunity Tax Credit state funding
ETA told state workforce agencies their remaining FY 2020 Work Opportunity Tax Credit administration funding and how to request it. Its attachments give state balances and application instructions.…
National Dislocated Worker Grant program guidance
ETA set policies for National Dislocated Worker Grants, including eligible grant types, uses of funds, application procedures, performance targets, and reporting. Its separate attachment gives…
Temporary N95 annual fit-testing enforcement guidance in healthcare
OSHA gave inspectors temporary discretion on annual N95 fit testing for healthcare workers during the early COVID-19 shortage, while preserving other respiratory protection duties. It set conditions…
Unemployment compensation flexibility during COVID-19
ETA explained how states could apply existing unemployment compensation law to people affected by COVID-19. It discussed illness, quarantine, paid leave and how states may assess whether a claimant…
Unified state UI quality service plan submission schedule
ETA changed the State Quality Service Plan schedule so all states submit a complete Biennial plan in the same year and an Alternate Year plan in the next year. It began the common cycle with a…
WIOA core program performance negotiations and sanctions
ETA and the Education Department explained how states negotiate WIOA core program performance targets and when sanctions can follow performance or reporting failures. The attachments give data and…
WIOA state plans for program years 2020–2023
ETA gave states and outlying areas technical guidance for submitting Unified or Combined WIOA State Plans for Program Years 2020–2023. It addressed the submission deadline, plan review, and related…
Fiscal 2020 RESEA grant allotments and state plans
ETA issued fiscal 2020 grant allotments and operating guidance for the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments program. States seeking funds were instructed to submit a plan and budget…
FY 2020 RESEA grant funding and operating guidance
ETA set out the fiscal year 2020 funding limits and operating rules for state Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment grants. States seeking funding had to submit a RESEA state plan and…
Limited-partnership health benefits outside ERISA plan coverage
A company asked whether health coverage offered to its limited partners would be a single-employer ERISA plan. EBSA said the described partners did not perform meaningful work for the partnership,…
Federal employee 2020 pay rates for UI calculations
ETA alerted states to the 2020 federal civilian salary rates published by the Office of Personnel Management. States could use those rates with other evidence to estimate unemployment benefit…
FMLA employee count for an Ohio health district
An Ohio health district asked whether it must count county employees when deciding if its own employees are eligible for FMLA leave. WHD said the district and county did not appear to be one public…
Project payments and the exemption salary-basis test
An employer asked whether fixed installments for education consultants' projects satisfy the salary-basis test for an FLSA exemption. WHD said the first project's predetermined biweekly installments…
Allocating a training bonus for overtime pay
An employer asked how to include a $3,000 nondiscretionary bonus paid after a ten-week training period in overtime calculations. WHD said the bonus must enter the regular rate and, on the stated…
WIOA eligible training provider and program lists
ETA explains how states can meet WIOA requirements for eligible training providers, programs, and state provider lists. Its five attachments cover eligibility, local and state responsibilities,…
SCSEP four-year state plans for 2020–2023
ETA told states, territories, and outlying areas how to submit stand-alone Senior Community Service Employment Program plans for Program Years 2020–2023. It gave an April 2020 submission date and a…
Sunlight and shipyard eye-protection rules
A requester asked whether sunlight falls under the shipyard eye-protection rule for potentially injurious light radiation. OSHA said that provision addresses intense radiation from work such as…
2020 Social Security and federal civilian pension COLAs
ETA informed states that Social Security old-age and survivors annuities and federal civilian pensions would receive 2020 cost-of-living adjustments. It pointed states to the Office of Personnel…
Fiscal 2020 federal military pension cost-of-living changes
ETA notified states of fiscal 2020 cost-of-living adjustments to military retired pay, retainer pay and survivor annuities. Its attachment gives the adjustment details for use in unemployment…
Unemployment debt referrals to Treasury Offset Program
ETA clarified how states should refer delinquent unemployment benefit and tax debts to the Treasury Offset Program. States were told to exclude tax identification numbers from the Debt Account ID…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for early 2020
ETA published state-by-state minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from January through March 2020. States were instructed to use the attached figures…
State UI benefit operations self-assessment review cycle
ETA told state UI agencies they no longer had to review benefit operations with the State Self-Assessment Tool every year as originally described in UIPL 18-17. ETA was considering a biennial or…
SkillBridge trainees and federal wage laws
A business asked whether active-duty servicemembers training through the Defense Department's SkillBridge program are covered by the FLSA and three federal contract wage laws. WHD concluded that the…
Resource Justification Model handbook and approval
ETA announced OMB approval of the Resource Justification Model collection through April 30, 2022 and sent states a revised handbook and workbooks for reporting UI administrative costs and staffing.…
Evaluations for RESEA reemployment strategies
ETA explained the evidence and evaluation requirements for state Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments programs. States were expected to start evaluating interventions by fiscal 2020 and…
Evaluation and evidence requirements for RESEA programs
ETA explained how state Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment programs should evaluate services and use evidence about what improves employment outcomes and reduces unemployment benefit…
Fall protection on offset grain-silo ladders
A requester asked whether offset grain-silo ladder sections need fall protection when individual sections are shorter than 24 feet, and whether an emergency-use label creates an exemption. OSHA said…
State apprenticeship expansion grant eligibility, Change 2
ETA clarified that the Republic of Palau was an eligible applicant for Program Year 2018 State Apprenticeship Expansion funding. It replaced the eligible applicant paragraph in TEGL 17-18 while…
Program Year 2019 workforce information grant deliverables
ETA gave states Program Year 2019 requirements for Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants. It specified data products, customer consultation, staff training, and reporting, with deliverables…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for late 2019
ETA published state-by-state minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from October through December 2019. The figures set a floor when a claimant's…
Five-year process hazard analysis after plant shutdown
A chemical-facility requester asked whether a long shutdown pauses or restarts the five-year process-hazard-analysis cycle. OSHA said the deadline stays tied to the prior completed analysis. It will…
Spirometry results as employee medical records
A spirometry-training provider asked whether test results are employee medical records and who must preserve them. OSHA said they are medical records, and the employer remains responsible for…
Fiscal 2020 sequestration of mandatory UI programs
ETA explained how a 5.9 percent fiscal 2020 sequestration reduction affected certain mandatory unemployment programs. It identified exempt programs and described the reduction in the federal share…
Alternative base period determinations for UI claims
ETA reminded states that use an alternative base period to gather the wage facts needed to decide unemployment claims under both regular and alternative periods. It told states to advise applicants…
Combining hazard-label precautionary statements
A chemical producer asked whether similar label precautionary statements can be combined or rearranged. OSHA said the most stringent similar statement should be used, and wording may be arranged or…
FMLA designation under a collective bargaining agreement
An employer asked whether a collective bargaining agreement and employee preference could delay designation of qualifying paid leave as FMLA leave. WHD said qualifying leave must be designated once…
Minimum representative period for commission exemption
Restaurants asked how long the representative period must be for the FLSA's commissioned employee overtime exemption. WHD said four weekly or two biweekly pay periods fall short of one month, while…
Employer health savings contributions and wage garnishment
WHD considered whether employer contributions to employees’ health savings accounts count as earnings for federal wage-garnishment limits. It said contributions are generally excluded when they do…
Revised Program Year 2019 WIOA and Employment Service allotments
ETA revised Program Year 2019 WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth, and Employment Service allotments after reducing planned set-asides for program integrity and evaluation. Its four attachments…
HAZWOPER training for biohazard remediation
A biohazard cleanup company asked whether its workers need HAZWOPER training. OSHA said workers responding to a declared hazardous-substance emergency or performing covered post-emergency cleanup…
Biohazard labels on medical-device shipping packages
A medical-device employer asked whether the outer shipping package needs a biohazard label when DOT labeling does not apply. OSHA said a package with potential worker exposure to blood or other…
Medical evaluations for escape-only respirators
An employer asked whether truck drivers issued escape-only respirators need medical evaluations. OSHA said its rule does not require them for workers expected to use only an approved escape-only…
Indian and Native American program waivers and performance indicators
ETA identifies additional performance indicators for WIOA Indian and Native American grantees. It also explains how grantees may request waivers of statutory or regulatory requirements, including…
Fiscal 2020 state UI resource planning targets
ETA gave states preliminary fiscal 2020 unemployment insurance administration funding and staffing targets and explained the allocation method. The attached tables support states’ annual service and…
FMLA leave to attend a child's special-education meeting
A parent asked whether attendance at a school meeting about a child's individualized education program qualifies for intermittent FMLA leave. WHD said the described meetings involved arranging care…
Volunteer reserve deputies and paid extra-duty work
A sheriff's office asked whether volunteer reserve deputies lose volunteer status when third parties pay them for extra-duty security work. WHD said the described access to that work did not itself…
Public safety overtime for combined fire and police work
A public agency asked how its partial overtime exemption applies when one employee performs both fire protection and law enforcement work. WHD said the threshold for the activity taking the majority…
Hazard labels before intra-company chemical shipment
A chemical maker asked whether small hazardous-chemical packages could travel between its facilities before final OSHA labels were attached. OSHA said no: containers leaving a workplace must already…
Truck sleeper-berth time and compensable work
A motor carrier asked whether time a driver spent relieved of duties in a truck sleeper berth counted as paid work. This letter said the described berth time was unpaid and calculated minimum wages…
Real property under ETA-funded grants
ETA explains how grant recipients should handle real property under WIOA, Employment Service, and unemployment insurance funding. The letter addresses capital costs, depreciation, insurance, idle…
FY 2019 Trade Adjustment Assistance second distribution
ETA gave states the second FY 2019 distribution of Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities funds. It explained the allocation formula and how states could request reserve funds for…
Online safety training and worker signatures
A requester asked whether online safety courses satisfy OSHA training rules and whether workers must sign after training. OSHA said online-only training must include interactive and hands-on…
Ace Hardware cooperative health plan under ERISA
Ace Hardware asked whether a health plan for its retailer members could be a single ERISA welfare plan and a fully insured multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said the retailers could form a…
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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.