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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Trade Adjustment Assistance data integrity procedures
ETA set data integrity measures, quarterly reviews, and corrective action procedures for state Trade Adjustment Assistance participant reports. It aligned the checks with Participant Individual…
Rounding employees' work time under the FLSA and SCA
A nonprofit asked whether its method of rounding employees' recorded work time complies with federal wage rules used by the Service Contract Act. WHD said the described practice was neutral and…
Highly compensated paralegals and the FLSA exemption
A trade organization asked whether its paralegals qualify for the highly compensated employee exemption. WHD said the described paralegals appeared to qualify under the pay threshold and duties test…
Quarterly and annual bonuses in overtime calculations
A worker asked how quarterly and annual nondiscretionary bonuses affect overtime pay. WHD said the annual bonus required a later recalculation of the regular rate for each workweek and extra…
Fiscal 2020 state UI quality service plan instructions
ETA gave states supplemental fiscal 2020 State Quality Service Plan instructions, priorities, performance criteria and reporting requirements. The attachments provide specific plan and performance…
Aerosol warehouse and process safety thresholds
A warehouse consultant asked whether consumer aerosol cans containing more than 10,000 pounds of flammable propellant in aggregate trigger OSHA’s process-safety rule. OSHA said the described…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for summer 2019
ETA published state-by-state minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July through September 2019. The figures set a floor when a claimant's…
Exit-route enforcement after the UPS settlement ended
After a UPS settlement ended, OSHA told inspectors how it would assess exit-route clearance at courier and express delivery facilities. The memo says OSHA generally would not cite specified…
New-hire directory cross-matches for UI payment integrity
ETA issued enhanced procedures for states to cross-match unemployment claims against the national and state directories of new hires. The attached procedures address how to act on matches to detect…
Where workers may grasp a ladder while climbing
A fall-safety requester asked whether workers must grasp a ladder’s horizontal rungs while climbing. OSHA said the rule requires one hand on the ladder but does not specify which part. Holding rungs…
Revised 2018 National Farmworker Jobs Program allocations
ETA revised Program Year 2018 National Farmworker Jobs Program career services, training, and housing allocations after restoring funds previously set aside for program integrity. It gave grantees…
FY 2019 foreign labor certification state grant plans
ETA gave state workforce agencies FY 2019 foreign labor certification grant planning guidance and allocations. The funds supported work such as employer job order processing, agricultural housing…
Benefit Accuracy Measurement reporting year 2019
ETA set deadlines and procedures for completing 2019 Benefit Accuracy Measurement paid and denied claims cases before publication. Its two attachments define the accuracy reports and footnotes. The…
Program Year 2019 Indian and Native American WIOA grants
ETA gave WIOA Section 166 Indian and Native American grantees Program Year 2019 Comprehensive Services and Supplemental Youth Services allotments. It explained applications, reductions for excess…
Revised 2018 SCSEP grant allotments, Change 1
ETA revised Program Year 2018 Senior Community Service Employment Program allocations for state, territorial, and national grantees after restoring $1.2 million previously set aside for program…
Revised 2018 WIOA and Employment Service funds, Change 2
ETA revised Program Year 2018 WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth, and Employment Service allotments after reducing planned program integrity set-asides. It requested updated grant applications…
State apprenticeship expansion grant clarifications, Change 1
ETA clarified grant application and budget instructions for Program Year 2018 State Apprenticeship Expansion funding, including subawards and submission materials. Its three attachments supplied…
Hazard communication and universal waste
An employer asked whether universal waste is exempt from OSHA hazard-communication requirements. OSHA said federally regulated hazardous waste under RCRA is exempt. Waste treated as universal waste…
Program Year 2019 National Farmworker Jobs Program grants
ETA gave National Farmworker Jobs Program career services, training, and housing grantees their Program Year 2019 allotments and application instructions. The attachments provide funding amounts and…
Fall protection for a short ladder high above ground
A structural engineer asked about a ladder section no longer than 24 feet that begins 100 feet above ground. OSHA said the possible fall to a lower level, rather than the climb length alone,…
Program Year 2019 SCSEP grant allotments and plans
ETA gave Senior Community Service Employment Program state, territorial, and national grantees Program Year 2019 allotments, authorized positions, and application instructions. Its five attachments…
Program Year 2018 state apprenticeship expansion funding
ETA announced $73 million in Program Year 2018 State Apprenticeship Expansion funding to increase participation in Registered Apprenticeship Programs. It gave states allotments, application…
Virtual marketplace providers and independent-contractor status
A virtual marketplace company asked whether providers who find customers through its platform were its employees under the FLSA. The 2019 letter concluded they were independent contractors on the…
Federal employee 2019 pay rates for UI calculations
ETA alerted states to the 2019 federal civilian salary rates published by the Office of Personnel Management. States could use those rates with other evidence to estimate unemployment benefit…
Updated HUD labor-standards contact link for YouthBuild
ETA notified YouthBuild grantees and workforce agencies that the HUD labor-standards staff contact link in TEGL 11-16 had changed. It gave the replacement link for the two references in the earlier…
Program year 2019 WIOA and Employment Service allotments
ETA gave states and outlying areas their program year 2019 allotments for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth programs, the Employment Service, and Workforce Information Grants. It explained…
Agricultural overtime exemption for a farm's light processing
A farm asked whether cutting or freezing its own produce or meat, then packing, storing, and delivering it, counts as agriculture for the FLSA overtime exemption. WHD said those activities may be…
Teacher exemption for university nutrition instructors
A public university asked whether its nutrition outreach instructors are exempt from FLSA minimum-wage and overtime rules. WHD said the described instructors qualified for the teacher exemption…
Eight-and-eighty overtime system at youth residential facility
A youth residential care facility asked whether it could use the FLSA's eight-and-eighty overtime system for qualifying care institutions. WHD could not decide from the supplied facts whether the…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for spring 2019
ETA published state-by-state minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April through June 2019. States were instructed to use the attached figures…
2018 fidelity bonding demonstration grants
ETA offered state workforce agencies up to $5 million in demonstration grants to purchase fidelity bonds that could help employers hire people with criminal records, including those recovering from…
Performance reporting across ETA workforce programs
ETA aligned performance measures, definitions and reporting rules across 15 federal workforce programs with WIOA accountability requirements. The letter tells program grantees how to count and…
New headphone calibration in workplace hearing tests
A hearing-equipment maker asked whether an updated ANSI headphone calibration could be used for workplace audiometric testing although OSHA’s rule cites an older standard. OSHA said adopting the…
Silica exposure monitoring during abrasive blasting
A consultant asked whether an abrasive-blasting employer must keep sampling silica exposure every three months when levels are likely to remain above the limit. OSHA said that interval applies under…
State work-search law submissions to ETA
ETA asked states to submit their unemployment work-search requirements, including statutes, rules, policies and precedent decisions, through Form MA 8-7. The request concerned requirements in effect…
Disaster UI claim documentation and late appeals
ETA instructed states on Disaster Unemployment Assistance claims when disaster survivors cannot promptly supply proof of work or wages. It addresses the 21-day documentation rule, redeterminations…
Electronic H-1B worksite notices
WHD said an H-1B petitioner may post required notices electronically if all affected workers, including workers employed by a third party at the worksite, can find and access the correct notice. It…
Timely FMLA designation and statutory leave limits
An employer asked whether it could let workers use other paid leave first and delay FMLA designation, or expand the amount labeled FMLA leave. WHD said qualifying leave must be designated when the…
Voluntary community service and paid work time
An employer asked whether staff time in its optional community-service program counted as paid work when some participants might receive a bonus. WHD said the described volunteer time was unpaid if…
Federal wages and records for residential janitors
A building employer asked whether New York's exemption for residential janitors removed federal minimum-wage and overtime obligations and whether relying on it was a good-faith defense. WHD said the…
Fiscal 2019 state UI allocations and budget requests
ETA gave states final fiscal 2019 unemployment insurance administration allocations and explained above-base funding and supplemental budget requests. The attachment lists each state’s allocation.…
Fiscal year 2019 trade assistance grant applications
ETA instructed state workforce agencies to submit an SF-424 through Grants.gov to obtain their fiscal year 2019 Trade Adjustment Assistance training and other activities grants. It asked them to…
Fiscal year 2019 trade adjustment assistance allocations
ETA told state agencies their initial fiscal year 2019 allocations for Trade Adjustment Assistance training and other activities. It explained the formula and how states could request reserve funds…
2019 poverty guidelines for older-worker grants
ETA directed Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees to use updated 2019 poverty and low-income limits when determining or recertifying participant eligibility. The attachment supplies…
Section 511 limits on subminimum wages
WHD explained that Rehabilitation Act section 511 service requirements apply when a worker with a disability receives a commensurate wage below the federal minimum wage. For Service Contract Act…
Fiscal year 2019 Work Opportunity Tax Credit grants
ETA gave state workforce agencies their fiscal year 2019 Work Opportunity Tax Credit administrative grant allotments and application requirements. The letter asked grantees to apply within 30 days…
Additional groups eligible for veteran outreach services
ETA and the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service identified additional people who could receive case-management services from Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program specialists. The letter…
Promoting the HIRE Vets Medallion Program
ETA and the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service asked state workforce agencies and American Job Centers to familiarize themselves with the HIRE Vets Medallion Program and promote it to local…
Fiscal 2019 RESEA grant allotments and operating guidance
ETA gave states fiscal 2019 funding allotments and operating guidance for Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments grants. States seeking funds were instructed to submit a grant proposal…
Fiscal 2019 military pension cost-of-living adjustment
ETA notified states of the fiscal 2019 cost-of-living adjustment to federal military retired pay and survivor benefits. The attached figures were relevant to unemployment benefit administration for…
FLSA status of members of a religious commune
A religious organization asked whether members who perform work for their community are employees under the FLSA. WHD said the described members were not covered employees because their activities…
Variable average pay rates and overtime compliance
An employer asked whether a pay plan with average hourly earnings that change by week satisfies federal wage rules. WHD said the plan met minimum wage requirements because average hourly pay…
Renewed ETA 9178 supplemental grant progress reports
ETA provided states and other grant recipients a renewed ETA 9178 form for quarterly reporting on employment and training supplemental grants. Its attachments include the report and instructions,…
2019 Social Security and federal civilian pension COLAs
ETA informed states that Social Security old-age and survivors annuities and federal civilian pensions would receive 2019 cost-of-living adjustments. It pointed states to the Office of Personnel…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for early 2019
ETA published state-by-state minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from January through March 2019. For disasters declared in that period, states were…
WIOA and Wagner-Peyser waiver request process
ETA explained how states can ask the Secretary of Labor to waive eligible WIOA Title I or Wagner-Peyser Act requirements. States must submit requests under the letter’s process, and its attachments…
Validating WIOA performance data
ETA and the Education Department gave states a framework for validating performance data submitted for the six core WIOA programs. States must develop procedures consistent with the guidance to…
Process safety at natural-gas production facilities
A requester asked whether two natural-gas production scenarios fall within an older OSHA pause on process-safety enforcement. OSHA said that pause does not cover the described facilities and it…
Recovery of unemployment debts through Treasury offsets
ETA reminded state UI agencies that federal law requires participation in the Treasury Offset Program for recovery of specified delinquent unemployment debts. These include fraud overpayments,…
Fiscal 2019 sequestration of mandatory UI programs
ETA explained how fiscal 2019 sequestration affected mandatory unemployment programs, including the federal share of Extended Benefits and delayed payments from prior fiscal years. It distinguished…
Browse Federal guidance by topic
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.