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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Updated Interim Enforcement Guidance for the Beryllium Standards
OSHA directed inspectors on phased enforcement of its beryllium standards in general industry, construction, and shipyards. The memo provided inspection guidance and a comparison of the then-current…
Program year 2018 Native American workforce grants
ETA gave Indian and Native American Section 166 grantees their program year 2018 funding allotments for comprehensive and youth services. It required revised grant forms and budgets within 45 days…
Dissolvable bags for beryllium-contaminated laundry
A union asked whether dissolvable bags may transport beryllium-contaminated protective clothing to a laundry. OSHA said they can count as impermeable if, while closed and handled, they keep dust in…
Tip credit for dual jobs and related duties
WHD reissued earlier guidance on when a tipped employee's related duties may count toward a tip-credit occupation. The letter described a task-list approach for related work and separate treatment…
Seasonal amusement exemption for managed swimming pools
A pool management company asked whether pools at hotels and residential buildings can qualify as amusement or recreational establishments. WHD said a pool facility may qualify if it is physically…
Salary guarantee and usual earnings for professional exemption
An employer asked whether a $2,100 guaranteed weekly salary had a reasonable relationship to certain professionals' usual weekly earnings. WHD said usual earnings up to $3,150 would meet the…
Public agency overtime exemption for private fire departments
Nonprofit private fire departments asked whether government contracts or proposed state legislation would make them public agencies eligible for the FLSA's partial public-safety overtime exemption.…
Annual WIOA statewide performance report narratives
ETA instructed WIOA Title I and III grantees on the content and annual submission of their statewide performance report narratives. The letter sets a December 1 deadline, or the next business day,…
Fiduciary roles in automatic retirement-account portability
A retirement account service asked who has fiduciary duties when small accounts move from an old employer plan through a default IRA into a new employer plan. EBSA said the service acts as a…
Revised FY 2019 WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker advance allotments
ETA revised the October 2018 advance allotments for state WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs after returning some funds previously set aside for evaluations. It asked states and outlying…
Enforcement policy for respiratory hazards without OSHA exposure limits
OSHA told inspectors how to assess serious respiratory hazards from chemicals without an OSHA permissible exposure limit. A recommended exposure limit or carcinogen classification alone is…
Continuous active duty for reservists under UCX
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to assess reservists with consecutive active-duty periods for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers. States may combine two or more DD214s toward…
Exposure monitoring options across older and newer standards
An industrial hygienist asked whether professional judgment and objective data can replace repeated sampling under several OSHA health standards. OSHA said newer standards for silica, chromium and…
Safety incentives, post-incident drug testing, and injury reporting
OSHA clarified that injury-reporting protections do not ban safety incentive programs or post-incident drug testing as such. The issue is whether an employer uses either practice to penalize a…
Corrected FY 2018 WOTC grant spending deadline
ETA corrected the spending deadline in base TEGL 21-17 for fiscal year 2018 Work Opportunity Tax Credit state funding. States could use those allotments for listed WOTC activities through December…
Blood lead laboratory approvals and de minimis enforcement
OSHA told inspectors it would accept blood lead tests from CLIA-approved clinical laboratories under both its general industry and construction lead standards. The memo explains why older approval…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for late 2018
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts to use for major disasters declared from October through December 2018. The attachment gives each…
Opioid-crisis disaster recovery workforce grants
ETA explained how eligible applicants could use Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants for employment and training responses to the opioid crisis. It described grant eligibility,…
Recording a workplace bee sting treated with an EpiPen
An employer asked whether a worker’s self-use of a prescribed EpiPen after a bee sting at work is recordable, with or without allergic symptoms. OSHA said the case is recordable in either scenario…
When a forklift remains in the operator’s view
A requester asked whether a powered industrial truck remains in the operator’s view when the operator briefly looks away or turns to pick up an item. OSHA said a momentary glance away normally does…
WIOA eligible training provider performance reports
ETA explained how states must collect and submit annual performance data for each program on their WIOA eligible training provider lists. The reports cover all people served by a program of study…
Organ donation and FMLA serious health conditions
An employer asked whether an employee can use FMLA leave for organ donation and recovery when the donor was healthy before surgery. WHD said donation can qualify as a serious health condition when…
No-fault attendance points during FMLA leave
An employer asked whether a no-fault attendance policy could pause the twelve-month period for dropping old points while an employee takes FMLA leave. WHD said it could, if equivalent types of leave…
Movie theater overtime exemption with restaurant operations
A theater operator asked whether serving food disqualifies its locations from the FLSA motion-picture theater overtime exemption. WHD said the integrated theater and food operations were one…
Volunteer exam graders for a nonprofit credentialing body
A nonprofit asked whether professional members who grade a credentialing exam could serve as volunteers if the organization stopped paying them a fee. WHD said they could be classified as volunteers…
Retail exemption for a merchant payment platform
A payment-platform company asked whether it could be a retail or service establishment for the FLSA commissioned employee overtime exemption. WHD said the described customized platform sales met the…
Voluntary wellness activities and paid work time
An employer asked whether voluntary biometric screenings, wellness activities, and benefit fairs counted as paid work time. WHD said the described activities chiefly benefited employees, involved no…
Unemployment insurance and WIOA one-stop services
ETA explained how state unemployment insurance programs participate in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act's one-stop system. It addresses UI agencies' required-partner duties, integrated…
FY 2018 state UI administration allocations
ETA provided state unemployment agencies with final FY 2018 UI administrative funding allocations and guidance on above-base funding and supplemental budget requests. The attachment lists each…
FY 2019 state UI quality service plans
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies on preparing their FY 2019 State Quality Service Plans. It sets priorities, performance criteria, corrective-action and narrative requirements, funding…
Prelaunch checklist for state UI IT modernization
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use its pre-implementation checklist before launching a modernized UI benefits or tax system. Agencies must verify that key functions are available or…
Trade and economic transition workforce grants
ETA announced up to $100 million for Trade and Economic Transition National Dislocated Worker Grants to help workers affected by broad economic changes. It described eligible applicants, funding…
FY 2019 state UI resource planning targets
ETA supplied state unemployment agencies with preliminary FY 2019 administrative resource targets for their State Quality Service Plans. It also explains how ETA allocated base resources and gives…
2018 UI benefit accuracy reporting schedule
ETA gave state unemployment agencies deadlines and procedures for completing 2018 Benefit Accuracy Measurement paid and denied claims cases and reviewing the data before federal publication. The…
Old hazard labels on long-shelf-life farm products
An agricultural-products group requested two more years to relabel long-shelf-life non-pesticide chemicals under the 2012 hazard-communication rule. OSHA declined, saying another extension would…
Hazard labels for minimum-risk pesticides and farm products
A state agriculture official asked whether minimum-risk pesticides, spray adjuvants and fertilizers used commercially need OSHA hazard-communication labels. OSHA said the pesticide exemption depends…
Safety data sheets for diluted chemical mixtures
A consultant asked whether a safety data sheet for water containing about five percent nitric acid could instead list the properties of concentrated nitric acid and disclose the dilution. OSHA said…
FY 2018 RESEA grant funding and operations
ETA told state unemployment agencies operating Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment programs how to continue activities under their approved FY 2017 plans during FY 2018. It gave final…
YouthBuild match and construction cost guidance
ETA clarified when YouthBuild grantees can charge construction materials and related costs to grants or count them toward their required match. It explains the 25-percent matching requirement and…
Annual notice of employee access to exposure records
An employer asked whether posting OSHA’s workplace rights poster meets the annual duty to tell workers about access to exposure and medical records. OSHA said no. The poster does not contain the…
When caregiver registries are FLSA employers
WHD said a registry that merely matches caregivers with clients is generally not their FLSA employer, even if it offers some administrative services. A registry that controls the caregivers’ working…
Program year 2018 farmworker jobs grants
ETA gave National Farmworker Jobs Program career services, training and housing grantees their program year 2018 planning instructions and grant allotments. Grantees had to submit program and budget…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for mid-2018
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July through September 2018. The attached table gives each state's…
Fiscal year 2018 Work Opportunity Tax Credit grants
ETA gave state workforce agencies their remaining fiscal year 2018 Work Opportunity Tax Credit grant allotments and application conditions. The attachments list state amounts and program work…
Interim silica enforcement guidance for general industry and maritime
OSHA gave inspectors interim procedures for enforcing its respirable crystalline silica standard in general industry and maritime work. The memo covers exposure limits, assessments, controls,…
Program year 2018 labor market information grants
ETA set requirements for states receiving program year 2018 Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants. The letter describes required, encouraged and allowable information products, reporting and…
Fiscal year 2018 trade assistance allocations
ETA gave state agencies initial fiscal year 2018 allocations for Trade Adjustment Assistance training and other activities. It explained the allocation formula and how to request reserve funds for…
2018 beryllium enforcement delays by industry
OSHA delayed enforcement of several beryllium provisions while it completed a rulemaking process. It continued enforcing exposure limits in three industries and selected general industry provisions.…
Exit stairs that meet recognized fire codes
A requester asked whether renovated federal-building exit stairs that meet NFPA 101 or the International Fire Code also satisfy OSHA exit-route requirements. OSHA said yes for the corresponding…
Fiscal year 2018 trade assistance grant applications
ETA instructed state agencies to submit an SF-424 through Grants.gov to access fiscal year 2018 Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities grants. States continued using standard…
Program year 2018 older-worker grant plans
ETA gave state, territorial and national Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees their program year 2018 allocations and application procedures. Its attachments provide grant amounts…
Red-border pictograms on refrigerant cylinders
A refrigerant industry group asked whether single-color hazard pictograms could be printed on non-refillable cylinders or products sold only domestically. OSHA said no: its hazard-communication rule…
Launch of silica enforcement in general industry and maritime
OSHA told regional offices that most general industry and maritime silica requirements would become enforceable June 23, 2018. For the first 30 days, inspectors were to emphasize assistance for…
Restored PY 2017 farmworker jobs grant funds
ETA revised program year 2017 National Farmworker Jobs Program allocations after restoring funds earlier reserved for program integrity. It instructed career services, training and housing grantees…
Restored program year 2017 workforce allotments
ETA restored program year 2017 allotment amounts for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth programs and the Employment Service. It reversed an earlier funding reduction and restored money set…
Program year 2018 WIOA and Employment Service allotments
ETA gave states and outlying areas their program year 2018 WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth allotments, final Employment Service allotments, and Workforce Information Grants. It explained…
Interim beryllium enforcement and delayed provisions
OSHA gave inspectors interim instructions for enforcing beryllium exposure limits and selected related duties starting in May 2018, while postponing other provisions during rulemaking. The page…
Process safety management retail exemption enforcement
After a court invalidated OSHA’s earlier interpretation of the retail exemption in its process safety rule, OSHA told inspectors not to issue process safety citations to employers in three listed…
Voluntary respirator use, fit testing and facial hair
An employer asked whether paying for voluntary respirators makes their use mandatory, and whether fit testing or facial-hair restrictions then apply. OSHA said voluntary use can remain voluntary…
Fiscal year 2018 foreign labor certification grants
ETA gave state workforce agencies fiscal year 2018 grant planning and application instructions for foreign labor certification activities. The attachments cover program responsibilities, allowable…
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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.