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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Medical evaluations for voluntarily used respirators
A requester asked whether voluntary use of an elastomeric respirator can be treated like a filtering facepiece for medical evaluations. OSHA said no: the devices differ. For voluntary…
FMLA medical rest breaks and paid work time
An employer asked whether eight 15-minute breaks per day required for a worker's serious health condition must be paid under the FLSA. WHD said these FMLA-protected breaks mainly benefited the…
Travel pay for technicians with variable schedules
A service employer asked which travel time it must pay for technicians who train away from home and visit customer sites. WHD said travel away from home during normal working hours and travel…
Disadvantaged youth and adult data for WIOA allocations
ETA told states to use updated disadvantaged youth and adult data in their program year 2018 and later WIOA within-state allocation formulas. Its appendices explain the data sources and file…
FY 2018 sequestration for mandatory UI programs
ETA explained to state unemployment agencies how FY 2018 budget sequestration applied to mandatory UI programs, including delayed payments from earlier years and administrative costs. The letter…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for spring 2018
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts to use for major disasters declared from April through June 2018. The attachment lists each state's…
Planning estimates for PY 2018 WIOA allotments
ETA gave states preliminary program year 2018 WIOA Youth, Adult and Dislocated Worker allotment estimates for planning before final appropriations. Its attachment provided estimated amounts. TEGL…
Opioid-crisis workforce demonstration grants
ETA offered up to $21 million for demonstration grants to serve or retrain workers in communities affected by opioid use, addiction and overdose. The letter describes eligible applicants, services,…
SCSEP state plan modification process
ETA instructed states with standalone Senior Community Service Employment Program plans for 2016–2019 how to submit their two-year plan modifications. States that included SCSEP in a WIOA Unified or…
2018 poverty guidelines for older-worker grants
ETA directed Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees to use updated 2018 poverty and low-income limits when determining or recertifying participant eligibility. The attachment gives the…
Asbestos glovebag labeling during disposal
A manufacturer asked whether asbestos-removal glovebags themselves must carry disposal labels. OSHA said a glovebag or detachable debris chamber used as the disposal container must be labeled. If it…
Chromium controls during aircraft paint removal
An abrasive-blasting equipment maker asked whether a special chromium-control provision for aircraft painting also applies to paint removal on aircraft or ground support equipment. OSHA said no;…
Beryllium enforcement delay until May 11, 2018
OSHA postponed enforcement of its beryllium rules until May 11, 2018 while it discussed challenges to the standard. The memo covered the general industry rule and construction and shipyard exposure…
Interim enforcement for missing 2016 electronic injury records
OSHA instructed inspectors how to address employers that missed the electronic submission window for 2016 injury and illness records. It distinguished employers that documented an attempted…
Negotiating 2018–2019 WIOA performance goals
ETA explained how states and the Department would negotiate performance goals for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth programs and the Employment Service for program years 2018 and 2019. Agreed…
WOTC long-term unemployment eligibility correction
ETA corrected the date state workforce agencies should use to determine whether a job applicant qualifies for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit long-term unemployment target group. It also instructed…
Farmworker program and state monitor advocate agreements
ETA explained how State Monitor Advocates and National Farmworker Jobs Program grantees should define their roles and responsibilities in a memorandum of understanding. The letter describes…
Verifying SSI status for Work Opportunity Tax Credit claims
ETA instructed state workforce agencies on using a Social Security Administration process to verify SSI payment status for Work Opportunity Tax Credit applicants. It also addressed a backlog and…
2018 federal locality pay rates for UCFE claims
ETA alerted state unemployment agencies to 2018 federal General Schedule locality pay rates. It said states may use those rates with other appropriate documentation to estimate unemployment…
2018–2019 WIOA state plan modifications
ETA instructed states and territories on submitting two-year modifications to their WIOA Unified or Combined State Plans for program years 2018 and 2019. The letter set a March 15, 2018 deadline and…
Workforce Investment Act closeout reporting
ETA required states to file a WIA closeout performance report covering people served and exited before July 1, 2016 whose outcomes had not been reported for program year 2015. The letter explains…
Year-end percentage bonus and overtime pay
An employer asked whether it may omit payments already excluded from the regular rate when calculating a year-end bonus equal to a percentage of straight-time and overtime earnings. WHD said it may,…
Administrative exemption for insurance client service managers
An insurance agency asked whether client service managers who advise customers on coverage and bind insurance contracts qualify for the administrative exemption. WHD said the described managers met…
Full-day salary deductions for an on-call nurse
A hospital asked how to deduct pay when an exempt nurse is unavailable for an entire scheduled on-call day. WHD said that, when a full-day deduction is otherwise permitted, the hospital may…
Teacher exemption for school athletic coaches
A public school asked whether community coaches could receive stipends as volunteers or qualify for the teacher exemption. WHD said the coaches described were exempt teachers because their main duty…
Regular rate calculations for firefighters and alarm operators
A city asked whether proposed pay formulas for firefighters and alarm operators complied with the FLSA. WHD said the firefighter formula understated the actual regular rate by dividing pay by…
Administrative exemption for commercial project superintendents
A commercial construction firm asked which FLSA exemption covered its project superintendents. WHD found the described workers qualified for the administrative exemption because they managed…
FLSA exemptions for state police helicopter pilots
A state police division asked whether its civilian helicopter pilots were exempt from FLSA overtime. WHD said their piloting duties did not meet the executive, administrative, or learned…
Retail service overtime exemption for plumbing technicians
A plumbing service employer asked whether its drain-cleaning and minor- repair technicians could qualify for the retail or service establishment overtime exemption. WHD said the described business…
Reissued guidance on homebuilder construction supervisors
WHD reissued a 2009 opinion in response to a question about construction supervisors who oversee multiple homes. The posted one-page letter says an attached opinion addresses the exemption question,…
Volunteer fire company and paid EMT joint employment
A volunteer fire company asked whether EMTs hired by a contractor could also volunteer for the company. WHD said the answer depends on whether the fire company is a joint employer of the paid EMTs.…
Administrative exemption for product-demonstration coordinators
A product-demonstration company asked whether coordinators who plan projects, manage demonstrators, and resolve significant issues are exempt administrative employees. WHD said the coordinators…
Salary deductions for full-day absences
An employer asked how to deduct pay from an exempt worker's salary after a full-day absence when paid leave does not cover it. WHD said a permissible full-day absence may be deducted proportionally,…
Exemptions for fraud and theft investigation staff
An employer asked whether several fraud and theft investigation roles qualify for FLSA exemptions. WHD said the two analyst roles described did not meet the administrative exemption, while the field…
Administrative exemption for health staffing roles
A staffing company asked whether its consultants, clinical coordinators, coordinators, and business development managers meet the FLSA administrative exemption. WHD concluded the described roles…
Daily job bonuses in the overtime regular rate
An oilfield service employer asked whether a flat daily job bonus paid to equipment operators must be included when calculating overtime. WHD said the bonus was pay for employment and met none of…
Administrative exemption for homebuilding project supervisor
A homebuilder asked whether a residential construction project supervisor qualifies for the administrative exemption. WHD said the described supervisor exercised discretion on significant business…
On-call time for county ambulance personnel
A county ambulance service asked whether its personnel's on-call time counted as hours worked. WHD said it did not on the described facts: staff could use the time for personal pursuits, call-backs…
When interns are employees under the FLSA
WHD replaced its earlier rigid six-factor approach to unpaid internships with the primary-beneficiary test used by federal appeals courts. Investigators weigh the economic reality of an intern’s…
Service advisors and the FLSA auto-dealer exemption
WHD said it would not assert that service advisors at qualifying automobile, truck, or farm-implement dealerships fail the FLSA section 13(b)(10)(A) overtime exemption. The bulletin set an…
Implementation of OSHA's 2018 civil penalty adjustment
OSHA told regional staff how to apply its 2018 inflation adjustment to civil penalties and update field procedures. It gave the adjustment multiplier and an example serious-violation maximum for…
2017 military pension cost-of-living increase
ETA alerted state unemployment agencies to the military retired-pay cost-of-living increase effective December 1, 2017. It told states whose laws reduce unemployment benefits for pension income to…
Revised 2017 workforce information grant deadlines
ETA corrected six due dates for 2017 Workforce Labor Market Information Grants to States, including June 30, 2018 for the Workforce Information Database and October 1, 2018 for the annual report.…
2018 Social Security and federal pension increases
ETA informed state unemployment agencies of 2018 cost-of-living increases for Social Security old-age and survivor benefits and federal civilian pensions. It pointed states to the Office of…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for early 2018
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts to use for major disasters declared from January through March 2018. The attachment lists each…
Voluntary surgical masks when respirators are not required
An employer asked whether workers may voluntarily wear employer-provided surgical masks where respiratory protection is not required. OSHA said yes. It explained that surgical masks are not…
Physician assistants and workplace hearing tests
A physician assistant asked what role a qualified PA may play in a workplace hearing-conservation program. OSHA said a PA who qualifies as an audiometric technician may perform routine review and…
Using newer GHS hazard statements under OSHA labels
A chemical company asked whether it can use hazard and precautionary wording from a newer GHS revision under OSHA’s 2012 hazard-communication rule. OSHA declined a blanket approval. Minor wording…
Enforcement discretion for rope descent anchorage certification
OSHA told inspectors how to evaluate delayed inspection and certification of rope descent system anchorages after the 2017 compliance date. It permits case-specific enforcement discretion when…
Multi-employer citation questions on hypothetical jobsites
A construction lawyer asked OSHA to decide whether a general contractor would be a creating, correcting or controlling employer in three hypothetical subcontractor fall-hazard scenarios. OSHA…
Revised FY 2018 WIOA advance allotments
ETA revised the October 2017 advance allotments for WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs to reflect a 0.6791 percent reduction under the FY 2018 continuing appropriation. It also corrected…
Training nurses to administer workplace hearing tests
A gas utility asked whether a hearing-conservation-certified nurse may train colleagues to administer audiometric tests instead of sending them to a formal course. OSHA said that route is allowed if…
Small ammonia releases and emergency-response rules
A farm cooperative asked whether every small outdoor anhydrous-ammonia leak triggers HAZWOPER emergency-response requirements. OSHA said some releases can be incidental, but no fixed spill amount or…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for late 2017
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts to use for major disasters declared from October through December 2017. The attachment lists each…
Short-Time Compensation grant progress reports
ETA announced OMB approval through June 2019 of an extension with revisions to the information collection for state Short-Time Compensation grants. The revisions removed obsolete application items;…
Broader RESEA eligibility under FY 2017 grants
ETA gave state unemployment agencies more flexibility under FY 2017 Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment grants. States still had to serve claimants most likely to exhaust benefits and…
2017 workforce information grant requirements
ETA set the 2017 grant requirements for state workforce and labor market information, including required products and reporting. Attachment 1 lists deliverables and dates, and Attachment 2 supplies…
Launch of construction silica enforcement in September 2017
OSHA announced that its construction silica standard would become enforceable September 23, 2017. During the first 30 days, inspectors were to consider employers’ good-faith efforts and provide…
2016 WIOA annual performance report deadline
DOL and Education said they would treat state and local WIOA performance reports for program year 2016 as timely if submitted by October 16, 2017, to ease the first-year transition. For later years,…
FY 2017 UI system modernization grants
ETA notified state unemployment agencies of FY 2017 supplemental funding for state consortia to modernize unemployment tax and benefits systems. It sets eligibility, application and project…
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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.