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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National Farmworker Jobs Program eligibility
ETA explained participant eligibility and enrollment for the National Farmworker Jobs Program, including farmworker, dependent and low-income requirements. It addresses selective service…
Funding one-stop delivery system costs
ETA and its partner agencies explained how one-stop partners determine and share American Job Center infrastructure and additional operating costs under WIOA. The letter describes local and state…
American Job Center one-stop operations
ETA and its partner agencies gave states and local areas operating guidance for the integrated American Job Center network under WIOA. The letter addresses one-stop partners, access, service…
Competitive selection of one-stop operators
ETA explained how local workforce boards must select or certify American Job Center one-stop operators through a competitive process under WIOA. The letter discusses eligible operators, procurement…
Tip credit for H-2B workers
WHD said an H-2B employer may use the FLSA tip credit for covered tipped workers when meeting minimum-wage and overtime duties, subject to the applicable H-2B prevailing wage and cash-wage rules. It…
Fit testing respirators with attached accessories
A requester asked whether firefighters must fit test a respirator facepiece both with and without a mounted camera or voice amplifier. OSHA said yes when both configurations will be used, because…
Claimant rights in UI overpayment procedures: answers
ETA answered state unemployment agencies' questions about federal requirements that protect claimants when states prevent or recover UI overpayments. The answers expand the earlier UIPL 01-16…
Estimated 2017 WIOA youth and adult allotments
ETA sent states and outlying areas planning estimates for 2017 WIOA Youth, Adult and Dislocated Worker allotments, with a state table attached. It emphasized that the figures were estimates and…
Employer alliance administrative services outside ERISA plan status
An alliance of large employers asked whether its shared administrative services program was an ERISA welfare plan or multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said it was neither, because the…
Registered apprenticeship under WIOA
ETA explained how registered apprenticeship fits into WIOA workforce programs, including eligible training provider status, workforce board membership, use of WIOA funds and reporting. The…
Revised Work Opportunity Tax Credit procedures
ETA revised its Work Opportunity Tax Credit instructions for state workforce agencies after the 2015 reauthorization. It clarified eligibility for a new target group, corrected a certification date,…
Audiograms and records when workplace contractors change
A federal-site contractor asked whether a replacement contractor may establish new hearing-test baselines for the same workers at the same site. OSHA said a contractor change alone does not permit a…
Bloodborne-pathogen controls for microblading tools
A body-arts educator asked whether reusable and double-headed microblading tools increase sharps risks. OSHA said removing a contaminated blade is generally prohibited unless an exception applies;…
2016 military pension cost-of-living increase
ETA alerted state unemployment agencies to the military retired-pay cost-of-living increase effective December 1, 2016. It told states whose laws reduce unemployment benefits for pension income to…
2017 federal locality pay rates for UCFE claims
ETA alerted state unemployment agencies to 2017 federal General Schedule locality pay rates. It said states may use the rates with other documentation to estimate monetary entitlement; they may use…
PY 2016 SCSEP national grantee allotments
ETA gave newly awarded Senior Community Service Employment Program national and set-aside grantees their third- and fourth-quarter Program Year 2016 allocations, covering January through June 2017,…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for early 2017
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts to use for major disasters declared from January through March 2017. The attachment lists each…
Reasonable assurance for educational UI claims
ETA explained when a school employee's contract or reasonable assurance of work next term can bar unemployment benefits between academic terms. States must first check for a genuine offer, work in…
Strikes and lockouts in Trade Adjustment Assistance
ETA answered state agencies’ questions about how strikes and lockouts affect eligibility for Trade Adjustment Assistance and Trade Readjustment Allowances. It explains that a worker experiencing a…
YouthBuild projects and Davis-Bacon wages
ETA clarified that YouthBuild participants working on construction covered by the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts are not exempt from prevailing wage rules. The letter explains how grantees can…
WIOA core-program performance accountability
DOL and Education gave states and grantees guidance on WIOA performance indicators, data collection and reporting across the six core workforce programs. Eleven attachments provide definitions,…
Child labor civil money penalty assessments
WHD set out procedures for assessing child-labor civil money penalties, including gravity, business size, and serious injury or death. The official PDF now states that FAB 2023-4 superseded its…
Sharing confidential UI data with DOL investigators
ETA told state unemployment agencies that they must disclose confidential unemployment compensation information to the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General for investigations of UC…
Tip-credit enforcement under WHD handbook
WHD instructed investigators how to apply federal tip-credit limits and calculate overtime for tipped employees when a state minimum wage exceeds the FLSA minimum. It explains when an additional…
FY 2017 RESEA grant application guidance
ETA invited state unemployment agencies to apply for FY 2017 Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment grants and set program and application requirements. Its attachments provide a proposal…
Questions on drug testing unemployment compensation applicants
ETA answered state agencies' questions about when federal law permitted drug testing of unemployment compensation applicants under the 2016 regulation. It explained how the regulation defined…
Questions on 2016 UI applicant drug-testing rule
ETA answered state questions about when unemployment applicants could be drug tested under the 2016 occupation-based rule and section 303(l) of the Social Security Act. Its attached questions and…
Disability benefits and CCPA garnishment limits
WHD said disability payments from an employment-based plan count as earnings under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its investigators should apply the Act’s garnishment limits to those payments.…
Reduced FY 2017 WIOA advance allotments
ETA revised states’ October 2016 advance allotments for WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs after a 0.496 percent reduction in the continuing appropriation. It also corrected the adult age…
2017 NAICS codes for state UI employer accounts
ETA told state unemployment agencies about changes to the North American Industry Classification System for 2017 and asked them to update industry codes on employer UI accounts. The letter explains…
Section 14(c) certificates and state minimum wages
WHD addressed employers holding federal section 14(c) certificates to pay workers with disabilities below the federal minimum wage. It said a certificate does not override a state law that requires…
Interim enforcement procedures for injury-reporting protections
OSHA issued interim procedures for enforcing reasonable injury-reporting procedures, employee notice and the prohibition on retaliation for reporting injuries or illnesses. It assigned roles to area…
Health Coverage Tax Credit reporting for TAA recipients
ETA advised state workforce agencies about Health Coverage Tax Credit duties for eligible Trade Adjustment Assistance recipients in 2016 and about sending 2017 eligibility data to the IRS. It also…
POWER dislocated-worker grants for coal regions
ETA announced that up to $31 million remained for POWER Initiative National Dislocated Worker Grants to help communities affected by changes in the coal economy. It raised the maximum award from $2…
Worker protection from surgical smoke
A dentist asked what OSHA requires to protect dental and hospital workers from smoke generated by laser and electrosurgical tools. OSHA said it had no rule specific to surgical smoke, but the…
Revised WIA-to-WIOA transition funding limits
ETA revised the limits on using 2014 Workforce Investment Act funds for WIOA transition activities because an earlier continuing resolution’s 0.0554 percent reduction did not carry into the…
Supporting UI claimants in education and training
ETA encouraged workforce agencies and American Job Centers to consider policies that help unemployment insurance claimants pursue postsecondary education and training, including longer programs. It…
Corrections to 2015 Trade Adjustment Assistance instructions
ETA corrected parts of its 2015 Trade Adjustment Assistance operating instructions, including language about Completion TRA, reemployment allowances and worker certification. Its attachment provides…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for late 2016
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from October through December 2016. The attachment lists each state's…
Clarifications to the 2012 hazard-communication enforcement directive
OSHA answered field-staff questions about the 2012 hazard-communication rule, including labels on older stock, pictograms for hazards not otherwise classified and what belongs in safety-data-sheet…
Confined-space permits for construction work in water tanks
A contractor asked whether work inside a water tank requires confined-space permits and whether a small crew may combine entry roles. OSHA said hazards that could impede self-rescue may trigger…
Second quarter of PY 2016 SCSEP national grantee plans
ETA gave existing Senior Community Service Employment Program national grantees application instructions and funding allocations for the second quarter of Program Year 2016, October through December…
Wage-record matching for WIOA reporting
ETA sent state unemployment and workforce agencies joint DOL and Education guidance on matching confidential unemployment wage records with education and vocational rehabilitation information for…
Dislocated-worker grant application pilot
ETA opened a pilot allowing nine eligible employment-recovery Dislocated Worker Grant applications for mass layoffs and plant closings through Grants.gov. Other grant categories were to use the…
FY 2017 state UI resource planning targets
ETA supplied state unemployment agencies with preliminary FY 2017 funding and staff-year targets for State Quality Service Plans. It also described how base administrative resources were allocated…
Reemployment and system integration worker grants
ETA announced up to $65 million in Reemployment and System Integration Dislocated Worker Grants, capped at $1.1 million per state or outlying area. The grants supported technology connections among…
American Job Center enrollment for homeless veterans
ETA and the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service required grantees serving homeless veterans to connect participants with American Job Centers while they received grant services. Enrollment…
Hazard labels on refrigerant cylinders inside packaging
Refrigerant makers asked whether they could label only the fiberboard packaging around nonrefillable cylinders or use single-color labels on the cylinders. OSHA said the immediate cylinder generally…
FY 2016 grants for improved UI operations
ETA notified state unemployment agencies of FY 2016 supplemental funding for better operations. Eligible activities focused on preventing and detecting improper benefit payments, improving…
FY 2017 state UI quality service plans
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies on preparing FY 2017 State Quality Service Plans. It set national priorities, performance and corrective-action criteria, funding information and…
Subminimum wages and section 511 services
WHD told certificate holders that they may pay subminimum wages to workers with disabilities only when they meet Rehabilitation Act section 511 requirements on counseling, referrals, and other…
Corrected UCX military-law attachment
ETA sent state unemployment agencies a corrected Attachment C for its earlier UIPL 14-16 on defense-law changes affecting Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers. The replacement attachment…
UI database server replacement plan update
ETA updated state unemployment agencies on the plan for replacing state UI database hardware after installation of Sun Server X4-2 systems. The change gives revised steps for the upgrade and…
2015 benefit-year earnings integrity targets
ETA distributed state acceptable-performance targets for the benefit-year earnings unemployment integrity measure for calendar year 2015 and gave guidance for later performance periods. Its…
Labels on imported adhesive tubes held in sealed boxes
An importer asked when it must label adhesive tubes arriving without individual U.S. hazard labels. OSHA said the sealed, labeled master pack may be stored intact without labeling each tube; opening…
Process-safety coverage for diluted highly hazardous chemicals
OSHA replaced its earlier commercial-grade approach with a one-percent test for determining when certain highly hazardous chemicals in mixtures count toward process-safety coverage. It says only the…
Second 2016 Trade Adjustment Assistance distribution
ETA gave states the second 2016 distribution of Trade Adjustment Assistance training and related funds and explained its allocation formula. The letter also describes how states could request…
Zip ties and tagout at electric-power facilities
A contractor asked whether zip ties on electrical panels provide sufficient protection during maintenance at a power facility. OSHA said a suitable tie can attach a warning tag and may serve as an…
Revised ETA-9130 financial reporting guidance
ETA explained changes to its ETA-9130 quarterly financial report and clarified selected reporting requirements for workforce grant recipients. The letter supplements the report instructions and…
High-priority designation for poor UI performance
ETA explained a process for designating state unemployment programs with sustained poor performance as High Priority and for removing that designation after improvement. The letter sets selection…
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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.