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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FY 2024 RESEA grant guidance amended, Change 2
ETA amends TEGL 11-23, the FY 2024 Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment grant guidance, by removing specified language about program equity and a citation to a revoked executive order.…
Reporting year 2025 unemployment benefit accuracy data procedures
ETA gives state unemployment agencies deadlines and checks for finalizing their 2025 Benefit Accuracy Measurement data on paid and denied claims. States were asked to compare their results with…
Workforce program performance data validation, Change 3
ETA updates data-validation guidance for state and other workforce grant recipients reporting program performance. It tells recipients to replace the attachments to TEGL 23-19, Changes 1 and 2, with…
WIOA program flexibilities and waiver opportunities
ETA describes ways state and local workforce systems can use existing WIOA flexibility and request waivers to adjust program operations. It asks workforce boards to review practices and work with…
Lockout devices while equipment awaits repair parts
An employer asked when lockout devices must remain on equipment awaiting repair parts and whether other locks may be used. OSHA said other devices may be used during the wait if no employee is…
Program Year 2025 SCSEP national grantee allotments, Change 1
ETA adds program year 2025 Senior Community Service Employment Program planning instructions and allotments for national grantees to TEGL 16-24. It identifies $307,072,086 for national grantees and…
FMLA hours for correctional staff with mandatory overtime
An employer asked how to convert correctional officers' FMLA leave to hours when their fixed schedule requires 84 hours every two weeks and also offers optional extra shifts. WHD said the normal…
Emergency pay in city firefighters' overtime rate
A city firefighter asked whether extra pay for work during declared emergencies can be excluded from the overtime rate. WHD said the city's written policy makes that payment predictable, and it fits…
Front-of-house oyster shuckers in a restaurant tip pool
A restaurant asked whether oyster shuckers at its visible oyster bar may share tips with servers whose wages include a tip credit. WHD said the described shuckers interact with customers while…
Overtime for work at a restaurant and associated members club
A restaurant hostess asked whether shifts at a nearby members club count toward overtime when the businesses say they are separate companies. WHD found that the two operations are joint employers…
Lead dust on construction surfaces
A construction employer asked what level of lead dust satisfies the requirement to keep surfaces as free as practicable of lead. OSHA said the standard sets no numerical dust threshold; employers…
Fiscal year 2025 state unemployment insurance resource allocations
ETA gives state unemployment agencies their final fiscal year 2025 base administration allocations and a state-by-state funding table. It explains how the enacted appropriation reduced preliminary…
Lifetime income strategy as a default retirement investment
An investment manager asked whether a lifetime income strategy could qualify as a default investment for retirement plans and how insurer selection should be handled. EBSA concluded the described…
Deferred incentive awards as an ERISA bonus program
A financial firm asked whether its deferred incentive compensation for financial advisers was an ERISA pension plan. EBSA said the program appears to be an exempt bonus program: its awards mainly…
Minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amounts, October–December 2025
ETA gives state workforce agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from October 1 through December 31, 2025. States and territories use half…
Program Year 2025 workforce and labor market information grants
ETA tells state workforce agencies how to use Program Year 2025 Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants to develop and distribute labor market data. The letter specifies required database,…
Emergency response plans for underground coal mines
MSHA explains what underground coal mine operators should include in an approved emergency response plan under the MINER Act. The letter covers evacuation, communications and tracking, breathing…
Using WIOA funds to develop youth and adult AI skills
ETA encourages state and local workforce boards to use WIOA Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker programs to help participants develop artificial intelligence skills. It suggests AI literacy…
Electrical safeguards for hot-swappable busway units
A requester asked whether workers may insert or remove plug-in units from an energized electrical busway marketed as hot swappable. OSHA said the work falls under its rules for work near exposed…
Fiscal year 2026 state unemployment insurance resource planning targets
ETA gives state unemployment insurance agencies preliminary funding and staffing targets for fiscal year 2026, plus the method used to allocate base resources among states. It asked states to share…
Transition of UI reports and benefit accuracy data to the new reporting system
ETA originally told state unemployment agencies to move required report submissions and Benefit Accuracy Measurement data to its new reporting system in December 2025. It gave access and transition…
Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund initial grant round
ETA announced an initial round of about $30 million in Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund grants, with awards up to $8 million and at least $5 million designated for shipbuilding training. The…
Medical evaluations for workers required to wear respirators
Physicians asked whether OSHA’s respirator medical evaluation must assess a worker’s fitness for other job tasks and whether employers must supply broader job descriptions. OSHA said the required…
Impact noise above 140 decibels under OSHA’s noise standard
A firing-range employer asked how OSHA treats impulse noise above 140 dB. OSHA said the standard’s “should not exceed” wording makes 140 dB neither an action level nor a permissible exposure limit…
Red-light therapy wraps and OSHA injury recordkeeping
A requester asked whether LED red-light therapy wraps count as first aid under OSHA’s injury recordkeeping rules. OSHA said they do not: the first-aid list is comprehensive, and this light treatment…
Home care enforcement pending rulemaking
WHD directed its investigators to suspend enforcement of the 2013 domestic-service rule while it reconsiders that rule. During this period, it will not pursue certain home care agencies claiming…
Fiscal year 2026 state unemployment insurance quality service plans
ETA tells state unemployment agencies how to prepare their fiscal year 2026 State Quality Service Plans. It sets priorities for timely and accurate benefits, preventing improper payments and fraud,…
Handling returned unemployment payments and reporting overpayments
ETA tells state unemployment agencies how to handle benefit payments returned by banks, including cases with no identifying claim information. A bank's return alone does not prove fraud or…
FY 2025 Trade Adjustment Assistance funding requests
ETA tells state workforce agencies how to request FY 2025 Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities funds. It required Form ETA-9117 with a funding justification and Form SF-424…
Association disability and long-term care plans under ERISA
An association asked whether its disability and long-term care arrangements were ERISA employee welfare benefit plans. EBSA concluded that the described plans were not established or maintained by…
Rescission of the 2023 Citi racial equity program opinion
EBSA told Citi that its 2023 advisory opinion about the company’s racial equity asset manager program no longer reflected the Department’s views and was rescinded. The 2025 letter states EBSA’s…
Supplemental wage information for WIOA performance reports, Change 1
ETA and the Education Department update guidance on using supplemental wage information for WIOA performance accountability. The change aligns reporting with the rule defining the…
Work authorization verification for ETA grant programs, Change 2
This 2025 letter directed recipients of listed ETA workforce grants to review work authorization verification policies and documentation. It applied to WIOA, Employment Service, YouthBuild,…
Validation of jointly required WIOA performance data, Change 1
ETA and the Education Department give states updated procedures for checking the accuracy and reliability of jointly required WIOA performance data. The change aligns the employer-effectiveness…
Voter registration costs in the American Job Center network, Change 2
ETA tells states, local areas, and grantees that ETA federal awards cannot fund or reimburse voter registration activities conducted within the American Job Center network. It directs recipients to…
WIOA annual statewide performance report narratives, Change 1
ETA tells WIOA state grantees how to prepare and submit the annual statewide performance report narrative for Titles I and III. The report is generally due December 1 after the program year, and the…
Program Year 2025 SCSEP state and territory allotments
ETA gives state and territorial Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees their program year 2025 allotments, authorized positions, and grant application instructions. It asked them to…
Liquidated damages in FLSA administrative settlements
WHD instructed staff to stop seeking or supervising liquidated damages in pre-litigation FLSA matters, limiting supervised payments to unpaid minimum wages and overtime. It rescinded FAB 2021-2…
H-2A farmworker rule enforcement suspension
WHD instructed its investigators to stop enforcing the 2024 H-2A Farmworker Protection Rule amid court injunctions and regulatory review. For compliance reviews it directs them to apply the rules in…
Tread depth on newly built steep stairs
A requester asked whether a stair built after January 17, 2017 could meet OSHA’s minimum tread-depth rule with an eight-inch run plus a projecting nosing. OSHA said no; the required 9.5-inch tread…
Foreign labor certification grants for FY 2025–2027
ETA gives state workforce agencies grant planning guidance for foreign labor certification activities through FY 2027 and announces FY 2025 allotments. It requires a three-year strategic grant plan…
Audiometric testing for a worker with a cochlear implant
An employer asked whether a worker with a cochlear implant should wear it during audiometric testing under OSHA’s noise standard. OSHA said no and explained that the standard has no exception for…
Fiscal year 2025 RESEA grant allotments and operating guidance
ETA explains fiscal year 2025 grants for state Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment programs, which connect unemployment claimants with reemployment help and check benefit eligibility.…
FY 2025 WOTC remaining allotments and backlog awards, Change 2
ETA gives state workforce agencies the remaining FY 2025 funds to administer the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. It also identifies 29 states selected for additional awards to reduce certification…
Program Year 2025 National Farmworker Jobs Program funds
ETA tells National Farmworker Jobs Program career training and housing grantees how to receive program year 2025 allotments. It also explains how eligible grantees could seek additional youth…
Program Year 2025 WIOA Indian and Native American grants
ETA gives WIOA Section 166 Indian and Native American grantees their program year 2025 Comprehensive Services and Supplemental Youth Services allotments. It explains the Grants.gov documents and a…
Program Year 2025 WIOA and Employment Service allotments
ETA gives states and outlying areas program year 2025 allotments for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs, the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service, and Workforce Information Grants. It…
Minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amounts, July–September 2025
ETA gives state workforce agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July 1 through September 30, 2025. States use half their average…
Valve controls under benzene and butadiene standards
A chemical plant asked what kinds of valves count as engineering controls for benzene and 1,3-butadiene exposure. OSHA said both specialized sealed valves and conventional valves can be engineering…
Rescission of TEGL 08-21 on voting access at job centers
ETA rescinds TEGL 08-21, its earlier guidance about providing voting access through the American Job Center network. The letter asks workforce agencies and job center programs to distribute the…
Independent contractor status of virtual marketplace providers
A virtual marketplace company asked whether providers who find customers through its platform are its employees under the FLSA. WHD concluded that, on the detailed facts provided, they are…
Independent-contractor enforcement under the FLSA
WHD directed investigators to stop applying the 2024 FLSA independent-contractor rule and instead use its July 2008 Fact Sheet #13, informed by Opinion Letter FLSA2019-6, for certain unpaid matters.…
Software-generated OSHA injury recordkeeping forms
A software vendor asked whether employers may use its generated documents instead of OSHA Forms 300 and 300A. OSHA said equivalent forms may be used if they meet the regulatory content and format…
In-person evaluation of powered industrial truck operators
A requester asked whether a qualified trainer can evaluate a powered industrial truck operator through a live video stream. OSHA said required direct supervision means the trainer or evaluator must…
Rescission of TEGL 10-23 on administrative barriers
ETA rescinds TEGL 10-23, which had discussed reducing administrative barriers for customers of ETA grant programs. It asks recipients to distribute the rescission to appropriate staff and says more…
Minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance weekly benefit amounts, April–June 2025
ETA gives state workforce agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April 1 through June 30, 2025. States use half their average weekly…
FY 2025 WOTC incremental allotments, Change 1
ETA gives state workforce agencies additional FY 2025 Work Opportunity Tax Credit administration funds provided by a continuing resolution. It lists state allotments and asks grantees to submit…
COVID-19 healthcare recordkeeping enforcement stay
OSHA told inspectors in February 2025 not to cite healthcare employers for specified COVID-19 log and reporting requirements under 29 CFR 1910.502 while continuing to enforce Part 1904. OSHA later…
National Farmworker Jobs Program eligibility, Change 2
ETA updates National Farmworker Jobs Program eligibility guidance to account for farmworkers’ work patterns and irregular income. It clarifies how grantees determine primary farmwork employment,…
Salary and bonus limit on ETA grant funds
ETA explains how an appropriations limit applies when recipients or subrecipients use ETA grant funds to pay an individual’s salary or bonus. It says the covered pay rate generally cannot exceed…
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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.