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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Appeals case age and determination quality performance criteria
ETA set performance criteria for the average age of pending unemployment appeals: 30 days for lower authority and 40 days for higher authority, measured at the performance year end. It also…
When corrosive exposures require eyewashes and showers
A building authority asked when emergency eyewashes or showers were needed in low-hazard locations. OSHA said the requirement depends on a potential eye or body exposure to injurious corrosives, not…
pH buffer solutions for washing wet cement from skin
A union asked whether pH buffer solution could substitute for soap in work with wet portland cement. OSHA gave a qualified yes: it could satisfy sanitation rules if used in a way that removed the…
Foreign custody of pooled pension assets
A global custodian asked whether foreign banks and securities depositories could hold evidence of ownership for pension assets in a cross-border pool. EBSA said the described custody chain could…
Revised deadline for WIA rescission reporting
This change to TEGL 24-07 extended the deadline for states to enter WIA funding rescission data in the electronic reporting system from April 7 to May 7, 2008. The letter says it made no other…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for April through June 2008
ETA sent states minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared April 1 through June 30, 2008. Its attachment gives the state calculations based on average…
Spray booths for nonflammable water-based paints
An employer asked if water-based, nonflammable paint with toxic ingredients had to be sprayed in a booth despite measured exposures below limits. OSHA said the presence of a potential health hazard…
Employee identifiers on lead exposure records
An employer asked whether it could use identifiers other than Social Security numbers on lead exposure records. OSHA said it could use alternate IDs in an internal copy if each could be…
Floor-load signs and a proposed walking-surfaces rule
A correspondent asked whether a floor-load sign was required after a 1996 letter seemed to say otherwise. OSHA said the 1996 answer referred to a proposed rule. In 2008, it treated omission of a…
Fiscal year 2008 WIA funding rescissions
ETA explained three appropriations rescissions affecting WIA adult, dislocated worker and youth funds across fiscal years 2007 and 2008 and instructed states on reporting and implementation. Change…
Program year 2008 workforce allotments
ETA announced program year 2008 WIA, Wagner-Peyser and workforce information allotments, plus fiscal year 2008 Work Opportunity Tax Credit allotments. Linked tables provide state and outlying-area…
Resumed annual respirator fit testing for tuberculosis
OSHA told regional administrators that an appropriations restriction had prevented enforcement of annual fit testing for respirators used against tuberculosis. The 2008 appropriation omitted that…
Medicaid reimbursement despite missing plan preauthorization
A state Medicaid agency asked whether an ERISA health plan’s prior-authorization rule could block recovery of payments the state made for covered care. EBSA said a plan generally must allow…
Fiscal year 2008 foreign labor certification grants
ETA provided fiscal year 2008 grant planning and management instructions for state workforce agencies administering foreign labor certification programs. The attachments give workload and…
Voluntary shift swaps at a public agency
A public agency asked whether it had to pay an employee separately for a voluntary substitute shift worked for a coworker in the same role. WHD said separate pay generally was unnecessary under the…
Unemployment data validation activities from 2008 onward
ETA updated state unemployment agencies on required 2008 data validation work, submission rules beginning in validation year 2009, and follow-up when validation failed. It also addressed replacement…
Child support collection fees and unemployment benefits
ETA explained that a state unemployment agency may deduct child support obligations from a claimant’s benefits but may not also withhold a child support processing fee from those benefits without…
Deputies taking occasional civilian dispatch shifts
A sheriff's department asked whether detention and patrol officers could take occasional, voluntary shifts in civilian communications jobs without combining those hours for overtime. WHD said the…
Pole gaffs and tree climbing under telecommunications rules
A contractor asked whether a telecommunications prohibition on pole climbers applied to unrelated tree trimming and whether pole gaffs could be used on thin-bark trees near telecom lines. OSHA said…
Administrative exemption for purchasing agents
A motor home manufacturer asked whether its purchasing agents qualified for the FLSA administrative exemption. WHD said they did on the described facts because purchasing and vendor decisions…
Baseline medical exams for HAZMAT team members
A HAZMAT team member asked whether workers could opt out of medical surveillance. OSHA said members of an organized response team must receive a baseline physical before performing team duties, even…
Executive exemption for ready-mix plant managers
A ready-mix concrete company asked whether its batch-plant managers were exempt executives or administrators under the FLSA. WHD said the described managers met the executive duties tests because…
Paid fire-company driver also volunteering as firefighter
A nonprofit fire company asked whether a paid driver who also fights fires could volunteer as a firefighter after a regular 40-hour week. WHD said no: the volunteer role would be the same service…
Shock and arc-flash PPE when testing circuits or switching breakers
A construction safety consultant asked about PPE for verifying a circuit was de-energized and switching enclosed breakers. OSHA said effective insulation or other guarding could protect against…
New hire directory checks in unemployment benefit accuracy audits
ETA instructed state agencies how to match Benefit Accuracy Measurement cases against the National Directory of New Hires, including case identifiers and matching periods. Three attachments supply…
Calendar year 2007 unemployment benefit accuracy publication deadlines
ETA instructed state agencies when to complete and check 2007 Benefit Accuracy Measurement samples before federal publication. It set deadlines for resolving discrepancies and explained how…
Unemployment insurance performance targets
ETA summarized fiscal year 2007 unemployment insurance program performance and announced federal targets for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. The letter expired February 25, 2009, and ETA now labels it…
Outside consultant as laboratory Chemical Hygiene Officer
A laboratory asked whether it could designate an outside consultant as its Chemical Hygiene Officer. OSHA said the standard defines that officer as an employee of the laboratory, so a nonemployee…
Timekeeping for required training done at home
An employer asked whether a signed time sheet recording start and end times could track mandatory online training performed at home. WHD said the policy was an acceptable way to capture compensable…
Salary threshold for a part-time exempt employee
An employer asked whether it could halve the weekly salary threshold for an otherwise exempt worker whose schedule was reduced to 20 hours. WHD said the then-applicable $455 threshold could not be…
Proposed reemployment performance measure for unemployment claimants
ETA proposed using the share of unemployment claimants with reported wages in the quarter after their first payment as a reemployment measure. It sought comment on a performance benchmark that would…
2008 military remuneration schedule for ex-servicemember claims
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies to use the attached 2008 military remuneration schedule for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers first claims filed from the first applicable…
Extension of unemployment resource model reporting approval
ETA announced federal approval to continue collecting state unemployment administration expenditure data through the Resource Justification Model until November 30, 2010. It explained the model’s…
Disposal of spray-finishing filter pads and rolls
A waste processor asked how used spray-finishing filter pads and rolls had to be stored before collection. OSHA described three options: immediately remove them to a safe detached place, put them in…
Kentucky wage-deduction consent and ERISA preemption
A welfare plan asked whether Kentucky’s written-consent requirement for wage deductions could limit automatic enrollment and contributions. EBSA said ERISA preempts the state law to the extent it…
2008 poverty guidelines for SCSEP
ETA issued 2008 poverty and 125-percent low-income guidelines for Senior Community Service Employment Program eligibility, effective January 23, 2008. It rescinded TEGL 14-06 and was later expressly…
Stacking wrapped brick and masonry units
A masonry association asked whether brick and block units shipped on wrapped pallets could be stacked in tiers without tapering. OSHA said the general rule against sliding, falling or collapse…
Successor employer duty to keep coke-oven exposure records
NIOSH asked who had to retain Weirton Steel exposure and medical records after the plant’s assets were sold. OSHA said the buyer was a successor because operations and workforce substantially…
Utility systems within Process Safety Management coverage
An oil-industry group asked OSHA to exclude plant utilities from Process Safety Management and treat electrical power rules as preempting PSM. OSHA declined. A utility that can affect a covered…
Intercepting refunds of erroneous unemployment employer contributions
ETA interpreted federal unemployment fund rules to allow a state agency to apply a refund of an employer’s erroneous unemployment contributions to other liabilities the employer owes the state,…
Intercepting refunds of erroneous employer unemployment contributions
ETA interpreted the federal unemployment fund withdrawal standard to permit a state to intercept a refund of employer contributions erroneously paid into the fund and apply it to the employer's…
Hand dryers and paper towels in employee restrooms
A correspondent asked OSHA to require paper towels rather than electric hand dryers in store restrooms. OSHA said its general-industry sanitation rule permits warm-air blowers or several towel…
Calendar year 2008 interest rate on federal unemployment advances
ETA announced a 4.8078 percent interest rate for calendar year 2008 federal Title XII advances to state unemployment funds. It also summarized payment timing and exceptions for certain short-term…
2008 interest rate and payment rules for Title XII advances
ETA announced a 4.8078% interest rate for Title XII unemployment advances during calendar year 2008 and reminded states to fund interest payments outside their unemployment funds and federal funds.…
Programmable controllers and the lockout minor-servicing exception
A manufacturer asked whether a programmable logic controller could protect workers during minor servicing without full lockout. OSHA said a PLC is not an energy-isolating device and cannot replace…
Joint-venture links under underwriter exemption
A securitization trustee asked whether a joint venture with a subsidiary of a restricted party made it an affiliate under prohibited transaction exemptions. EBSA said shared participation in that…
Fiscal year 2008 state unemployment administration funding guidance
ETA gave state unemployment agencies final fiscal year 2008 base funding allocations, explained reduced funding for workloads above base levels, and described supplemental budget request rules. ETA…
FY 2008 state unemployment insurance resource allocations and supplemental budgets
ETA set FY 2008 state unemployment insurance administration funding guidance after an appropriation below the budget request. The letter kept base allocations at planning targets, reduced above-base…
Live trainer access during bloodborne pathogens e-learning
A federal agency asked whether a bloodborne pathogens trainer had to be a healthcare professional and present in the classroom. OSHA said neither was required, but the trainer must know the subject…
Foreign labor certification grants under 2007 CR
ETA advised state workforce agencies of alien labor certification grant allocations under the continuing resolution in effect December 22 through December 31, 2007. The letter's printed rescissions…
2008 retirement benefit cost-of-living changes and unemployment claims
ETA told states with applicable pension-offset laws to review claims affected by increases in Social Security annuities and federal civilian pensions effective December 2007. An attachment gives…
2007 Social Security and federal civilian pension cost of living adjustments
ETA advised states whose laws offset unemployment insurance benefits for retirement income to review claimant records after the December 2007 Social Security and federal civilian pension cost of…
Technology-based learning in workforce programs
ETA encouraged state and local workforce programs to use technology-based training within existing program rules. It discussed training quality, attendance and instructional time, digital access,…
SCSEP state plan requirements after 2006 amendments
ETA instructed state and national Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees on the four-year state plans required by the 2006 Older Americans Act amendments. The letter set a March 31,…
Off-duty city police work for an independent authority
A city asked whether off-duty police officers' security work for a convention authority had to be combined with city hours for overtime. WHD said no on the stated facts because the city police…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for January through March 2008
ETA sent states minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared January 1 through March 31, 2008. Its attachment lists state figures based on average weekly…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance benefit amounts, January–March 2008
ETA gave state workforce agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared during January through March 2008, based on each jurisdiction's average…
2008 locality pay rates for federal civilian employees
ETA told state unemployment agencies they could use 2008 federal General Schedule locality salary rates to estimate benefit entitlement or potentially disqualifying pay when federal agencies did not…
2008 General Schedule locality pay rates for unemployment determinations
ETA told state workforce agencies that 2008 General Schedule locality salary rates could help estimate unemployment benefit entitlement or potentially disqualifying remuneration when federal…
2008 military pension cost-of-living increases
ETA supplied military retired pay cost-of-living percentages effective December 2007 and told states with pension-offset laws to identify affected unemployment claimants and apply state law. ETA now…
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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.