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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Administrative exemption for financial representatives
A financial services group asked whether registered representatives who analyze clients' finances and recommend suitable investments qualify for the administrative exemption. WHD said the described…
Corrected disaster unemployment benefit amounts for late 2006
ETA corrected the Virgin Islands average weekly benefit amount in the minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance table for major disasters declared from October through December 2006. It told state…
FY 2007 Trade Adjustment Assistance state allocations
ETA explained the formula behind fiscal 2007 state Trade Adjustment Assistance training allocations and the process for requesting reserve funds for training, job search and relocation allowances.…
Objective chromium VI exposure data from welding samples
Industry groups asked whether a proposed welding-air sampling protocol could establish objective chromium VI exposure data. OSHA said it was generally consistent with industrial hygiene practice but…
Arc-flash warnings and protective clothing under older electrical rules
An employer asked if OSHA required arc-flash labels and flame-resistant clothing under its electrical rules. OSHA said the then-current subpart lacked those specific mandates, but other marking,…
No notice needed for alternative Class I asbestos controls
A consultant sent OSHA notice of alternative controls for Class I asbestos work. OSHA replied that the cited notification provision had already been deleted in a 2005 standards update, so employers…
Cash-shortage deductions from exempt managers' bonuses
An employer asked whether it could deduct bad checks or cash shortages from bonuses paid to salaried managers. WHD said deductions from a bona fide bonus did not defeat the salary-basis test if the…
New-hire crossmatches in UI benefit accuracy audits
ETA made National Directory of New Hires crossmatches a required part of state Benefit Accuracy Measurement case investigations and set an implementation deadline for the 2008 sample batch. The…
Hexavalent chromium regulated areas, clothing, and housekeeping
A surface-finishing industry group asked for guidance on five provisions of the chromium VI rule. OSHA said employers may choose effective ways to mark regulated areas, may rotate workers for…
IT support specialists and computer exemptions
An employer asked whether an IT support specialist who installs, configures, and troubleshoots systems was exempt as an administrative or computer professional employee. WHD said no to both tests on…
Teacher exemption for career school instructors
A technical career school asked whether instructors teaching automotive and related trades qualified for the FLSA teacher exemption. WHD said yes because teaching was their main duty and the…
FLSA exemptions for union executive and administrative assistants
A union asked whether three assistants qualified for FLSA exemptions based on their actual duties. WHD found the executive assistant who coordinated the union president's work met the administrative…
School employees volunteering for extracurricular activities
School districts asked when nonexempt staff could volunteer for school events, parent associations, and activities involving their children. WHD described a limited non-enforcement position for…
Overtime for school employees working multiple jobs
A school-board secretary asked whether side jobs as an athletic assistant and game-site manager could be excluded from overtime calculations, and whether she could waive overtime pay. WHD said the…
Seasonal exemption for sightseeing cruise vessels
A cruise operator asked whether seasonal nature and sightseeing voyages qualified as recreational establishments. WHD said the described vessels generally had a recreational character, assuming the…
Keeping lockout devices reserved for hazardous-energy control
A safety consultant asked if lockout devices could mark equipment as out of service for business reasons. OSHA said using those devices outside servicing or maintenance violated the rule’s…
Extension of RIR conversion eligibility for labor certification
ETA extended the deadline for certain employers with older traditional recruitment labor certification applications to request conversion to reduction-in-recruitment processing. The letter set…
FY 2006 TAA reserve distribution and MIS grants
ETA distributed final fiscal 2006 Trade Adjustment Assistance reserve funds and authorized one-time funds for state management information system improvements. The attachment lists each state’s…
School employees' dental coverage during FMLA leave and summer break
A school district and teachers' union asked whether a separate dental plan had to continue during FMLA leave, including summer break after leave near the school year's end. WHD said the described…
Separate city and police-board employers for off-duty details
A city asked whether off-duty police officers' security work for the city had to be combined with their police-board hours for FLSA overtime. WHD examined the board's state-law autonomy, separate…
Embroidery on flame-resistant clothing for electrical workers
A clothing business asked what rules governed embroidery on flame-resistant clothing and sought OSHA approval. OSHA said the then-current electric-power rule did not specify embroidery construction,…
ETA 191 reporting approval for federal UI payments
ETA informed state workforce agencies that federal approval for the quarterly ETA 191 report had been extended. The report allocates unemployment benefit costs to federal employers for former…
Pension investing that accounts for benefit liabilities
A bank asked whether pension fiduciaries could consider the plan’s benefit liabilities and funding volatility when investing. EBSA said ERISA does not prohibit a strategy that accounts for those…
Training for state foreign labor certification staff
ETA notified state workforce agencies of December 2006 training on prevailing wage determinations and review of temporary foreign labor certification applications. It asked each state to send two…
Paid firefighters transitioning to volunteer service
A fire district asked whether part-time paid firefighters could later become unpaid volunteers for the same district. WHD said the FLSA did not bar a genuine transition after paid employment ended,…
Seasonal exemption for wilderness expedition camps
A nonprofit wilderness school asked whether staff at seasonal expedition base camps qualified for the FLSA recreational establishment exemption. WHD said the camps operating for less than seven…
Overtime for municipal public safety dispatchers
A city asked whether its labor agreement could pay nonexempt public safety dispatchers overtime only after 48 hours in a week. WHD said the dispatchers must receive overtime for all hours worked…
Older skylights and fall protection under former general-industry rule
A lawyer asked whether a skylight in a building over twenty years old was exempt from fall protection. OSHA said the then-current rule had no grandfather clause and discussed a proposed alternative…
Construction circuit deactivation under lockout and tagging rule
A construction employer asked whether deenergized equipment and circuits must always be locked out. OSHA said its construction rule required them to be rendered inoperative and tagged, and gave fuse…
Executive exemption when store manager supervises off site
A retail group asked whether a store manager must be physically present for 80 employee hours a week to meet the executive exemption's supervision test. WHD said no: the described manager regularly…
Administrative exemption for city events and camp supervisors
A city asked whether two supervisors who planned public events and summer camps qualified for the executive or administrative exemption. WHD found both qualified for the administrative exemption…
Permit-space procedures, entry prevention, and warning signs
An employer asked whether it needed separate procedures for every permit-required confined space and how to address spaces employees may not enter. OSHA said similar spaces with the same hazards may…
Alcatraz ferry concessions under the SCA
WHD concluded that National Park Service ferry concession contracts for Alcatraz were covered by the Service Contract Act. It said the contracts principally furnished transportation, which was…
Overtime exemption for propane delivery drivers
A propane retailer asked whether delivery drivers paid partly by commissions were exempt from overtime. WHD said the outside sales exemption did not apply because their main job was delivery. The…
Sick and vacation plan for salaried exempt employees
An employer asked whether its combined sick and vacation plan allowed salary deductions for exempt employees who had not yet qualified for leave or had used it up. WHD found the described plan bona…
Guardrails on two-point suspension scaffolds
A scaffold user asked whether the wall-side guardrail can be omitted while a two-point suspension scaffold moves or briefly shifts more than 14 inches from a wall. OSHA said the fall-protection…
Workplace violence policy and proposed firearms ban
A requester urged OSHA to establish a nationwide workplace gun ban. OSHA did not announce such a ban; it described its workplace-violence guidance and a policy that the general duty clause can…
Administrative exemption for mortgage loan officers
A mortgage lender asked whether the described mortgage loan officers qualified for the FLSA administrative exemption. WHD initially said their duties met that exemption, but withdrew this letter in…
Administrative exemption for retail loss prevention managers
A large retailer asked whether its loss prevention managers qualified for the administrative exemption. WHD said the described managers did, because they directed store loss control work, analyzed…
Executive exemption for gasoline station managers working at other stations
A gasoline retailer asked whether otherwise exempt station managers would lose the executive exemption when temporarily helping at another station. WHD said the described paperwork, banking, and…
Administrative exemption for disability-services case managers
A disability-services organization asked whether its case managers could be treated as administratively exempt under the FLSA. WHD said their primary duty was providing services to clients,…
Using older fixed ladders at a construction worksite
A painting contractor asked whether it could use narrow, older fixed ladders it did not own if workers wore fall protection. OSHA said the skid-resistant rung rule did not cover ladders manufactured…
When a new construction floor hole must be protected
A requester asked how long a construction employer can wait to protect employees after creating a hole in a walking or working surface. OSHA said the cited rule requires protection against falls and…
Lifting compressed-gas cylinders with a sling
A tool supplier asked whether a sling could lift compressed-gas cylinders from service trucks to avoid manual-handling hazards. OSHA found no conflict between the cited DOT and OSHA provisions and…
Salary and bonus cap for ETA-funded recipients
ETA explained a 2006 statutory cap on salary and bonus costs paid with certain Employment and Training Administration funds to recipients and subrecipients. It addressed covered funds, cost…
State conversion from penalty mail to commercial postage
ETA described a planned phaseout of direct federal payment for state employment-security penalty mail and the move to commercial postage. It set funding and application procedures for the…
Trust company collective funds under PTE 91-38
A trust company asked whether its collective funds counted as maintained by a bank under a prohibited transaction exemption. EBSA said the company’s stated banking supervision and responsibility for…
Spray finishing rules for truck-bed liners
An OSHA regional office asked whether spray-on truck-bed linings are covered by the spray finishing rule, including materials with flashpoints of at least 200°F. OSHA said the rule applies to…
OSHA and staffing ratios in an Alzheimer care unit
A nursing-home worker asked whether OSHA sets a required staff-to-resident ratio for an Alzheimer care unit. OSHA said it had no specific ratio requirement. It pointed to advisory workplace-violence…
Final program-year 2006 WIA adult and youth allotments
ETA gave states final program-year 2006 Workforce Investment Act adult and youth allotments and additional adult and dislocated-worker funds for eligible states. The change updates TEGL 25-05 and…
FY 2007 reemployment and eligibility assessment grants
ETA invited states to apply for anticipated fiscal 2007 grants to continue or start Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment programs for unemployment beneficiaries. It gave proposal requirements,…
UI grants to prevent and detect identity theft
ETA invited state agencies to request anticipated fiscal 2007 funds for projects to prevent and detect identity theft in unemployment insurance. The letter sets proposal requirements and includes…
FY 2006 state unemployment insurance funding opportunities
ETA announced fiscal 2006 supplemental unemployment insurance funds for priority initiatives, including new-hire directory access, data validation and interstate benefit systems, plus optional state…
Public agency volunteers, nominal fees, and similar services
A public agency association asked how nominal fees, work for the same agency, and similar services affect volunteer status. WHD analyzed several firefighter, emergency medical, and police scenarios…
Program-year 2006 workforce information grants
ETA announced the application process and management requirements for program-year 2006 state Workforce Information Core Products and Services grants. Its five attachments provide allocations, grant…
2006 WIA Indian and Native American grant subaccounts
ETA gave Indian and Native American WIA grantees updated payment-system subaccount codes for program-year 2006 supplemental youth and comprehensive services funds. It identified which grantees…
Unemployment claims for ex-servicemembers: questions and answers
ETA answered state agencies' questions about handling unemployment claims based on military service, including how to obtain federal wage and separation records and evaluate qualifying service. Its…
Revised NDNH matching instructions for ETA 9047
ETA revised instructions for state workforce agencies using the National Directory of New Hires to measure reemployment of unemployment benefit recipients on Form ETA 9047. It specified record…
Electrical panel deenergization and upstream lockout
A manufacturer asked when working inside an electrical panel requires upstream lockout and protective equipment. OSHA said the answer depends on whether live parts remain exposed and whether…
Unrelated broker 12b-1 fees under mutual-fund exemption
A retirement plan asked whether mutual fund distribution fees paid to an unrelated broker counted as sales commissions under a prohibited transaction exemption. EBSA said the described 12b-1 fees…
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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.