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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State readiness checklist for increased unemployment claims
ETA asked state unemployment agencies to share a management checklist for handling potential increases in claims. The attached checklist prompts agencies to review staffing, service capacity,…
Psychiatric rehabilitation programs and FLSA coverage
A nonprofit psychiatric rehabilitation program asked whether its clubhouse activities were covered by the FLSA. WHD said the described charitable program lacked the business purpose needed for…
OSHA declines to forgive penalties for post-citation abatement
A member of Congress relayed a proposal to forgive OSHA penalties whenever an employer corrects cited hazards. OSHA said employers are expected to correct hazards before inspection and automatic…
Underground construction rules for workers alone in tunnels
A union safety coordinator asked if underground-construction rules apply to an employee working alone in a tunnel or connected shaft. OSHA said they do: limiting the crew to one does not eliminate…
Fall protection for roof blocking on low-sloped roofs
A requester asked whether carpenters installing roof blocking may use the fall-protection options for low-sloped roofing work. OSHA said the method of installation controls: blocking installed as…
Coordinating Trade Act and WIA One-Stop services
ETA urged states and local One-Stop partners to coordinate Trade Act help with Workforce Investment Act services for trade-affected workers, including co-enrollment where appropriate. It recommends…
Welfare-to-Work administrative cost reclassification
ETA allowed Welfare-to-Work grantees to apply a narrower definition of administrative costs to expenses incurred from July 1, 2000, even though the revised rule took effect later. It told grantees…
Final PY 2001 Wagner-Peyser labor exchange allotments
ETA issued the final program year 2001 Wagner-Peyser allotments for state basic labor exchange services. It explains the statutory formula, a three percent reserve for states whose shares fell, the…
Piece-rate overtime and the FLSA regular rate
A requester proposed a “co-efficient” formula for piece-rate overtime that treated 60 hours of work as 70 hours when computing the regular rate. WHD said the formula did not comply with the FLSA. It…
Crane-hoisted access to communication structures
An FAA manager asked whether a communication-tower inspection directive applied to buildings and when crane-hoisted personnel platforms could provide access. OSHA said the directive covered…
Comprehensive WIA youth services in program year 2001
ETA gave states and local workforce boards guidance for operating comprehensive youth services in program year 2001 under the Workforce Investment Act. It addresses youth councils, the ten required…
Commuting in company vehicles and compensable time
An employer asked whether it could deduct a standard home-to-office travel time from employees who drove company trucks directly between home and job sites. WHD said qualifying normal-area commutes…
Home office sales consultants and administrative exemption
A telecommunications seller asked WHD to reconsider whether home office sales consultants qualified for the FLSA administrative exemption. WHD said their main work was selling products and related…
Realignment of the workforce help line and America's Service Locator partnership
ETA revised how the national workforce help line and America's Service Locator would share information. States and local providers were told to enter and maintain their own service data in the…
Benefit Accuracy Measurement sampling of denied and interstate claims
ETA initially told state unemployment agencies to begin sampling denied claims and paid interstate liable claims for Benefit Accuracy Measurement in the week of June 3, 2001; UIPL 34-01 later moved…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for April–June 2001
ETA supplied state-by-state average weekly unemployment benefit amounts, calculated 50 percent figures, and rounded minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits. The figures applied to major…
Indian tribal employment under federal unemployment law: questions and answers
ETA answered state agency questions about unemployment coverage of Indian tribes under amended federal law. It addressed which tribal enterprises and services are covered, when a tribe may reimburse…
Periodic inspections of lockout procedures and employees
A safety consultant asked whether every authorized worker must take part in each periodic lockout inspection. OSHA said inspections must review each energy-control procedure and each employee’s…
Web reporting of state SF-269 financial data
ETA directed state employment agencies to begin entering SF-269 financial reports for specified 2000 and 2001 grants in its online system, starting with the quarter ending March 31, 2001. The letter…
Revised Welfare-to-Work financial and participant reporting
ETA revised the quarterly financial and participant reporting rules for state Welfare-to-Work formula grants after the 1999 amendments. States were told to begin using the new format for the quarter…
Good Samaritan first aid, blood exposure, and sharps disposal
A first-aid trainer asked about voluntary first aid in a nonmedical office and personal insulin sharps. OSHA said an employee acting solely as a Good Samaritan is outside the bloodborne-pathogens…
Storing flammable and corrosive chemicals in one cabinet
A requester asked if flammable and corrosive chemicals may be stored in the same cabinet. OSHA said yes, assuming the manufacturer’s storage instructions are followed and the chemicals are in…
Parts-cleaning sinks under the dipping and coating rule
An industrial hygienist asked whether a sink-on-a-drum parts cleaner is a dip tank. OSHA said the described solvent-fed brush operation was flow coating and the parts likely drained and dried in the…
Wisconsin vehicle dealers health trust as one ERISA plan
A Wisconsin automobile and truck dealers trust asked whether its subscribers formed one ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the association and subscribers could qualify at least in form if the proposed…
Hepatitis B antibody testing for police and firefighters
A physician asked whether police and firefighters need hepatitis B antibody testing after vaccination. OSHA said the cited public-health guidance required it for workers with both blood or patient…
Planning grants for youth access to One-Stop systems
ETA invited state-designated local workforce boards to seek planning grants of up to $20,000 to improve young people's access to One-Stop centers. It described eligible applicants, permitted…
Transfer of state UI grants for IT support center services
ETA revised UIPL 21-97's procedure for states that paid the UI Information Technology Support Center with unemployment administration grant funds. It said states should route transfer requests…
Release of calendar year 2000 benefit accuracy data
ETA set deadlines and procedures for state agencies to review calendar year 2000 unemployment benefit accuracy data before federal publication. It explained that states were no longer required to…
Extensions and revisions for Welfare-to-Work grants
ETA explained how Welfare-to-Work formula and competitive grantees could request more time to spend their grants, up to five years from the award date. It also required revised state plans or…
Multi-station Bitrex respirator fit-testing apparatus
A respirator maker asked whether its electric-pump Bitrex apparatus could test up to five people at once under OSHA’s qualitative protocol. OSHA said it would treat the described setup as equivalent…
FY 2001 Work Opportunity and Welfare-to-Work tax credit grants
ETA told state employment agencies how to plan and report their fiscal year 2001 grants for administering the Work Opportunity and Welfare-to-Work tax credits. The letter sets a $20 million spending…
PY 2001 workforce allotments and employment service estimates
ETA gave states and outlying areas their program year 2001 funding allotments for Workforce Investment Act youth, adult and dislocated worker activities. It also provided preliminary Wagner-Peyser…
Racing-team loaders and motor-carrier overtime exemption
A racing operation asked whether employees loading cars and parts onto interstate trailers qualified for the FLSA motor-carrier overtime exemption. WHD said only workers exercising judgment over…
Certified scuba instructor and teacher exemption
A youth education program asked whether its certified scuba instructor qualified for the FLSA teacher exemption. WHD said the program counted as an educational institution because students received…
Revised Trade Act Participant Report instructions
ETA revised the Trade Act Participant Report used for Trade Adjustment Assistance and NAFTA transition assistance, aligning its fields with Workforce Investment Act reporting. States were told to…
Cab shields on dump trucks used at construction sites
A vehicle maker asked whether nonstandard dump trucks with the bed four feet behind the cab need cab shields. OSHA said the rule still applies and the gap alone does not provide equivalent…
How newer ANSI aerial-lift standards affect OSHA enforcement
A lift-equipment company asked how later ANSI standards affect an OSHA rule that incorporated an older ANSI edition. OSHA said the older incorporated edition remains the rule until rulemaking…
Wireless antenna installation on occupied homes under former residential fall directive
A contractor asked whether a former residential fall-protection directive covered antenna installation on existing occupied homes. OSHA said the described antenna and cable work fell within the…
State FUTA receipts and funds returned, fiscal 1999
ETA gave state unemployment agencies estimates of 1999 federal unemployment tax receipts by state alongside federal administrative grants and benefit payments returned to each state. It also…
Timely ETA 538 and 539 unemployment claims reporting
ETA reminded state unemployment agencies to submit weekly ETA 538 and ETA 539 claims reports on time, including during holiday weeks, and to explain large increases or decreases in initial claims.…
Training conferences for denied claims accuracy staff
ETA announced two 2001 conferences to train state unemployment insurance staff on investigating the accuracy of denied claims. It asked state administrators to nominate staff and return reassigned…
Unemployment insurance integrity conference
ETA announced an April 2001 conference for state unemployment insurance supervisors and staff working on payment control, internal security, and tax issues. It listed proposed workshop topics and…
Domestic-service exemption for elder care in a residence
A requester asked whether the exemption for privately employed domestic work in a residence includes care of an elderly household member. OSHA said it does when the work is an ordinary household…
State data requests for veterans' transition program evaluation
ETA told state unemployment agencies that contractors evaluating the Veterans' Transition Assistance Program planned to request addresses and benefit histories for sampled former service members. It…
Uniform and equipment deductions in overtime weeks
An employer asked whether it could deduct uniform and weapon costs in weeks when employees worked overtime. WHD said deductions could be allowed only if minimum wage and the full overtime premium…
Employer demutualization vote and payroll annuity safe harbors
An insurer asked whether employers’ votes and allocation choices in its demutualization would make payroll deduction IRAs or tax-deferred annuities ERISA plans. EBSA said the described one-time…
Insurer information and default allocation in demutualization
An insurer asked whether describing feasible allocation options and implementing a default in its demutualization made it an ERISA fiduciary. EBSA said information and implementation alone did not…
Credit-card recovery bonuses and overtime regular rate
A staffing company asked whether $50 payments to cashiers for finding unauthorized credit cards could be left out of the overtime regular rate. WHD said the payments rewarded ordinary job duties and…
401(k) profit-sharing plan and FLSA overtime rate
An employer asked WHD to approve its 401(k) profit-sharing plan for exclusion from the overtime regular rate. WHD said the described plan met its thrift or savings plan criteria and had no listed…
Teacher suspensions and the professional exemption
A public school district asked whether one-to-four-day unpaid disciplinary suspensions would end teachers’ FLSA professional exemption. WHD said qualifying teachers are exempt from the salary-basis…
Hourly pay in place of vacation, holiday, and sick benefits
An employer asked whether it could replace vacation, holiday, and sick pay with an hourly cash amount. WHD said the hourly amount paid in lieu of benefits had to be included in the regular rate for…
Automobile sales commissions and minimum wage
An automobile dealer asked whether unpaid commissions could be carried into later monthly settlement periods for salespeople exempt from overtime. WHD said the arrangement did not violate the FLSA…
A 401(k) pension plan and FLSA overtime regular rate
An employer sought WHD approval of its 401(k) pension plan as a bona fide thrift or savings plan. WHD said the described plan met its criteria and approved it under the FLSA regular-rate exclusion.…
Fixed ladders on paving vehicles under construction ladder rules
A lawyer asked whether fixed ladders on a paving shuttle vehicle must meet the construction stairway and ladder subpart. OSHA said no: its fixed-ladder definition covered ladders integral to a…
Updating process safety information for older pressure vessels
A risk consultant asked whether process-safety information on pressure vessels must be redone whenever an engineering code changes. OSHA said the initial suitability determination becomes the…
2001 federal remuneration schedule for former service members
ETA sent state agencies a revised federal remuneration schedule for determining military wages in Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers claims. States were to use it for first claims filed…
Former process safety retail exemption for fertilizer sales
A fertilizer seller asked whether its anhydrous-ammonia process qualified for the process-safety retail exemption. OSHA said the described direct-to-farmer sales met its then-applied majority-income…
Competitive selection of WIA youth service providers
ETA explained when local workforce boards had to select youth service providers competitively under the Workforce Investment Act. The letter describes exceptions for a local grant recipient's…
Inipol EAP22 exposure information from the Exxon Valdez cleanup
A requester asked about the Inipol product used during Exxon Valdez cleanup and possible contact effects. OSHA described its role in bioremediation and relayed the product safety sheet’s skin, eye,…
Access to employee exposure and medical records involving carbon tetrachloride
A former worker asked about government records concerning carbon tetrachloride exposure. OSHA explained that employers must keep covered exposure and medical records and provide access to employees…
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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.