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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Vehicle-expense reimbursement for delivery drivers
A delivery employer asked how to reimburse drivers who use personal cars without reducing their pay below the FLSA minimum wage. WHD said a reasonable approximation of actual business expenses is…
Retail exemption for oilfield waste-removal drivers
An oilfield waste-removal company asked whether its truck drivers could qualify for the FLSA's commissioned employee overtime exemption. WHD said the company may meet the retail or service…
Pandemic unemployment eligibility for caregivers during school reopening
ETA answered state questions about Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for people who could not work because a child’s school or care facility was closed due to COVID-19. The change explains how remote…
FY 2020 WOTC backlog awards, Change 1
ETA selected 12 states for a total of $2.5 million in extra FY 2020 Work Opportunity Tax Credit funding to reduce certification backlogs. It gave the states award amounts and application…
Tracking unscheduled telework hours
WHD told employers to pay for remote work they know or have reason to know is occurring, including unscheduled hours. A reasonable time-reporting process can help, but the employer cannot prevent or…
Blood testing after worker exposure to infectious material
A healthcare requester asked whether an exposed worker’s blood needs testing only when the source person tests positive, and what “as soon as feasible” means. OSHA said the employer must offer…
State questions and answers on Lost Wages Assistance
ETA answered state questions about FEMA’s temporary Lost Wages Assistance supplement and clarified that one self-certification per claim could satisfy its COVID-19 disruption requirement. UIPL…
State administration of FEMA Lost Wages Assistance
ETA explained how states could administer FEMA’s temporary Lost Wages Assistance payments through their unemployment systems. It pointed states to FEMA's grant process and described claimant…
Emergency UI relief for nonprofit and government reimbursing employers
ETA instructed states how the Protecting Nonprofits Act changed temporary unemployment relief for certain nonprofit, government and tribal employers that reimburse states for benefits instead of…
CARES Act unemployment program questions and answers
ETA answered state questions that arose while administering the temporary unemployment provisions of the CARES Act. Its attachment addresses how those provisions interact with other benefit and…
Program Year 2020 workforce and labor market information grants
ETA set Program Year 2020 requirements for state Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants. It described required databases, public data products, staff training, schedules, and other permitted…
Online and virtual-reality worker safety training
A training provider asked whether online or virtual-reality instruction alone can satisfy OSHA worker training rules. OSHA said adequacy depends on each applicable standard and the facts. Some…
Corrected farmworker housing reporting attachment, Change 1
ETA corrected Attachment VI of TEGL 19-18 for National Farmworker Jobs Program housing grantees. When both reporting categories apply, grantees must report a family as one family and also report…
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance questions and answers
ETA answered additional questions from states administering Pandemic Unemployment Assistance under the CARES Act. The attachment covers eligibility, documentation and program operations for…
Revised ETA 9177 checklist for state UI system launches
ETA issued a revised ETA 9177 checklist and reporting instructions for states preparing to launch modernized unemployment benefit or tax systems. It clarified ten existing project categories and…
FY 2020 second Trade Adjustment Assistance fund distribution
ETA gave state agencies their second distribution of FY 2020 Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities funds. It explained the formula and how states could request reserve funds for…
FFCRA leave when a summer camp closed
WHD addressed requests for Families First Coronavirus Response Act leave when a summer camp or program closed for COVID-19 reasons. Enrollment or recent attendance could show the camp would have…
Virtual schooling and child labor work hours
WHD said a public school district generally remains “in session” for child-labor hour limits when it requires virtual or distance learning, even if school buildings are closed. A physical closure…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance benefits for summer 2020
ETA published state-by-state minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July through September 2020. States were instructed to use the attached figures…
Exemptions for county emergency-management coordinators
A county asked whether emergency-management coordinators qualify for the learned professional or administrative exemptions. WHD said they may qualify for the administrative exemption depending on…
Outside-sales exemption for product demonstrators
An employer asked whether salespeople who demonstrate products at retail sites and other locations qualify for the outside-sales exemption. WHD said they sell away from the employer's place of…
Manufacturer incentive payments and dealership wages
Auto dealerships asked whether manufacturers' direct incentive payments to dealership sales employees may count toward the dealerships' minimum-wage obligations. WHD said they may count when the…
Outside-sales exemption at mobile selling locations
An employer asked whether salespeople using mobile assets at high-traffic locations and events qualify for the outside-sales exemption. WHD concluded the described workers met that exemption and…
Commission exemption during a new representative period
A home-furnishings retailer asked whether it may claim the commissioned employee overtime exemption for a new worker or store before completing a first representative pay period. WHD said it may…
Workforce grant performance data validation
ETA gave state and other workforce grant recipients procedures for checking the accuracy and reliability of reported performance data. Its attachments provided validation instructions and…
Benefit Accuracy Measurement changes during the pandemic
ETA directed states to modify Benefit Accuracy Measurement software and case handling in response to increased unemployment claims and the temporary Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation…
Federal pandemic unemployment overpayment reporting
ETA gave states a new ETA 227 report for tracking overpayments and recoveries under the temporary Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program. It replaced the FPUC overpayment reporting…
Program Year 2020 SCSEP allotments and CARES Act guidance
ETA gave state and territorial Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees Program Year 2020 allotments and grant application instructions, plus partial-year national grantee funding during…
Revised enforcement guidance for recording COVID-19 cases
OSHA told inspectors how to evaluate an employer’s effort to decide whether a worker’s COVID-19 case was work-related and recordable. The memo described reasonable inquiries and evidence to…
Program Year 2020 Indian and Native American WIOA allotments
ETA gave WIOA Section 166 Indian and Native American grantees Program Year 2020 Comprehensive Services and Supplemental Youth Services allotments. It explained grant application documents,…
School employees and unemployment between terms during COVID-19
ETA explained how states should apply federal unemployment restrictions for certain educational employees between school terms and during breaks when COVID-19 disrupted school operations. The letter…
Temporary extended unemployment benefits changes during COVID-19
ETA explained temporary changes to the federal-state Extended Benefits program under pandemic relief laws. It covered federal cost sharing, work search rules, state administration and claimant…
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation questions
ETA answered state questions on eligibility and administration of the temporary Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. It also revised the ETA 227 overpayment reporting instructions…
Program integrity in regular and pandemic unemployment insurance
ETA reminded state UI agencies to maintain eligibility checks and fraud prevention while administering regular unemployment benefits and the temporary PUA, FPUC and PEUC programs. It set out program…
Accessible unemployment benefits and information
ETA and DOL’s Civil Rights Center reminded state UI agencies of their duties to provide accessible benefits, services and information to people with disabilities and people with limited English…
CARES Act grants for short-time compensation programs
ETA told states how to apply for CARES Act grants to establish, improve or promote short-time compensation programs. These programs let employers reduce hours for groups of workers while workers…
FPUC reporting instructions and state questions
ETA answered states’ questions about administering temporary Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and gave instructions for the ETA 9178-P quarterly narrative report. The attached questions…
Emergency UI grants and reporting under Families First
ETA gave states reporting instructions for emergency unemployment administration grants under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. It explained a CARES Act amendment to the grant application…
Federal reimbursement for short-time compensation during COVID-19
ETA explained CARES Act provisions for short-time compensation, which lets employers reduce employee hours while workers receive partial unemployment benefits. It instructed states on temporary 100…
Federal funding of the first compensable UI week
ETA gave states operating, financial and reporting instructions for a temporary CARES Act provision funding the first compensable week of regular unemployment benefits in states that did not impose…
Benefit Accuracy Measurement reporting year 2020
ETA gave state UI agencies deadlines and procedures for completing 2020 Benefit Accuracy Measurement cases and reconciling data before publication. Its two attachments define paid and denied claims…
Revised ETA-9130 financial reporting instructions
ETA revised the ETA-9130 financial report and its instructions for grant recipients. The changes added a training expenditure line to some forms, clarified an existing reporting line, and adjusted…
Program Year 2019 dislocated worker fund reallotment
ETA tells states how Program Year 2019 WIOA Dislocated Worker allotments changed after it recaptured excess unobligated funds and reallotted them. The attachments give the revised state amounts. ETA…
FY 2020 Trade Adjustment Assistance initial allocations
ETA announced the initial FY 2020 state allocations for Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities funds. It explained the allocation formula and how states could request reserve…
FY 2020 Trade Adjustment Assistance grant applications
ETA gave state agencies instructions for submitting applications for FY 2020 Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities grants through Grants.gov. The funds could cover training, job…
CARES Act unemployment relief for reimbursing employers
ETA gave states initial instructions for CARES Act relief to government, nonprofit and tribal employers that reimburse states for unemployment benefits instead of paying UI taxes. The original…
PUA reporting instructions and state questions
ETA answered state questions about administering temporary Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and supplied reporting instructions for the ETA 9178-P quarterly narrative report. Its attachments address…
Enforcement guidance on decontaminated respirators in healthcare during COVID-19
OSHA gave inspectors temporary guidance on healthcare employers’ use of decontaminated filtering facepiece respirators during COVID-19 shortages. It discussed methods and conditions for reuse while…
Program Year 2020 WIOA and Employment Service allotments
ETA gives states and outlying areas Program Year 2020 allotments for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs, the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service, and Workforce Information Grants. It…
Good-faith compliance efforts during COVID-19 enforcement
OSHA instructed inspectors to consider an employer’s good-faith efforts when pandemic restrictions prevented required recurring training, inspections, audits, or medical testing. It said inspectors…
Program Year 2019 state apprenticeship expansion grants
ETA announced $73 million in Program Year 2019 funding to help states expand Registered Apprenticeship programs. The required first tier funded baseline state capacity, while an optional second tier…
FY 2020 foreign labor certification state grant plans
ETA gave state workforce agencies FY 2020 grant planning guidance and allocations for foreign labor certification work, including job orders, agricultural housing inspections, and wage surveys. It…
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation operations
ETA gave states operating, financial and reporting instructions for temporary Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation under the CARES Act. The attachments address eligibility, state agreements,…
Expanded N95 fit-testing enforcement discretion during COVID-19
OSHA extended its temporary N95 fit-testing enforcement discretion from healthcare to all covered workplaces requiring respirators during COVID-19 shortages. It told inspectors to consider…
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance operations
ETA gave states initial operating, financial and reporting instructions for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance under the CARES Act. PUA covered eligible people outside regular unemployment insurance,…
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation operations
ETA gave states initial operating, financial and reporting instructions for the temporary Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation supplement under the CARES Act. The program added $600 a week to…
Temporary use of foreign-certified respirators during COVID-19 shortages
OSHA gave inspectors temporary discretion for certain respirators certified under other countries’ standards during COVID-19 shortages. It listed acceptable product classifications and conditions…
Temporary respiratory protection policy for the COVID-19 N95 shortage
OSHA gave inspectors temporary discretion for extended use, reuse, and certain expired respirators during the COVID-19 N95 shortage. The memo described conditions and cautions for employers in…
CARES Act UI provisions and emergency state staffing
ETA summarized the unemployment insurance provisions of the CARES Act and explained temporary flexibility for states to staff UI agencies during the COVID-19 claims surge. Its attachment summarizes…
Cyanide antidotes and workplace first-aid planning
OSHA updated its earlier cyanide-antidote advice for employers with foreseeable exposure risks. It said inhaled amyl nitrite was no longer an acceptable initial response and identified currently…
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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.