State and Federal Labor Guidance
Free state and federal labor-agency opinion letters, administrative policies, and interpretive notices, with plain-English summaries, current status, and the official source on every page.
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Meal and Rest Periods for Nonagricultural Workers Age 18 and Over
This L&I administrative policy answers 15 questions on meal and rest period requirements for nonagricultural workers 18 and older under WAC 296-126-092: when a 30-minute meal period must be given,…
Using newer GHS hazard statements under OSHA labels
A chemical company asked whether it can use hazard and precautionary wording from a newer GHS revision under OSHA’s 2012 hazard-communication rule. OSHA declined a blanket approval. Minor wording…
Enforcement discretion for rope descent anchorage certification
OSHA told inspectors how to evaluate delayed inspection and certification of rope descent system anchorages after the 2017 compliance date. It permits case-specific enforcement discretion when…
Multi-employer citation questions on hypothetical jobsites
A construction lawyer asked OSHA to decide whether a general contractor would be a creating, correcting or controlling employer in three hypothetical subcontractor fall-hazard scenarios. OSHA…
Revised FY 2018 WIOA advance allotments Withdrawn
ETA revised the October 2017 advance allotments for WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs to reflect a 0.6791 percent reduction under the FY 2018 continuing appropriation. It also corrected…
Training nurses to administer workplace hearing tests
A gas utility asked whether a hearing-conservation-certified nurse may train colleagues to administer audiometric tests instead of sending them to a formal course. OSHA said that route is allowed if…
Small ammonia releases and emergency-response rules
A farm cooperative asked whether every small outdoor anhydrous-ammonia leak triggers HAZWOPER emergency-response requirements. OSHA said some releases can be incidental, but no fixed spill amount or…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for late 2017 Withdrawn
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts to use for major disasters declared from October through December 2017. The attachment lists each…
Short-Time Compensation grant progress reports Unknown
ETA announced OMB approval through June 2019 of an extension with revisions to the information collection for state Short-Time Compensation grants. The revisions removed obsolete application items;…
Broader RESEA eligibility under FY 2017 grants
ETA gave state unemployment agencies more flexibility under FY 2017 Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment grants. States still had to serve claimants most likely to exhaust benefits and…
2017 workforce information grant requirements Withdrawn
ETA set the 2017 grant requirements for state workforce and labor market information, including required products and reporting. Attachment 1 lists deliverables and dates, and Attachment 2 supplies…
Launch of construction silica enforcement in September 2017 Unknown
OSHA announced that its construction silica standard would become enforceable September 23, 2017. During the first 30 days, inspectors were to consider employers’ good-faith efforts and provide…
2016 WIOA annual performance report deadline Rescinded
DOL and Education said they would treat state and local WIOA performance reports for program year 2016 as timely if submitted by October 16, 2017, to ease the first-year transition. For later years,…
FY 2017 UI system modernization grants Withdrawn
ETA notified state unemployment agencies of FY 2017 supplemental funding for state consortia to modernize unemployment tax and benefits systems. It sets eligibility, application and project…
Cancellation of Dislocated Worker Opportunity Grants Withdrawn
ETA rescinded TEGL 1-17 and Change 1 because funds were no longer available for Dislocated Worker Opportunity Grants. It said funding would be redirected toward recovery needs following Hurricane…
FY 2017 Work Opportunity Tax Credit allotments Withdrawn
ETA provided final FY 2017 funding allotments to state workforce agencies for administering the Work Opportunity Tax Credit through September 30, 2017. The letter explains the allocation formula and…
Updated WIOA performance accountability guidance Rescinded
DOL and Education replaced TEGL 10-16 with revised guidance for WIOA performance accountability across the core workforce, adult education, employment service and vocational rehabilitation programs.…
Construction Plus training in YouthBuild
ETA explained the Construction Plus option for YouthBuild grantees: training in in-demand occupations beyond construction while maintaining the program’s required construction, education and…
Corrected Dislocated Worker grant spending period Rescinded
ETA corrected the spending period for Dislocated Worker Opportunity Grants: funds would be available from October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2019, subject to possible extensions. The base letter…
Child Labor
This Field Operations Manual chapter explains how Virginia DOLI applies the state's Child Labor Laws (Title 40.1, Chapter 5): who needs a youth Employment Certificate (work permit) and how to get…
FY 2018 state UI quality service plans Withdrawn
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies on preparing FY 2018 State Quality Service Plans. It set national priorities, performance and corrective-action criteria, funding information and…
Trade secrets and concentration ranges on safety data sheets
A safety-data-sheet provider asked several questions about ingredient percentages, concentration ranges and trade secrets. OSHA said a true concentration range cannot be hidden behind a wider one or…
Hiding exact chemical percentages as trade secrets
A software company asked whether chemical safety data sheets can suppress an exact ingredient concentration or replace a true batch-variation range with a wider one. OSHA said a qualifying exact…
Dislocated Worker Opportunity Grants Rescinded
ETA announced up to $35 million in Dislocated Worker Opportunity Grants for career services and training in growing or high-demand industries. The letter set applicant, budget and award…
FY 2017 state UI administration allocations Withdrawn
ETA provided state unemployment agencies with FY 2017 administrative funding allocations and guidance on above-base funding and supplemental budget requests. Its attachment lists the base…
FECA and unemployment benefits data crossmatch
ETA explained how state unemployment agencies can use Federal Employees' Compensation Act payment data shared through the Interstate Connection network to find potentially overlapping workers'…
UI benefits operations self-assessment tool
ETA introduced a tool for state unemployment agencies to evaluate their benefits operations and described how to plan implementation and report results to ETA. The letter covers operational areas,…
FY 2018 state UI resource planning targets Withdrawn
ETA supplied state unemployment agencies with preliminary FY 2018 funding and staff-year targets for State Quality Service Plans. It also described how base administrative resources were allocated…
Benzene traces in solvent hazard labels and safety data sheets
A requester asked how to label a solvent containing benzene as a trace contaminant. OSHA said a mixture with at least 0.1% benzene is classified as a carcinogen, and even a lower concentration…
YouthBuild construction credentials
ETA clarified which construction credentials YouthBuild grantees may count toward WIOA's credential measure. It identifies four nationally recognized construction credentials and explains that…
2017 Trade Adjustment Assistance funding Withdrawn
ETA provided states' initial FY 2017 allocations for Trade Adjustment Assistance training and related activities and explained how states could request reserve funds. The letter describes its…
2017 Native American program allotments Withdrawn
ETA reduced the final 2017 Supplemental Youth Services allotments for Indian and Native American grantees; Comprehensive Services amounts were unchanged. The attached table gives grantee amounts,…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for mid-2017 Withdrawn
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July through September 2017. The attachment lists each state's…
2017 National Farmworker Jobs Program plans Withdrawn
ETA instructed National Farmworker Jobs Program employment, training and housing grantees how to prepare 2017 program plans, performance goals and grant budgets. Four attachments give submission…
2017 senior employment program instructions Rescinded
ETA gave Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees the 2017 application, allotment and submission instructions, with funding tables and forms in four attachments. This letter rescinded…
Fall protection on outdoor-advertising fixed ladders
An outdoor advertising association asked how the fixed-ladder fall-protection rule applies to billboards. OSHA said the 24-foot threshold is measured by the distance a climber could fall to a lower…
Restored FY 2017 WIOA advance allotments
ETA restored FY 2017 advance allotments for WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker activities to the originally appropriated levels, reversing reductions announced in Changes 1 and 2. The attachment gives…
Post-exposure follow-up for emergency responders
A public-safety association asked about source-patient information and post-exposure care for emergency responders. OSHA said a covered responder’s employer must promptly arrange evaluation and…
One-stop cost-sharing correction for SCSEP
ETA corrected its American Job Center guidance to say that a Senior Community Service Employment Program participant's community service hours may count toward a partner's additional shared costs,…
Medical evaluations for infrequent respirator use
A union asked whether workers who rarely use self-contained breathing apparatus must have annual blood work. OSHA said the respiratory-protection rule requires a medical evaluation before use and…
2017 WIOA and employment service allotments Withdrawn
ETA announced 2017 allotments for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth activities, Wagner-Peyser employment services, and Workforce Information Grants to States. Ten attachments explain the…
Supplemental wage data for WIOA performance Rescinded
DOL and Education explained when WIOA core programs may use supplemental wage information to measure employment outcomes if quarterly wage records are unavailable or incomplete. The letter describes…
Edge-guarding standards at a designated waterfront facility
A company asked whether marine-terminal edge guarding or another OSHA standard covered the edge of a dock used only for bulk storage and transfer of liquids or gases. OSHA said the described…
Assigned protection factors and respirator fit tests
A requester asked when OSHA’s assigned protection factor applies and how it relates to a fit test. OSHA said the factor is assigned to a respirator class under an effective protection program, while…
2017 removal of UI applicant drug-testing rule Unknown
After Congress disapproved the 2016 occupation-based drug-testing rule, ETA told states that the rule's removal temporarily barred testing UI applicants under the occupation-based branch until the…
Dairy consortium health plan under ERISA Unknown
A dairy cooperative asked whether its member farms could sponsor a single ERISA health plan. EBSA said the farms could form a qualifying employer group, and the plan an ERISA welfare plan, at least…
Labels for paired chemical tubes
A manufacturer asked whether two attached chemical tubes dispensed together could be labeled as one mixture. OSHA said each tube is a separate immediate container and must carry its own required…
Hazard labels on boxed and shrink-wrapped cleaning chemicals
A trade association asked whether sealed boxes and shrink-wrapped pallets of cleaning chemicals may carry only outer hazard labels in storage. OSHA said that is acceptable while the packaging stays…
Renumbered unemployment insurance grant progress report Rescinded
ETA renumbered the quarterly progress report for unemployment insurance Supplemental Budget Request grants from Form ETA 9165 to Form ETA 9178 because two forms had been assigned the same number.…
Resource Justification Model handbook revisions Withdrawn
ETA transmitted revisions to Employment and Training Handbook 410's Resource Justification Model used by state unemployment agencies. The change adjusts how nonpersonal-service and IT expenditures…
Welding classrooms, student coverage and recirculated air
An engineering firm asked whether OSHA rules cover welding students and whether filtered welding fumes may be recirculated into classrooms or workplaces. OSHA said student coverage depends on…
Bloodborne-pathogen protection for security guards providing first aid
A requester asked whether security guards required to give first aid qualify for OSHA’s collateral-duty exception to pre-exposure hepatitis B vaccination. OSHA said they are public-safety personnel…
Temporary delay in silica-standard enforcement for construction Unknown
OSHA instructed its regional administrators to delay enforcement of the construction crystalline-silica standard until September 23, 2017 while it prepared outreach and staff guidance. The delay…
2017 UI benefit accuracy reporting schedule Withdrawn
ETA gave state unemployment agencies deadlines and procedures for completing 2017 Benefit Accuracy Measurement paid and denied claims cases and reviewing the data before federal publication. The…
HAZWOPER training for emergency medical responders
A fire-rescue chief asked what HAZWOPER training emergency medical workers need when treating people at hazardous-material incidents. OSHA said training depends on the duties performed:…
2017 foreign labor certification grant plans Withdrawn
ETA gave state workforce agencies FY 2017 grant planning and management instructions for foreign labor certification activities. Four attachments provide the planning package, annual plan,…
Internal security for state UI operations
ETA updated its internal-security guidance for state unemployment agencies, covering prevention, detection and response to fraud or abuse within UI operations. It sets out agency responsibilities…
Older hazard labels on chemical stock held by end users
An employer asked whether it must replace labels and safety sheets on chemicals shipped before the revised hazard-communication deadlines. OSHA said end users may keep stock with compliant older…
Hazard labels on very small sample vials
A company asked whether 40-milliliter sample vials could use abbreviated hazard labels and put the full label on outer packaging. OSHA said the small-package accommodation applies only when full…
Reach stackers and marine-terminal certification
OSHA instructed field offices that reach stackers used at marine terminals qualify as powered industrial trucks and are exempt from the equipment certification requirement in 29 CFR 1917.50. The…
How this guidance is useful
- See how the agency reads the law: An opinion letter shows how a state labor agency actually applied wage-and-hour law to a real employer's or worker's situation.
- Check the status before relying: Every page shows whether the document is still active or has been superseded, rescinded, or withdrawn, and when that status was last verified.
- Guidance, not law: These documents explain the agency's position but bind no court, and the agency can change its view. The official document linked on every page is the authoritative source.
- Research across states: Compare how different states treat the same question, from overtime and travel time to tips and independent-contractor status.
Browse guidance by state
This library covers 8 states plus federal guidance so far. Every document is checked against the agency's official source before it is published, so states are added as their labor departments' guidance is verified, not all at once. If your state is not listed yet, its labor department's own site is the place to check.