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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2016 WIOA dislocated-worker reallotment Withdrawn
ETA adjusted 2016 WIOA Dislocated Worker state allotments through recapture and reallotment, explaining the procedure and revised amounts. Three attachments give state reallotments, the program-year…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for spring 2017 Withdrawn
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April through June 2017. The attachment lists each state's average…
2017 Native American program planning estimates Withdrawn
ETA gave WIOA section 166 Indian and Native American grantees estimated 2017 funding amounts and application instructions for Comprehensive Services and Supplemental Youth Services. Three…
2017 senior employment income guidelines Withdrawn
ETA told Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees to use the attached 2017 federal poverty and low-income guidelines when determining or recertifying participant eligibility. The letter…
Revised FY 2017 WIOA advance funding cut Withdrawn
ETA reduced the previously announced cut to FY 2017 WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker advance allotments from 0.496 percent to 0.1901 percent, providing additional funding to states and outlying…
WIOA youth formula program guidance
ETA gave states and local workforce areas operating guidance for WIOA Title I youth formula programs, including eligibility, service elements and reporting. Its attachments provide references and…
2016 migrant farmworker state and center designations Withdrawn
ETA designated states and one-stop centers with significant migrant and seasonal farmworker activity for program year 2016 and gave state agencies service responsibilities under the updated…
WIOA adult, dislocated-worker and employment services
ETA explained how American Job Centers deliver career and training services under WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs and the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service. The letter covers service types,…
Adjudicating combined-wage UI claims
ETA clarified which state decides an issue on a combined-wage unemployment claim. Generally, the paying state may not re-adjudicate an issue already decided by a transferring state; the letter…
Corrected 2017 SCSEP national grantee allotments Withdrawn
ETA corrected authorized participant positions and funding for two Senior Community Service Employment Program national grantees in Florida and Michigan for February through June 2017. Grantees were…
Hydrogen process safety across adjoining employers
Two employers operated connected hydrogen equipment on one facility property and asked whether OSHA’s process-safety rule applied. OSHA said the connected inventory can meet the coverage threshold,…
Suspended loads at metal and nonmetal mines
Metal and nonmetal mine operators asked how the suspended-load rule applies to cranes and their attached rigging. MSHA says the load includes spreader bars, blocks, slings, and similar attachments,…
2017 interest rate on Title XII UI advances Withdrawn
ETA announced that the Treasury would charge 2.2124 percent interest on Title XII advances to state unemployment funds during calendar year 2017. Treasury charged that rate on repayable advances;…
FY 2017 sequestration for mandatory UI programs Withdrawn
ETA explained to state unemployment agencies how FY 2017 budget sequestration applied to mandatory UI programs, including delayed payments from earlier years and administrative costs. The letter…
2017 Social Security and federal pension increases Withdrawn
ETA informed state unemployment agencies of 2017 cost-of-living increases for Social Security old-age and survivor benefits and federal civilian pensions. It pointed states to the Office of…
National Farmworker Jobs Program eligibility Withdrawn
ETA explained participant eligibility and enrollment for the National Farmworker Jobs Program, including farmworker, dependent and low-income requirements. It addresses selective service…
Funding one-stop delivery system costs
ETA and its partner agencies explained how one-stop partners determine and share American Job Center infrastructure and additional operating costs under WIOA. The letter describes local and state…
American Job Center one-stop operations
ETA and its partner agencies gave states and local areas operating guidance for the integrated American Job Center network under WIOA. The letter addresses one-stop partners, access, service…
Competitive selection of one-stop operators
ETA explained how local workforce boards must select or certify American Job Center one-stop operators through a competitive process under WIOA. The letter discusses eligible operators, procurement…
Tip credit for H-2B workers
WHD said an H-2B employer may use the FLSA tip credit for covered tipped workers when meeting minimum-wage and overtime duties, subject to the applicable H-2B prevailing wage and cash-wage rules. It…
Fit testing respirators with attached accessories
A requester asked whether firefighters must fit test a respirator facepiece both with and without a mounted camera or voice amplifier. OSHA said yes when both configurations will be used, because…
Claimant rights in UI overpayment procedures: answers
ETA answered state unemployment agencies' questions about federal requirements that protect claimants when states prevent or recover UI overpayments. The answers expand the earlier UIPL 01-16…
Estimated 2017 WIOA youth and adult allotments Withdrawn
ETA sent states and outlying areas planning estimates for 2017 WIOA Youth, Adult and Dislocated Worker allotments, with a state table attached. It emphasized that the figures were estimates and…
Employer alliance administrative services outside ERISA plan status Unknown
An alliance of large employers asked whether its shared administrative services program was an ERISA welfare plan or multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said it was neither, because the…
Registered apprenticeship under WIOA
ETA explained how registered apprenticeship fits into WIOA workforce programs, including eligible training provider status, workforce board membership, use of WIOA funds and reporting. The…
Revised Work Opportunity Tax Credit procedures Withdrawn
ETA revised its Work Opportunity Tax Credit instructions for state workforce agencies after the 2015 reauthorization. It clarified eligibility for a new target group, corrected a certification date,…
Audiograms and records when workplace contractors change
A federal-site contractor asked whether a replacement contractor may establish new hearing-test baselines for the same workers at the same site. OSHA said a contractor change alone does not permit a…
Bloodborne-pathogen controls for microblading tools
A body-arts educator asked whether reusable and double-headed microblading tools increase sharps risks. OSHA said removing a contaminated blade is generally prohibited unless an exception applies;…
2016 military pension cost-of-living increase Withdrawn
ETA alerted state unemployment agencies to the military retired-pay cost-of-living increase effective December 1, 2016. It told states whose laws reduce unemployment benefits for pension income to…
2017 federal locality pay rates for UCFE claims Withdrawn
ETA alerted state unemployment agencies to 2017 federal General Schedule locality pay rates. It said states may use the rates with other documentation to estimate monetary entitlement; they may use…
PY 2016 SCSEP national grantee allotments Withdrawn
ETA gave newly awarded Senior Community Service Employment Program national and set-aside grantees their third- and fourth-quarter Program Year 2016 allocations, covering January through June 2017,…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for early 2017 Withdrawn
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts to use for major disasters declared from January through March 2017. The attachment lists each…
Reasonable assurance for educational UI claims
ETA explained when a school employee's contract or reasonable assurance of work next term can bar unemployment benefits between academic terms. States must first check for a genuine offer, work in…
Strikes and lockouts in Trade Adjustment Assistance
ETA answered state agencies’ questions about how strikes and lockouts affect eligibility for Trade Adjustment Assistance and Trade Readjustment Allowances. It explains that a worker experiencing a…
YouthBuild projects and Davis-Bacon wages
ETA clarified that YouthBuild participants working on construction covered by the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts are not exempt from prevailing wage rules. The letter explains how grantees can…
WIOA core-program performance accountability Rescinded
DOL and Education gave states and grantees guidance on WIOA performance indicators, data collection and reporting across the six core workforce programs. Eleven attachments provide definitions,…
Child labor civil money penalty assessments Superseded
WHD set out procedures for assessing child-labor civil money penalties, including gravity, business size, and serious injury or death. The official PDF now states that FAB 2023-4 superseded its…
Sharing confidential UI data with DOL investigators
ETA told state unemployment agencies that they must disclose confidential unemployment compensation information to the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General for investigations of UC…
Tip-credit enforcement under WHD handbook
WHD instructed investigators how to apply federal tip-credit limits and calculate overtime for tipped employees when a state minimum wage exceeds the FLSA minimum. It explains when an additional…
FY 2017 RESEA grant application guidance
ETA invited state unemployment agencies to apply for FY 2017 Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment grants and set program and application requirements. Its attachments provide a proposal…
Questions on drug testing unemployment compensation applicants Withdrawn
ETA answered state agencies' questions about when federal law permitted drug testing of unemployment compensation applicants under the 2016 regulation. It explained how the regulation defined…
Questions on 2016 UI applicant drug-testing rule Rescinded
ETA answered state questions about when unemployment applicants could be drug tested under the 2016 occupation-based rule and section 303(l) of the Social Security Act. Its attached questions and…
Disability benefits and CCPA garnishment limits
WHD said disability payments from an employment-based plan count as earnings under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its investigators should apply the Act’s garnishment limits to those payments.…
Reduced FY 2017 WIOA advance allotments Withdrawn
ETA revised states’ October 2016 advance allotments for WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs after a 0.496 percent reduction in the continuing appropriation. It also corrected the adult age…
2017 NAICS codes for state UI employer accounts Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies about changes to the North American Industry Classification System for 2017 and asked them to update industry codes on employer UI accounts. The letter explains…
Section 14(c) certificates and state minimum wages
WHD addressed employers holding federal section 14(c) certificates to pay workers with disabilities below the federal minimum wage. It said a certificate does not override a state law that requires…
Interim enforcement procedures for injury-reporting protections Superseded
OSHA issued interim procedures for enforcing reasonable injury-reporting procedures, employee notice and the prohibition on retaliation for reporting injuries or illnesses. It assigned roles to area…
Health Coverage Tax Credit reporting for TAA recipients Rescinded
ETA advised state workforce agencies about Health Coverage Tax Credit duties for eligible Trade Adjustment Assistance recipients in 2016 and about sending 2017 eligibility data to the IRS. It also…
POWER dislocated-worker grants for coal regions Withdrawn
ETA announced that up to $31 million remained for POWER Initiative National Dislocated Worker Grants to help communities affected by changes in the coal economy. It raised the maximum award from $2…
Calculating paid sick leave pay for commissioned and exempt employees
An attorney asked how to calculate paid sick leave pay for an employee paid almost entirely by commission, and separately for an exempt employee who also receives an annual bonus. DLSE explains that…
Worker protection from surgical smoke
A dentist asked what OSHA requires to protect dental and hospital workers from smoke generated by laser and electrosurgical tools. OSHA said it had no rule specific to surgical smoke, but the…
Revised WIA-to-WIOA transition funding limits Withdrawn
ETA revised the limits on using 2014 Workforce Investment Act funds for WIOA transition activities because an earlier continuing resolution’s 0.0554 percent reduction did not carry into the…
Supporting UI claimants in education and training
ETA encouraged workforce agencies and American Job Centers to consider policies that help unemployment insurance claimants pursue postsecondary education and training, including longer programs. It…
Corrections to 2015 Trade Adjustment Assistance instructions Withdrawn
ETA corrected parts of its 2015 Trade Adjustment Assistance operating instructions, including language about Completion TRA, reemployment allowances and worker certification. Its attachment provides…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for late 2016 Withdrawn
ETA sent state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from October through December 2016. The attachment lists each state's…
Clarifications to the 2012 hazard-communication enforcement directive
OSHA answered field-staff questions about the 2012 hazard-communication rule, including labels on older stock, pictograms for hazards not otherwise classified and what belongs in safety-data-sheet…
Confined-space permits for construction work in water tanks
A contractor asked whether work inside a water tank requires confined-space permits and whether a small crew may combine entry roles. OSHA said hazards that could impede self-rescue may trigger…
Courtesy shuttle time from an off-site parking lot to work is not compensable
An employer trade association asked DLS whether time employees spend riding a company-provided courtesy shuttle from an off-site parking lot to the workplace counts as compensable working time. DLS…
Second quarter of PY 2016 SCSEP national grantee plans Withdrawn
ETA gave existing Senior Community Service Employment Program national grantees application instructions and funding allocations for the second quarter of Program Year 2016, October through December…
Wage-record matching for WIOA reporting
ETA sent state unemployment and workforce agencies joint DOL and Education guidance on matching confidential unemployment wage records with education and vocational rehabilitation information for…
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.