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.
No documents match your search
Try different keywords or clear a filter.
Revised state unemployment quality service plan handbook Withdrawn
ETA sent states a revised State Quality Service Plan handbook for unemployment administration. It expanded instructions on IT contingency planning, risk assessment and security controls and replaced…
YouthBuild school-dropout eligibility Withdrawn
ETA explained the YouthBuild school-dropout definition and when a former high-school dropout who re-enrolled in an alternative school could be served under a sequential service strategy. Change 1…
Target-date mutual funds and ERISA plan assets Unknown
A requester asked whether a target-date mutual fund’s holdings in affiliated mutual funds made its underlying assets ERISA plan assets or the fund’s adviser a plan fiduciary. EBSA said that…
Drinking beverages where hazardous chemicals are used
A worker asked whether coffee or water may be consumed where acetone and paint thinner are used. OSHA cited its sanitation rule barring food and beverages in areas exposed to toxic material and…
Drilling through asbestos floor tile and mastic
An engineering firm asked whether small holes could be drilled through asbestos-containing floor tile and mastic. OSHA said the described work is generally Class III if the debris fits in one…
Additional family-reason option for 2009 unemployment modernization grants Unknown
ETA explained a 2009 amendment to the criteria for state unemployment modernization incentive payments. States could qualify under a new option covering workers who left employment to escape sexual…
Questions and answers on 2009 EUC08 expansion Unknown
ETA answered state agencies’ questions about the 2009 expansion of EUC08, including its benefit tiers and coordination of payments. The attachment contains the questions and answers. ETA still lists…
Deducting partial-day absences of exempt employees from leave balances
An employer asked whether it could deduct hours from an exempt employee's accrued vacation or sick leave bank for a series of specific partial-day absence scenarios. DLSE confirmed that while an…
Corrections to 2009 TAA operating instructions
ETA corrected the variables and presentation of the Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance payment formula in TEGL 22-08. It also answered state agency questions on Trade Readjustment Allowances…
Revised handbook for unemployment benefit accuracy measurement Unknown
ETA sent states a revised Benefit Accuracy Measurement handbook for sampling paid and denied unemployment claims and identifying payment errors. It replaced the prior fourth edition, and the fifth…
2009 expansion of emergency unemployment benefit tiers Unknown
ETA explained how a 2009 law expanded the second tier of EUC08 benefits and added third and fourth tiers in states meeting specified unemployment thresholds. It provided operating and reporting…
Equivalent nebulizers for qualitative respirator fit tests Unknown
A manufacturer asked whether its nebulizer could replace the squeeze bulb named in OSHA’s saccharin and Bitrex fit-test protocols. OSHA said the substitution described was an equivalent device, not…
Veterans priority in DOL training programs
ETA and the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service instructed DOL-funded job-training programs on priority of service for veterans and eligible spouses, including eligibility, access, notice and…
Confidential post-exposure evaluations at healthcare facilities
A small healthcare facility asked whether its own physician could perform post-exposure evaluations after a bloodborne pathogen incident. OSHA said an outside physician is not always required, but…
IRA owner pledging personal assets for IRA debts Unknown
An IRA owner asked whether personal brokerage assets could secure the IRA’s debt to the same broker. EBSA said the pledge would be a prohibited extension of credit from the owner to the IRA, akin to…
Paint and adhesive stickers on protective helmets Unknown
A theater production manager asked whether paint or stickers may be applied to protective helmets. OSHA said its rules do not expressly ban them, but an alteration must not weaken the helmet or…
Approval of data collection for 2009 unemployment modernization grants Withdrawn
ETA told states that the Office of Management and Budget approved information collection for unemployment modernization incentive payment applications. The letter says states planning to apply…
2010 TAA initial allocations and reserve funds Withdrawn
ETA explained the fiscal year 2010 formula for initial state Trade Adjustment Assistance training allocations and the process for requesting reserve funds for training, job-search and relocation…
ACORN continuing resolution funding restriction Withdrawn
ETA instructed grant recipients and subrecipients on the continuing resolution restriction against providing covered federal funds to ACORN or affiliates, including treatment of existing and new…
Clevis pins, cotter pins and latches on chain slings
A questioner asked whether clevis or cotter pins can connect chain slings to hooks and whether sling hooks need latches. OSHA said unrated pins would be makeshift attachments and could not be used…
Protective systems for test pits workers do not enter
A construction questioner asked whether an unentered test pit needs shoring or another cave-in protective system. OSHA said the rule applies when workers enter an excavation, and an unprotected pit…
Updated ANSI gate strength for carabiners and snaphooks Unknown
A construction questioner asked whether OSHA would enforce a newer ANSI gate-strength requirement for snaphooks and carabiners. OSHA distinguished its existing tensile-strength rules from a…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for late 2009 Withdrawn
ETA sent states minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared October 1 through December 31, 2009. The table generally uses half the state’s average weekly…
Aluminum grinding and shipyard fire watches
A ship repair association asked whether grinding aluminum requires a fire watch. OSHA said the answer depends on whether the operation produces fire or sparks under the conditions of its shipyard…
WOTC 2008 form use extension Withdrawn
ETA extended the period in which employers and representatives could submit 2008 Work Opportunity Tax Credit Individual Characteristics and Conditional Certification forms while new forms were…
European GHS labels under the 2009 hazard communication rule Unknown
An ink manufacturer asked whether an EU GHS label satisfied OSHA’s then-current Hazard Communication Standard. OSHA said it could, if the label carried the identity, specific hazard warning, and…
2008 customer satisfaction score weights Withdrawn
ETA gave states the program year 2008 American Customer Satisfaction Index weight table for participant and employer surveys used in WIA performance reporting. Two attachments include score-weight…
Recovery Act reporting for WIA programs sharing an award number Withdrawn
ETA told WIA grantees whose Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs share one grant award number how to report Recovery Act funds while the reporting system cannot accept three separate…
Guarding access openings to fixed ladders Unknown
OSHA instructed regional administrators to cite unguarded ladderway floor openings under the then-current §1910.23(a)(2). In its 2009 reading, a platform entrance to a fixed ladder still needed a…
IRA death benefits paid to a family trust Unknown
An IRA owner asked whether post-death distributions to a named trust, and commissions paid to a successor trustee, would be prohibited transactions. EBSA said an otherwise proper IRA benefit payment…
Recovery Act recipient reporting clarification Withdrawn
ETA clarified how Recovery Act grantees should count jobs created or retained, including paid summer youth work and cumulative full-time-equivalent calculations. It supplements TEGL 1-09; Change 2…
Revised TAA participant report instructions Withdrawn
ETA instructed states to implement the revised 2010 Trade Activity Participant Report for Trade Adjustment Assistance, including data definitions, submission and quality rules. A linked attachment…
State truck-driver overtime exemption is narrower than the federal motor-carrier exemption
An employer asked DOS (the Division of Occupational Safety) whether the Massachusetts overtime exemption for truck drivers, G.L. c. 151 §1A(8), applies as broadly as the federal motor-carrier…
Native American youth Recovery Act reporting Withdrawn
ETA issued a revised ETA Form 9085 and instructions for WIA section 166 Indian and Native American Supplemental Youth Services reporting, including Recovery Act performance data. An attachment…
2010 substantial unemployment area designations Withdrawn
ETA instructed states to submit area of substantial unemployment designations and supporting data for WIA adult and youth allotments beginning July 1, 2010. It describes the designation threshold…
New Recovery Act WOTC target groups Withdrawn
ETA guided state workforce agencies on eligibility certification for the Recovery Act WOTC unemployed-veteran and disconnected-youth target groups. Four linked materials provide forms and…
Mailing address on a material safety data sheet Unknown
A consultant preparing material safety data sheets for blended fuel products asked whether the responsible party had to list a physical address. OSHA said the 2009 rule allowed either a physical or…
Rescission of H-2A processing change Withdrawn
ETA rescinded TEGL 11-07, Change 1, which had supplied H-2A labor certification processing procedures for state agencies and national processing centers. ETA said its December 2008 regulation made…
Approved training policy for UI claimants
ETA encouraged states to review what training qualifies as state-approved training for unemployment insurance claimants, building on TEGL 21-08. It recommends policies for approving training during…
WIA annual report narrative update Rescinded
ETA gave states additional guidelines for the narrative portion of the WIA annual report and updated submission procedures. An attachment outlines possible alternative efficiency measures. TEGL 9-10…
De minimis conditions for chimney construction hoists Unknown
OSHA replaced its February 8, 2007 chimney hoist interpretation after finding hazards that the earlier alternative conditions did not address. Its de minimis policy applies only to specified work on…
Debit-card best practices for unemployment benefit payments
ETA recommended direct deposit for claimants with bank accounts, clear notice of debit-card fees and better card-provider fee terms. It interpreted federal unemployment law to require at least one…
Expanded 2009 unemployment technology funding opportunity Unknown
ETA expanded a fiscal year 2009 technology funding opportunity beyond overpayment controls to include improvements to state unemployment systems, call centers, electronic services and performance.…
H-2B travel and visa costs under the FLSA
WHD said transportation and visa costs of H-2B workers are generally for the employer’s benefit. Employers must cover those costs when shifting them to workers would drive first-week wages below the…
Reducing exempt employees' work schedule and salary to avoid layoffs
A law firm asked whether an employer could cut exempt employees' workweek from five days to four with a corresponding pay reduction, as a temporary alternative to layoffs during the 2009 recession.…
Digital chest radiography under asbestos medical surveillance rules Unknown
A federal health official asked whether digital chest X-rays could replace film for required asbestos medical surveillance. OSHA said no under the standards and reference-image system then in…
Recovery Act recipient reporting rules Withdrawn
ETA gave direct recipients and state workforce agencies initial instructions for reporting uses of Recovery Act funds under section 1512, including data to collect and submission responsibilities.…
Proposed measures of unemployment tax-rate manipulation enforcement Unknown
ETA proposed changes to the ETA 581 report and Tax Performance System reviews to measure state detection and enforcement of unemployment tax-rate manipulation, and sought states to test them. The…
High-visibility garments in highway construction work zones Unknown
OSHA withdrew its May 11, 2004 answer after a review commission found that it had not given fair notice of the agency’s view. OSHA said specific standards required warning garments for flaggers and…
Garnishment
This Field Operations Manual chapter explains Virginia's garnishment law (Code of Virginia §§ 34-29 and 34-33): how much of an employee's "disposable earnings" a creditor can reach in a pay period,…
Administrative subaccounts in state unemployment funds
ETA revised its position on when state unemployment fund money is unavailable for benefit payments in calculating a federal Title XII advance. For specified Reed Act and modernization funds…
Fiscal year 2009 unemployment overpayment technology grants Unknown
ETA invited state unemployment agencies to request fiscal year 2009 funds for technology to prevent, detect and collect benefit overpayments. Its attachments include proposal instructions and…
When a supervisor’s dust-mask advice makes respirator use required
A construction employer described outdoor concrete cutting below exposure limits and a supervisor advising a worker to wear an N95 dust mask. OSHA treated that advice as required respirator use,…
Citation guidance for spray finishing operations Unknown
An OSHA regional administrator asked how to cite spray finishing work. The corrected memorandum distinguishes booth or room requirements tied to employee exposure from fire and explosion rules, and…
Helper staffing for asbestos glovebag removal
A contractor asked whether each glovebag in a large Class I pipe-insulation removal needed two assigned workers. OSHA said one helper can support a small group of adjacent glovebag workers, provided…
Pell grants and approved UI training clarification
ETA clarified Pell Grant eligibility for unemployment beneficiaries, including the undergraduate-program and prior-degree limits. It encouraged states to tell claimants whether proposed training is…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for July through September 2009 Withdrawn
ETA sent states minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared July 1 through September 30, 2009. The attachment generally uses half a jurisdiction’s average…
Fiscal year 2010 state unemployment resource planning targets Withdrawn
ETA gave states preliminary fiscal year 2010 unemployment administration budget and staffing targets and explained its allocation method. Three attachments contain detailed state allocations and…
Hexavalent chromium enforcement and substitution Unknown
A correspondent urged OSHA to enforce its hexavalent chromium standards and ban the chemical in metal finishing. OSHA encouraged substitution where feasible, noted that some hot work generates…
2008 unemployment performance and 2009-2010 targets Withdrawn
ETA summarized the unemployment insurance program’s fiscal year 2008 results under federal performance goals and announced targets for fiscal years 2009 and 2010. An attachment provides supporting…
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.