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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Tuberculosis screening in low-risk healthcare settings Unknown
A healthcare system asked whether it could stop annual tuberculosis skin testing for workers in low-risk settings under newer CDC guidance. OSHA said following the most recent CDC recommendations…
Funding to help unemployment claimants enter training Withdrawn
ETA offered state agencies one-time administrative funds to tell unemployment claimants about approved training and potential Pell Grant eligibility and to process related claims. The letter lists…
2009 workforce information grants Withdrawn
ETA set the program year 2009 application process and work requirements for Workforce Information Grants to States. Five linked attachments include state allocations, grant procedures, deliverables…
Asbestos building surveys and school safety Unknown
A consultant asked why OSHA did not require comprehensive asbestos surveys for K–12 schools covered by EPA’s AHERA rules. OSHA said its standards protect employees rather than the general public and…
Recovery Act subrecipient registration Withdrawn
ETA told workforce grantees that first-tier subrecipients of Recovery Act awards must obtain a DUNS number and maintain current Central Contractor Registration profiles for recipient reporting. ETA…
2009 supplemental TAA funds and reserve requests Withdrawn
ETA explained the formula for supplemental fiscal year 2009 Trade Adjustment Assistance training funds and the separate case-management allotments and how states could request additional reserve…
Meal periods for fuel carriers subject to federal safety regulations
A law firm asked whether drivers who transport hazardous fuel and must stay with or near their trucks under federal hazmat regulations can be given an "on-duty" paid meal period instead of an…
Revised 2009 workforce performance targets Withdrawn
ETA revised guidance for negotiating 2009 WIA and Wagner-Peyser performance goals, published national GPRA targets for additional ETA programs, and explained the regression model behind the revised…
Fiscal year 2009 funding for unemployment IT security Withdrawn
ETA offered state unemployment agencies fiscal year 2009 supplemental funds to develop or update IT contingency plans, obtain independent validation and improve security. Three attachments provide…
Medical evaluation and fit-test recordkeeping for respirators
An employer asked how to retain respirator medical questionnaires and fit-test records. OSHA said medical evaluation records, including questionnaires and determinations, must be retained and kept…
Disposal of blood and regulated infectious waste
A correspondent asked whether blood and body fluids could go into septic systems or ordinary garbage. OSHA said regulated waste is defined by its potential to release blood or other potentially…
Fiscal year 2010 state unemployment quality service plans Withdrawn
ETA initiated the fiscal year 2010 State Quality Service Plan process for state unemployment agencies and supplied instructions that supplemented its planning handbook. Two attachments provide…
2009 SCSEP planning and allotments Rescinded
ETA instructed Senior Community Service Employment Program applicants on program year 2009 applications, allotments and required planning materials. Ten attachments provide funding tables, forms and…
2009 farmworker housing competition waiver Withdrawn
ETA waived the scheduled program year 2009 National Farmworker Jobs Program housing assistance competition for qualifying grantees and issued planning guidance for continued service. Its attachment…
2009 Native American workforce allotments Withdrawn
ETA provided Indian and Native American WIA section 166 grantees program year 2009 adult and youth allotments and instructions for applications or plan modifications. Five attachments give…
2009 farmworker job grant competition waiver Withdrawn
ETA waived the scheduled 2009 National Farmworker Jobs Program competition for satisfactory incumbent grantees except specified service areas and gave grantees planning instructions. Its attachments…
Recovery Act workforce performance reporting Rescinded
ETA directed states on performance reporting for Recovery Act WIA, youth, National Emergency Grant and Wagner-Peyser services and changed WIA standardized record submissions. Three attachments…
Process Safety Management coverage of interconnected flammable-liquid processes
A questioner asked whether a flammable liquid mixture and an interconnected downstream process fell under OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard. OSHA said the mixture’s total mass counts when it…
Youth literacy and numeracy measure revisions Withdrawn
ETA revised how WIA youth programs report the literacy and numeracy measure under TEGL 17-05. It directs states to the Department of Education's NRS website for education-level descriptors instead…
Fiscal year 2009 state unemployment administration allocations Withdrawn
ETA gave state agencies fiscal year 2009 guidance on unemployment administration base allocations, resource planning, above-base funding and supplemental budget requests. ETA now lists the letter as…
Nitric oxide exposure limits for pregnant employees
A physician asked whether OSHA set a different nitric oxide exposure limit for pregnant workers. OSHA said the 25 ppm, eight-hour time-weighted average in its Air Contaminants standard applied to…
Revised TAA petition forms Withdrawn
ETA provided revised ETA Forms 9042 and 9042a for filing Trade Adjustment Assistance petitions under the 2009 amendments, replacing the 2005 versions. Two attachments contain the English and Spanish…
2009 Trade Adjustment Assistance operating instructions
ETA gave state workforce agencies operating instructions for the 2009 Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act changes to worker eligibility, benefits, training, reemployment assistance and…
2007 WIA incentive grant applications Withdrawn
ETA updated the process for states to apply for WIA section 503 incentive grants based on program year 2007 performance, including eligibility, allowable uses and application materials. Two…
Air monitoring for aircraft confined spaces
A federal contract agency asked about confined-space entry into aircraft tail booms and fuel tanks. OSHA said employers must identify and monitor actual or potential atmospheric hazards throughout…
Employer payment for steel-toe rubber boots
A union asked whether employers had to pay for steel-toe rubber boots required in meatpacking and poultry plants. OSHA said the rubber boots were specialty footwear because their protective design…
Pell grants and UI approved training
ETA encouraged states to broaden approved-training policies for unemployment claimants during the recession and to inform claimants about Pell Grants and other student aid through One-Stop Career…
Program year 2009 workforce allotments Withdrawn
ETA provided program year 2009 Workforce Investment Act adult, dislocated worker and youth allotments, Wagner-Peyser allotments, workforce information grants, and fiscal year 2009 Work Opportunity…
Extended Benefits questions and draft total-unemployment trigger Unknown
ETA answered state agencies’ questions about Extended Benefits eligibility, work search, and the temporary federal funding under the 2009 Recovery Act. It also supplied draft language for states…
Recovery Act National Emergency Grants Withdrawn
ETA set policy for National Emergency Grants funded by the 2009 Recovery Act. It addressed eligibility of migrant and seasonal farmworker grantees and public-sector dislocated workers, as well as…
Fiscal year 2009 foreign labor certification grants Withdrawn
ETA provided fiscal year 2009 funding and planning instructions for state workforce agencies administering foreign labor certification activities. The packet includes the planning guidance, workload…
Recovery Act financial reporting Withdrawn
ETA required separate quarterly financial reports for each Recovery Act funding stream under WIA and Wagner-Peyser programs. Grantees had to distinguish Recovery Act funds in their accounting…
Fiscal year 2009 reemployment and eligibility assessment grants Unknown
ETA invited state unemployment agencies to propose new or expanded reemployment and eligibility assessments for claimants using fiscal year 2009 funds. The attachments give proposal instructions and…
Recovery Act workforce funding clarifications Withdrawn
This change to TEGL 14-08 clarified when local areas could spend Recovery Act WIA funds, how unobligated funds would be handled, and the transfer limit between adult and dislocated worker programs.…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for April through June 2009 Withdrawn
ETA sent state agencies minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared April 1 through June 30, 2009. Its attachment lists state figures based on the applicable…
Health Coverage Tax Credit eligibility for trade assistance recipients Withdrawn
ETA told states how the 2009 Recovery Act temporarily expanded the definition of an eligible Trade Adjustment Assistance recipient for the Health Coverage Tax Credit. It covered some workers on a…
Replacement servers for state unemployment database systems Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies that it would replace their database servers with Sun T2000 systems and coordinate the migration of software and data. Attachments give the system…
Radiation controls for digital dental radiography
A dental hygienist asked whether lower-dose digital dental X-rays justified fewer safety precautions. OSHA agreed that digital systems reduce exposure but said employers must continue engineering,…
Multiple lifts of precast concrete members Unknown
OSHA concluded that multiple rigging lifts of precast concrete members were prohibited under the construction rules then in effect. The steel-erection multiple-lift provision did not apply to…
Correction of 2009 retirement cost-of-living guidance Withdrawn
ETA rescinded UIPL 8-09 because its attachment misstated prorated 2009 retirement cost-of-living increases. It directed states with applicable pension-offset laws to review affected unemployment…
Extension for 2007 WOTC processing forms Withdrawn
This change to TEGL 11-08 gave state workforce agencies and employers more time to use the 2007 forms for Work Opportunity Tax Credit certification requests while revised forms were introduced. ETA…
Alternative workweek schedule during summer months
A law firm asked whether an employer could adopt an alternative workweek schedule of four 9-hour days plus one 4-hour day only during summer months, reverting to a standard five 8-hour day schedule…
Additional guidance on unemployment modernization payments and state transfers Unknown
ETA answered state agencies’ questions about applications for unemployment modernization incentive payments, use of special administrative transfers, and relief from interest on federal advances.…
Recovery Act funds for Native American programs Withdrawn
ETA instructed Indian and Native American grantees on using Recovery Act supplemental youth funds under WIA section 166 and modifying their two-year plans. The letter also addressed program and…
Employer payment for static-dissipative safety footwear
An employer asked whether static-dissipative safety-toe footwear required for flammable-liquid work was specialty footwear. OSHA said footwear meeting the cited static-dissipative specifications…
Recovery Act planning for SCSEP grantees Withdrawn
ETA instructed Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees how to apply for and use Recovery Act funds and extended the program year 2008 grant period to December 31, 2009. The packet…
Recovery Act workforce funding and state plans Withdrawn
ETA set policy for Recovery Act WIA and Wagner-Peyser funds and required states to modify their strategic plans. It addressed adult, dislocated worker, youth, summer employment and reemployment…
Removing a trench ladder during work
A contractor proposed removing a trench-box ladder after workers entered, with two trained workers outside ready to lower it on request. OSHA rejected the plan because §1926.651(c)(2) requires a…
Attachments and levelers on fiberglass extension ladders
A contractor asked whether cable hooks, pole grips and adjustable levelers could be added to fiberglass extension ladders. OSHA said the cited construction rules did not specifically prohibit them,…
Fall protection on construction vehicles
OSHA said its construction fall-protection Subpart M did not require protection for workers on excavators, dump trucks and bulldozers because its walking or working surface definition excludes…
Reassembly of irreparable electric power tools
A tool seller asked whether OSHA required a repair service to return irreparable electric tools disassembled. OSHA said no construction rule specifically barred reassembly. It did say a tool used in…
Employer payment for climbing and positioning equipment
A utility employer asked whether it had to pay for body belts, positioning straps and pole or tree climbers. OSHA said this required climbing equipment is personal protective equipment and must be…
Employer payment for pole-climbing equipment
A utility employer asked whether it had to pay for body belts, positioning straps and pole or tree climbers. OSHA said this required climbing equipment is personal protective equipment and must be…
Statewide hiring freezes and unemployment insurance administration
ETA reminded states that a statewide hiring freeze, shutdown, or furlough that ignores unemployment insurance program needs is inconsistent with its interpretation of federal administration…
Revised unemployment benefit accuracy investigation procedures
ETA instructed states to replace an older chapter of its Benefit Accuracy Measurement handbook with revised investigation procedures. The attached chapter covers verification of wages, separation,…
Recovery Act workforce allotments Withdrawn
ETA announced Recovery Act supplemental allotments for WIA adult, dislocated worker and youth programs, Wagner-Peyser Employment Service activities, and reemployment services. Linked tables give the…
Additional unemployment insurance information security guidance Withdrawn
ETA pointed state unemployment agencies to updated federal information security publications and encouraged assessments of their unemployment systems using NIST guidance. The letter describes an…
Calendar year 2008 unemployment benefit accuracy data deadlines Withdrawn
ETA instructed state agencies when to complete and verify 2008 Benefit Accuracy Measurement samples before federal publication. Its attachments show sample paid and denied claims accuracy reports.…
2009 extension of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Unknown
ETA explained how the 2009 Recovery Act extended the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program’s eligibility and payment deadlines and instructed states on financing and reporting the benefits.…
Proposed state unemployment plan security and contingency changes Withdrawn
ETA proposed changes to its state unemployment planning handbook covering contingency plans, automated system security, and state planning forms. It asked state agencies to comment within 45 days…
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.