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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Benefit Accuracy Measurement data for 2024 payment integrity reporting Unknown
ETA gave state unemployment insurance agencies deadlines and procedures for completing 2024 Benefit Accuracy Measurement claim samples and checking data before publication. States also had dates for…
Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Program Requirements for Public Projects
This Division notice explains prevailing-wage rights for workers on Colorado state-funded public projects of $500,000 or more: paying market-rate wages and benefits, weekly pay,…
Foreman/general-foreman prevailing wage premium must match the CBA's base-rate-only calculation
A licensed contractor asked the Labor Commissioner to clarify the published prevailing wage rate for Laborers in the Clark Region, which was higher than the actual Local 872 collective bargaining…
Extended funding and agreement deadline for national identity verification
ETA extended the period for which it expected to pay identity verification transaction costs for states using its national offering. Coverage was expected for at least two years after state…
FY 2024 foreign labor certification grant allotments, Change 2
ETA updates state workforce agency instructions for foreign labor certification activities and announces FY 2024 grant allotments. The change includes annual planning and application materials,…
Paying the same salesperson as both a W-2 employee and a 1099 contractor for the same sale
A solar-industry trade association asked the Nevada Labor Commissioner whether residential solar salespeople -- required by a 2023 licensing law to be a Licensed Contractor or its employee -- could…
SB 82 reporting covers 2024 work on older public works contracts
Clark County Purchasing and Contracts asked whether Senate Bill 82's overhaul of the Apprenticeship Utilization Act (AUA) -- effective January 1, 2024, replacing the complaint-driven enforcement of…
Corrected 2024 RESEA grant allocation table
ETA corrected the state formula allocation table for fiscal year 2024 Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments grants after finding an error in the hold harmless calculation. State…
Corrected FY 2024 RESEA state allotments, Change 1
ETA corrects the state-by-state maximum FY 2024 Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments grant awards in Attachment I of TEGL 11-23. It says an error occurred when applying the formula's…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for April–June 2024
ETA published each state’s minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amount for major disasters declared from April 1 through June 30, 2024. State agencies were to use the attached figures…
Revisions to the ETA 9128 RESEA quarterly workload report
ETA revised the quarterly report states use to count Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment activity. The added items capture later assessment meetings and claimants found ineligible…
When a private project becomes a public work mid-project via a financing agreement
Sparks' City Attorney asked three questions about the 5 Ridges development: what records are needed to investigate a wage complaint if the project becomes a public work mid-project through a…
Fiscal year 2024 RESEA grant funding and state plan guidance
ETA gave states fiscal year 2024 grant amounts, operating rules and state plan instructions for the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment program. Applications were due April 8, 2024. The…
Reducing administrative barriers in ETA grant programs Rescinded
ETA directed workforce grant recipients to review intake, eligibility, documentation, and data validation practices to reduce unnecessary barriers for people seeking services. It covered WIOA,…
Complaints, Investigations, and Remedies as to Retaliation or Interference
This Division notice explains how retaliation and interference claims are filed and investigated, and what remedies are available. It explains which claims must go to the Division before court…
Compliance Duties: Notify Workers of Their Rights; No Unlawful Waivers or Restrictions
This Division notice explains two employer compliance duties: never requiring workers to waive labor rights or agree not to discuss wages or workplace safety, and affirmatively notifying workers of…
What's "Retaliation" or "Interference": What Activity Is Protected? What Acts Are Illegal?
This Division notice explains what employee activity is legally protected from retaliation or interference (paid-sick-leave requests, health/safety whistleblowing and PPE use, and wage-and- hour…
Summary: Retaliation or Interference Against Exercising Labor Rights
This short Division notice is a roadmap to the "INFO #5 series" on Colorado's retaliation and interference protections: what counts as protected activity (claiming wage or leave rights, raising…
SCSEP stand-alone state plan guidance for 2024–2027 Rescinded
ETA gave states, territories, and outlying areas requirements and a March 29, 2024 deadline for submitting stand-alone Senior Community Service Employment Program plans for 2024 through 2027. It…
Extended ETA 9177 checklist approval for state UI system modernization
ETA advised states that the ETA 9177 preimplementation checklist for modernized unemployment insurance systems had Office of Management and Budget approval through July 31, 2026. States submit the…
Lloyd’s underwriters and ERISA fidelity bonding Unknown
Lloyd’s asked whether its underwriters could satisfy an ERISA bond exemption’s state licensing condition after letting certain state insurance licenses lapse. EBSA said authorization through the…
Fiscal year 2024 sequestration for mandatory UI programs Unknown
ETA told states which mandatory unemployment insurance programs were subject to fiscal year 2024 sequestration and which were exempt. The letter applied a 5.7 percent reduction to nonexempt programs…
SCSEP technology implementation grants for 2023
ETA offered $9.5 million in additional grants to state and territorial Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees for costs of implementing its performance management system. The letter…
Overlapping 24-hour workdays, split-rate shifts, and what counts as wages for overtime
A law firm asked the Nevada Labor Commissioner three questions: how the "week of work" and 24-hour "workday" definitions interact for overtime purposes, how to calculate overtime when an employee is…
ETA-9130 grant financial reporting clarifications, Change 1
ETA clarifies several ETA-9130 financial reporting rules for its grant recipients. It addresses the first report when a grant starts near a quarter end, the due date for the quarter ending March 31,…
Rescission of revised tax performance handbook appendix
ETA cancelled UIPL No. 16-23 and rescinded its revision to Appendix E of the Tax Performance System handbook because the agency had not sought public comment. State tax staff were told to discard…
FY 2024 WOTC incremental allotments, Change 1
ETA gave state workforce agencies additional FY 2024 Work Opportunity Tax Credit administration funds made available by a second continuing resolution. It listed state allotments and required…
TAA worker services during program phase-out
ETA tells states they must continue providing Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits and services to eligible workers during the program's phase-out. New worker-group petitions cannot be certified…
2024 federal employee pay rates for unemployment claim estimates
ETA pointed state agencies to 2024 federal General Schedule pay rates for 53 locality areas. When a federal agency did not answer promptly, states could use those rates with other documents to…
State finality laws and CARES Act unemployment claims
ETA said state unemployment agencies may apply their own finality laws to claims under temporary CARES Act unemployment programs. Those laws limit when a state may reopen an earlier claim decision,…
Exposure and medical records after a corporate spinoff
An employer asked who must retain employee exposure and medical records when a division becomes a separate company with the same work, assets and employees. OSHA said the new company is a successor…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for January–March 2024
ETA published each state’s minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amount for major disasters declared from January 1 through March 31, 2024. State agencies were to use the attached figures…
2024 Social Security and federal civilian pension adjustments
ETA told state unemployment agencies about 2024 cost of living increases in Social Security annuities and federal civilian pensions. States whose laws reduce unemployment payments because of…
Military pension cost of living adjustments for unemployment claims
ETA alerted state unemployment agencies to increases in military retired pay and related survivor benefits effective December 1, 2023. Where state law requires a pension offset, agencies should…
What Travel Time and Sleep Time Is and Isn't "Time Worked" That Must Be Paid
This Division notice explains when travel time and sleep time count as paid "time worked" under Colorado law. For shifts under 24 hours, 5-8 continuous hours of sleep can be excluded if the employer…
What's Owed for "Time Worked" for Different Types of Pay, Hourly and Non-Hourly
This Division notice explains how the duty to pay for all "time worked" applies across different pay structures: hourly rates, salaries, commissions, and piece rates. It states that Colorado…
What Is and Isn't "Time Worked" That Must Be Paid under Colorado Law
This Division notice details Colorado's broader-than-federal definition of "time worked" under COMPS Rule 1.9: work an employer benefited from and permitted, required on-premises time, and the…
Summary: "Time Worked" That Must Be Paid under Colorado Law
This Division notice summarizes when time counts as paid "time worked" under Colorado law: performing work an employer benefited from or permitted, required on-premises time, the "continuous…
Child labor civil money penalty assessments
WHD told investigators how to assess civil money penalties for child labor violations that caused no injury or nonserious injury. It addresses the gravity of a violation, the size of the business,…
Hazard communication for solvent-based paint markers
A marker manufacturer asked whether small solvent-based paint markers are exempt as “articles” and whether a nontoxic certification removes labeling duties. OSHA said the article test depends on…
Updated Work Opportunity Tax Credit certification procedures
ETA updates how state workforce agencies process employers' Work Opportunity Tax Credit certification requests, including backlogged requests. It explains forms, submission and review steps,…
Differences & Overlap Between HFWA and FAMLI Paid Leave
This Division notice explains how Colorado's two paid-leave laws interact: HFWA gives accrued hourly leave (up to 48 hrs/year) for a broad set of health, safety, and family-care needs, while FAMLI…
Cold and flu symptoms after possible workplace chemical exposure
A requester asked how employers should handle illnesses that resemble a cold or flu but may result from workplace chemical exposure. OSHA said the cold and flu exception applies only when the…
Initial FY 2024 WOTC administration allotments
ETA gives state workforce agencies their initial FY 2024 Work Opportunity Tax Credit administration allotments under a continuing resolution. It explains the allocation method and required…
Nondiscrimination based on religion or shared ancestry in workforce programs
ETA and the Labor Department's Civil Rights Center explain nondiscrimination duties for federally funded workforce programs. They discuss discrimination based on actual or perceived religion, shared…
Retention of confined-space atmospheric test records
An attorney asked whether routine atmospheric test data on confined-space entry permits had to be kept for 30 years as employee exposure records. OSHA said the permit tests described need at least…
WIOA state plan requirements for 2024–2027 Rescinded
ETA and the Education Department told states what to include in WIOA Unified or Combined State Plans for program years 2024 through 2027 and how to submit them. The letter set a March 4, 2024…
Climbing rope diameter for tree trimming
A tree care partnership asked whether using a 7/16-inch climbing rope instead of the standard 1/2-inch rope can be treated as de minimis. OSHA said it can be, when the rope meets specified strength…
Revised employer audit appendix for the tax performance system Rescinded
ETA issued a revised Appendix E to its Tax Performance System handbook for state employer unemployment tax audits. In January 2024, ETA cancelled this letter and rescinded the revised appendix…
Citi racial equity asset manager program and ERISA fiduciary duties Rescinded
Citi asked how ERISA fiduciary duties applied to its proposed asset manager program, under which it would pay some managers’ fees. EBSA gave views on the fiduciary questions based on Citi’s…
Respirable Crystalline Silica Focused Inspection Initiative in the Engineered Stone Fabrication and Installation Industries
OSHA established a focused inspection initiative for engineered-stone fabrication and installation industries in federal OSHA Regions 1 through 8. It directs area offices to prioritize certain…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for October–December 2023
ETA published each state’s minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amount for major disasters declared from October 1 through December 31, 2023. State agencies were to use the attached table…
Powered industrial truck coverage for specialized carts
An equipment user asked whether several electric carts designed to carry or pull material are powered industrial trucks under OSHA’s standard. OSHA said the standard applies because the equipment is…
Space Force identification code for unemployment claims
ETA assigned Federal Identification Code 810, destination 0001, to Space Force military service for unemployment claims by former service members. State agencies had to update claims, billing and…
Preliminary fiscal year 2024 state UI resource planning targets Unknown
ETA supplied state unemployment insurance agencies preliminary fiscal year 2024 administrative funding targets and explained its allocation method. States were to use the targets for budgets and…
Outreach spending under federal workforce grants Rescinded
ETA explained how recipients of WIOA formula and competitive grants could use funds for outreach to jobseekers and employers. It gave examples of permissible outreach and asked grantees to review…
Child labor hot goods and shipment restrictions
WHD explained that goods produced in or about an establishment using oppressive child labor may be barred from interstate shipment even if the children did not directly make the goods. It describes…
2023 Benefit Accuracy Measurement completion and publication procedures Unknown
ETA gave state unemployment insurance agencies deadlines for completing 2023 Benefit Accuracy Measurement samples, reconciling data and naming contacts for publication. The annual process measures…
Minimum approach distance near covered power lines
A utility worker asked whether a covered 23 kV conductor permits work on an adjacent exposed 4 kV conductor while using gloves rated for 4 kV. OSHA said the worker may enter the covered conductor’s…
Tip, Gratuity, and Service Charge Examples
This L&I policy gives worked examples applying the tips, gratuities, and service charge rules in ES.A.12: employers who illegally credit tips or service charges toward minimum wage, withhold tips…
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.