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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FY 2023 Trade Adjustment Assistance training fund distribution
ETA gives states their FY 2023 Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities allocations and explains how to request the funds. The allocations use recent state expenditures, with a…
Updated disadvantaged youth and adult data for WIOA allocations
ETA tells states to use updated disadvantaged youth and adult data in their WIOA Youth and Adult within-state allocation formulas beginning with program year 2023. It explains where the data comes…
Group lockboxes in lockout and tagout procedures
An employer asked how group lockboxes must be used during hazardous energy control. OSHA said a primary authorized employee may verify isolation for the group, while other authorized employees may…
Military Family Leave Act
This L&I administrative policy explains the Military Family Leave Act (RCW 49.77), which lets spouses and registered domestic partners of military personnel (active duty, National Guard, or…
Corrected 2023 workforce information grant deliverables, Change 1
ETA corrects due dates and employment projection deliverables in the attachment to TEGL 20-22 for state Workforce Information Grant recipients. It asks grantees to replace the earlier attachment…
End of CARES Act short time compensation grant applications
ETA announced that states could no longer submit new applications for CARES Act Short-Time Compensation grants after June 3, 2023. Federal legislation rescinded the remaining unobligated grant…
Summary: Paid Leave under Colorado's Healthy Families & Workplaces Act (HFWA)
This short Division notice summarizes Colorado's Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA): employees accrue one hour of paid leave per 30 hours worked (up to 48 hours/year) for a wide range of…
UI modernization grants and national identity verification offering
ETA announced grants for state unemployment insurance integrity, technology modernization and support from expert teams. Initial applications for those grants were due August 18, 2023. States…
Cancellation of four ARPA unemployment guidance changes
ETA cancelled four earlier unemployment insurance guidance changes after Congress rescinded $1 billion in unobligated American Rescue Plan Act funds. The cancelled advisories are UIPL No. 22-21,…
Permissible and Impermissible Methods of Payment
This Division notice explains what forms of pay, and payment methods, satisfy the Colorado Wage Act's requirement that wages be negotiable, payable on demand, and without discount. It covers cash,…
Summary: "Wages" and "Compensation" under Colorado Wage Law
This short Division notice is a roadmap to the "INFO #3 series" on Colorado wage law: what counts as protected "wages or compensation" (hourly pay, salaries, piece-rate, bonuses, commissions,…
Fiscal year 2024 state UI quality service plan guidance Unknown
ETA told state unemployment insurance agencies how to prepare fiscal year 2024 State Quality Service Plans and submit them to regional offices. The letter supplements the standing handbook with that…
Revised Work Opportunity Tax Credit forms and representative declaration
ETA announced revised forms for Work Opportunity Tax Credit certification requests and clarified how employers authorize a third-party representative through ETA Form 9198. It asked states to make…
Displaying OSHA workplace safety posters
An employer asked whether OSHA posters may be placed behind other labor law posters on a wall hanger. OSHA said no: required notices must remain conspicuous, readily observable and uncovered by…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for July–September 2023
ETA published each state’s minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amount for major disasters declared from July 1 through September 30, 2023. State agencies were to use the attached figures…
WIOA adult and dislocated worker training options and service access
ETA explains the range of training and other services that WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs may offer. It asks workforce boards and agencies to review local needs and enrollment data,…
2023 workforce and labor market information grant deliverables
ETA tells state workforce agencies what labor market information products their program year 2023 grants must support. It describes required, encouraged, and allowable activities and lists…
2023 consolidated WIOA grant applications for outlying areas, Change 1
ETA adds instructions for American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to apply for a single consolidated 2023 WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth…
Breathing-air quality for supplied-air respirators
A manufacturer asked OSHA about Grade D breathing air, moisture limits and equipment configurations for supplied-air respirators. OSHA explained the different dew-point requirements for cylinders…
How a holiday affects FMLA leave used during a workweek
An employer asked how to count FMLA leave during a week with a holiday. WHD said a full workweek of leave counts as one week, including the holiday. For leave covering only part of the week, a…
ARPA grant opportunity for state UI technology modernization Rescinded
ETA offered states ARPA funding to modernize unemployment insurance technology through modular projects and participation in federal activities. Initial applications were due July 28, 2023. ETA…
Reopened ARPA grants for equitable access to unemployment benefits Rescinded
ETA temporarily reopened applications for state grants to improve access to unemployment benefits and offered some states additional allotments. Applications under this change were due July 24,…
Administrative funding for ongoing CARES Act program oversight
ETA offered $3.14 million in total administrative funding to state unemployment agencies for answering federal inquiries about ongoing CARES Act program activity. The opportunity covered work…
Expanded grants after UI Tiger Teams assessments Rescinded
ETA offered additional grants and a simplified application process to states taking part in unemployment insurance Tiger Teams assessments. The money was meant to support negotiated improvements in…
FY 2023 community project grant application instructions Unknown
ETA gave the named FY 2023 Community Project Funding recipients application instructions for their designated workforce grants. It listed eligible projects and amounts and required applications…
Enforcing workplace breast-milk pumping protections
WHD instructed investigators on reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom space for employees to pump breast milk during the first year after childbirth. It addresses break pay, coverage,…
Work-relatedness of an on-duty shooting after a traffic collision
An employer asked whether a driver shot after a traffic collision while traveling between service calls suffered a work-related injury. OSHA said the injury is work-related because the driver was…
Program Year 2023 SCSEP allotments and grant applications Rescinded
ETA gave Senior Community Service Employment Program state, territorial, and national grantees program year 2023 allotments and grant application instructions. It included authorized positions and…
2023 National Farmworker Jobs Program grants and youth funding
ETA gave National Farmworker Jobs Program career services, training, and housing grantees their program year 2023 funding instructions. Eligible grantees could also seek additional youth grants,…
Workforce program performance data validation, Change 2 Rescinded
ETA revised instructions and source-document tables for validating performance data reported by workforce grant recipients. The change addressed apprenticeship grants, Social Security number…
ETA-9130 training expenditure reporting and payment system transition
ETA clarifies how certain grant recipients report training expenditures on ETA-9130 financial reports. It also instructs recipients to file quarterly reports in the Payment Management System…
WIOA core program performance negotiations and sanctions, Change 1 Rescinded
ETA and the Education Department revised guidance on negotiating WIOA core program performance targets and assessing state performance. They clarified the statistical adjustment model and when…
Machine guards made from fiberglass reinforced plastic
A manufacturer asked about belt and shaft guard gaps on blower motors and whether fiberglass reinforced plastic is acceptable guard material. OSHA pointed to the applicable guarding rules and said a…
2023 QUEST Dislocated Worker Grant funding, Change 2
ETA announced 2023 funding for Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy, and Training Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants. It updated application and project requirements under TEGL 02-22,…
Enforcement: certified copies, administrative liens and levies
This Division notice explains the two tools DLSS uses to collect on unpaid wage orders once an employer hasn't paid within 60 days: filing a certified copy of the order as a court judgment, and…
Protections for workers handling arsenic-treated wood
A constituent asked OSHA to extend its inorganic arsenic standard to arsenic-treated wood. OSHA said it does not plan that rulemaking now, but the Hazard Communication standard still requires…
Immigration status doesn't affect a worker's wage-and-hour rights
This Advisory from the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division reaffirms that every worker in Massachusetts is protected by the state's wage, safety, discrimination, and child labor laws regardless…
ARPA funds for state UI fraud prevention and overpayment recovery Rescinded
ETA offered states up to $200 million in additional ARPA funding for identity verification, fraud prevention and recovery of unemployment benefit overpayments. It also described required and…
Program Year 2023 WIOA and Employment Service allotments
ETA gave states and outlying areas program year 2023 allotments for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth activities, the Employment Service, and Workforce Information Grants. It explains fund…
Wall deposits in exposure sampling analysis
OSHA said laboratories analyzing air samples should account for wall deposits when the applicable sampling method calls for them. Omitting those deposits can understate exposure, and any deviation…
Trade Adjustment Assistance phase-out questions and answers
ETA answers state questions about Trade Adjustment Assistance after its July 2022 phase-out began. The program cannot certify new worker-group petitions, but states must continue serving eligible…
DLS adopts the federal 'primary beneficiary' test for unpaid interns
The Attorney General's Fair Labor Division asked DLS whether the U.S. Department of Labor's newer approach to evaluating unpaid internships changes how Massachusetts' minimum wage law applies. DLS…
SCSEP technology grant application deadline extended, Change 1
ETA extended the application deadline for its 2022 Senior Community Service Employment Program technology implementation grants from April 17 to May 1, 2023. The change also clarifies how grantees…
Industrial Welfare Act: Applications, Exemptions, and Interpretations
This L&I administrative policy is the department's general reference on the Industrial Welfare Act (RCW 49.12), which governs conditions of labor — minor employment, meal and rest periods,…
Overtime
This L&I administrative policy explains Washington's overtime rules under the Minimum Wage Act: the requirement to pay 1.5x the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, how to calculate the…
Collective Bargaining Agreements, Employment Agreements, and Policies
This L&I administrative policy explains how collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and other written employment agreements interact with the Minimum Wage Act and Industrial Welfare Act: a CBA can…
Waiving of Rights Under Minimum Wage Act Prohibited and More Favorable Laws Allowed
This L&I administrative policy explains that employees cannot agree, individually or collectively, to be paid less than the Minimum Wage Act requires — such agreements are unlawful and provide no…
Minimum Hourly Wage
This L&I administrative policy explains Washington's minimum hourly wage: the annual CPI-based adjustment process, that 16- and 17-year-olds must be paid the full adult rate while minors under 16…
Focused electrode leak locator in hazardous locations
An equipment manufacturer asked whether its sewer inspection device may be used in a Class I, Division 1 location. OSHA said it could not decide compliance without examining the device and actual…
Program Year 2023 WIOA Native American program allotments
ETA gives WIOA Indian and Native American grantees program year 2023 Comprehensive Services and Supplemental Youth Services allotments. It explains application documents and how to request a higher…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for April–June 2023
ETA published each state’s minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amount for major disasters declared from April 1 through June 30, 2023. State agencies were to use the attached figures…
Fiscal year 2023 sequestration for mandatory UI programs Unknown
ETA told states which mandatory unemployment insurance programs were subject to fiscal year 2023 sequestration and which were exempt. The letter applied a 5.7 percent reduction to nonexempt programs…
Closeout process for expired ETA grants and agreements
ETA explains the standard closeout process for expired grants and cooperative agreements. It identifies the required cost and property forms and reminds recipients of report deadlines after a…
FY 2023 foreign labor certification grants, Change 1
ETA updates state workforce agency instructions for foreign labor certification activities affected by new H-2A regulations and announces FY 2023 grant allotments. It includes annual plan and…
Program Year 2022 dislocated worker fund reallotment
ETA adjusts Program Year 2022 WIOA dislocated worker funding after Ohio and Puerto Rico had more than 20 percent of their prior-year allotments unobligated. It recaptures a total of $4,957,289 from…
SCSEP technology implementation grants for 2022 Withdrawn
ETA offered about $9.5 million to state, territorial, and national Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees for performance system implementation costs. Change 1 extended its application…
FY 2023 WOTC remaining allotments and backlog awards, Change 1
ETA gives state workforce agencies the remaining FY 2023 Work Opportunity Tax Credit administration funds and explains how to apply. It also names 14 states selected for additional funding to reduce…
Federally funded services for ARPA unemployment grantees
ETA offered state unemployment agencies operational and technical help for their American Rescue Plan Act grant projects. The support could help with fraud prevention, access to benefits and timely…
Noise-canceling headphones and hearing protection
A requester asked whether noise-canceling headphones can replace earplugs. OSHA said employers must evaluate exposure and provide protection that meets the noise standard; consumer active…
WIOA Title I youth formula program guidance Withdrawn
ETA gave states, local workforce areas, and WIOA youth fund recipients guidance on program policies and services for young people. It addressed work experiences, youth participation, and priorities…
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.