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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Procedures for Title XII unemployment trust fund advances and repayments Unknown
ETA explained how governors or authorized delegates request federal Title XII advances when state unemployment trust fund reserves cannot cover benefits, and how states make voluntary repayments.…
H-2A worker abandonment and termination reporting Withdrawn
ETA directed H-2A employers to notify the listed state workforce agency office in writing within two business days of a worker's termination or of discovering abandonment. It told state agencies to…
Workforce services for trafficking victims
ETA instructed One-Stop staff to contact the Justice Department hotline when they encounter possible trafficking victims, assess eligibility for Workforce Investment Act services, and coordinate…
School bus drivers on non-reimbursed charter trips are owed the statutory minimum wage
A school bus company asked what minimum wage applies to drivers on three kinds of charter trips: adult passengers on charters outside the school district, students on trips not approved by the…
Requirements for the 2002 Reed Act distribution
ETA explained the federal requirements for the $8 billion Reed Act distribution made to state unemployment trust fund accounts in March 2002. Its questions and answers cover state allocations,…
Funding 2002 temporary extended unemployment program administration Withdrawn
ETA told state workforce agencies how it would fund administrative costs for the 2002 Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program. States would receive an advance for third-quarter claims…
Residential roofing fall-protection interim policy Unknown
A member of Congress asked how OSHA’s residential roofing fall-protection policy differed from other construction work. OSHA described a then-current interim directive allowing specified…
Revised fiscal and reporting instructions for 2002 temporary extended benefits Withdrawn
ETA replaced Sections V and VI of UIPL 17-02's operating instructions for the 2002 Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program. States had to report administrative grants and costs on a…
Community and faith-based partners in workforce programs Rescinded
ETA asked state workforce agencies to broaden partnerships with grassroots community and faith-based organizations in workforce boards and One-Stop centers. It recommended board participation,…
Wearing hard hats with the bill to the rear
A safety coordinator asked if OSHA still requires hard hats to be worn with the bill forward. OSHA said yes, unless the manufacturer certifies that the hat, including a reversed liner if needed,…
Required client events and workday travel are paid; overnight flights extending the workday can be paid too
A company whose non-exempt employees provide product support to pharmaceutical and medical device clients asked whether three kinds of travel are compensable: required client social events, car…
Additional questions and answers on 2002 temporary extended benefits Withdrawn
ETA added questions and answers to UIPL 18-02 about implementing the 2002 Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program. The attachment addresses claims and appeals, eligibility and benefit…
No exempt-salary deduction for a full-day absence if the employer expects some duty
An employer group asked DLSE's Info Web Site whether an exempt employee who checks voicemail and e-mail for 10-15 minutes during an otherwise full-day vacation absence can still have that day's…
Shear connector enforcement policy in bridge steel erection Unknown
A state highway official asked whether shop-installed shear connectors on bridge girders could be treated as de minimis if workers used fall protection. OSHA said its then-current directive allowed…
September 11 filing relief for tax credit forms Rescinded
ETA explained temporary relief from the 21-day Form 8850 filing deadline after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It identified which employers could use the IRS's 120-day postponement, the shorter…
Counting AFDC and TANF months for tax credit eligibility Rescinded
ETA instructed state workforce agencies to count any AFDC or TANF benefits received during a calendar month as a full month when checking eligibility for specified Work Opportunity and…
Braille and tactile signs at workplace exits Unknown
An accessibility consultant asked whether ADA-compliant Braille and tactile signs may supplement OSHA exit signs. OSHA said its rules do not bar additional signs and it does not enforce ADA…
2002 special Reed Act distribution and state reporting Withdrawn
ETA explained how an $8 billion special Reed Act distribution was divided among state unemployment trust fund accounts in March 2002. It supplied each state's allocation, described the calculation…
State overtime law starts after 40 hours a week; MassHighway bid terms need separate review
Contractors bidding on MassHighway projects asked about a bid-specification requirement citing the federal Contract Work Hours Standards Act of 1962 that appeared to require time-and-a-half after…
Deadline and access rules for employee exposure records
An employee asked detailed questions about access to exposure records and OSHA citation practice. OSHA said the 15-day response period starts when the employer receives a request, air monitoring…
Venture capital operating company management rights Unknown
An investor asked whether negotiated rights in an operating company were management rights under the plan-assets regulation. The requester represented that the rights exceeded ordinary…
Release procedures for 2001 unemployment benefit accuracy data Withdrawn
ETA set dates for closing, checking, and publishing states’ calendar-year 2001 Benefit Accuracy Measurement data. It said states could decide whether to publish their own data, but must provide the…
Revised Welfare-to-Work questions and answers Rescinded
ETA issued a revised set of Welfare-to-Work questions and answers for state and local grantees following the 1999 program amendments. The attached guidance addresses eligibility, permitted services,…
Questions and answers on 2002 temporary extended unemployment benefits Withdrawn
ETA answered state agencies’ questions about implementing the 2002 Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program. The attachment covers when state agreements take effect, claimant eligibility…
Operating instructions for 2002 temporary extended unemployment benefits Withdrawn
ETA gave states operating instructions for the 2002 Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program. The letter described up to 13 weeks of federally financed benefits, with up to 13 more in…
Notifying federal agencies of unpaid tribal unemployment obligations Unknown
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies to notify both the IRS and Labor Department when an Indian tribe failed to make required payments within 90 days after a state delinquency notice. The IRS…
Approval and burden estimate for combined-wage reporting Withdrawn
ETA informed states that the ETA 586 report for combining employment and wages across states had OMB approval through December 2004. It estimated four hours to complete each report and said the…
Improving Trade Adjustment Assistance program management Rescinded
ETA told state workforce agencies to strengthen the follow-up and outcome management of Trade Adjustment Assistance and NAFTA-TAA programs after an Inspector General audit. It set fiscal year 2002…
PY 2002 workforce program allotments and planning estimates Rescinded
ETA announced program year 2002 funding for WIA youth, adult and dislocated worker programs, Wagner-Peyser employment services, reemployment services and workforce information grants. The letter…
Scaffold access frame rung width and spacing
A scaffold manufacturer asked whether its built-in tower access frames met OSHA requirements. OSHA said the submitted design lacked adequate tread width in places, misaligned steps, and created…
Exempt employee: salary reduction tied to reduced hours or a shortened workweek
An employer posed five detailed scenarios asking whether cutting an exempt employee's salary destroys the exemption, ranging from a companywide across-the-board pay cut to a scheme pairing a salary…
Forklift work platforms, seat belts, cylinders, and eyewash
A safety consultant asked several powered-truck questions. OSHA said a personnel platform on forklift forks is not an aerial lift, guardrails can remove the need for personal fall arrest on that…
Shared anchorage for window-cleaning lifeline and equipment tie-back
A window-cleaning equipment maker asked if a single anchorage may hold both a lifeline and an equipment tie-back. OSHA said its general PPE rule requires safe design and construction; a relevant…
Optional chartered-boat commuting to an island job site isn't compensable
A general contractor planning an island construction project considered chartering a boat to ferry workers and materials from the mainland daily and asked whether the boat travel time would be…
Fall protection and agency authority for ready-mix concrete trucks Unknown
A concrete trade group asked if general-industry fall rules cover workers on ready-mix trucks and whether DOT has exclusive authority. OSHA said its then-current policy did not cite such falls under…
Salary basis requirements for exempt employees under Labor Code §515
Responding to an inquiry from the Chairman of the Industrial Welfare Commission, Labor Commissioner Arthur Lujan set out DLSE's enforcement position on the "monthly salary" requirement for exempt…
The truck-driver overtime exemption doesn't reach a truck loader/dock worker
An employer asked whether its overtime exemption for truck drivers, M.G.L. c. 151, §1A(8), covers an employee working as a "truck loader/dock worker." DLS explained the state exemption tracks a…
Implementation plan for unemployment insurance data validation Withdrawn
ETA announced approval of a new unemployment insurance data validation program and gave states until July 31, 2003, to complete validation. It told states to update their own handbook components,…
Rest period requirements: consecutive minutes and scheduling flexibility
An attorney asked DLSE two questions about the IWC wage orders' rest period requirement: whether the "net" ten minutes per four-hour work period must be taken consecutively, and what circumstances…
Clarifications on WIA youth services and eligibility Rescinded
ETA clarified three WIA youth program issues: competitive selection of service providers, what counts as attending school, and how to document eligibility. Its attachments explain that the adult…
Hours worked: time spent traveling on an out-of-town business trip
A non-exempt employee asked whether he was entitled to pay for time spent flying to and from a mandatory out-of-town training class, after his employer's staff manual denied pay for travel outside…
Students in a residential school's vocational training programs aren't covered by the wage law
A private, for-profit residential school for children with emotional or behavioral problems asked whether two of its vocational training programs — a culinary-arts/food-service program and an…
Corrected 2002 military remuneration schedule for UCX claims Withdrawn
ETA corrected its military remuneration schedule for unemployment claims by former service members. States were to use the attached pay grade rates for first claims filed beginning with the first…
Interest rate on Title XII advances for calendar year 2002 Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies that the U.S. Treasury would charge 6.2718 percent interest on Title XII advances during calendar year 2002. The letter required no action from states. ETA now…
The state minimum wage law does not cover municipal employees
A resident forwarded a question through the Attorney General's Office asking whether the state minimum wage law applies to town employees. DLS explained that the Minimum Fair Wage Law's "occupation"…
Revising WIA negotiated performance levels Rescinded
ETA explained when a state could ask to revise its negotiated WIA performance goals after an unanticipated change in economic conditions, participant characteristics or services. A request had to…
Process safety management for chemical warehouses
An insurer asked whether a warehouse storing lab chemicals without mixing or processing them falls under process safety management. OSHA said storage alone can trigger the rule if a covered chemical…
Steel erection controlling contractor responsibilities
A member of Congress asked about a general contractor’s responsibilities under the steel-erection rule. OSHA listed duties such as providing strength and anchor-bolt notices, safe access and…
Hours worked: public transit employees who start and end shifts at different locations
A union and a regional transit district jointly asked whether bus and light-rail operators who are required to end a shift at a different location from where it began must be paid for the time spent…
Verification of group lockout and tagout across shifts
A utility asked whether a primary authorized worker must repeat isolation checks every day on a long job. OSHA said continuous participation in the lockout can avoid a new check each shift, and the…
Rest period provisions: the authorize-and-permit standard under every wage order
An employer's counsel asked DLSE to confirm that the rest-period language common to every IWC wage order -- not just the construction-specific Wage Order 16 -- requires an employer only to…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for January–March 2002 Withdrawn
ETA supplied a state-by-state table of average weekly unemployment benefits, calculated 50 percent amounts, and rounded minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits. The figures applied to…
A lower hourly rate for identical work in overtime hours is not permitted
An employer and union were considering letting regular full-time bargaining-unit employees pick up seasonal overtime work at the lower seasonal-employee rate ($8.50/hour) instead of their normal…
Casting workshop audition fees violate the ban on charging job applicants
A casting-workshop operator asked whether charging actors $25-$50 to attend a session where they audition briefly for a casting director (who in turn receives an honorarium from the organizer)…
BAM claimant questionnaire and job contact information Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies to keep collecting job contact information in Benefit Accuracy Measurement investigations, even if state law did not require claimants to look for work.…
Continued operation of TAA and NAFTA-TAA programs Rescinded
ETA told states to keep operating the TAA and NAFTA-TAA programs after Congress appropriated fiscal year 2002 funds while reauthorization remained unresolved. States were to request program…
Reed Act reimbursement for major software acquisitions Withdrawn
ETA clarified its Reed Act guidance by treating major software acquisitions as automatic data processing installations. It said software costing $1 million or more could be amortized with…
Workload and cost model inputs for 2002 Resource Justification Model Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies which workload figures and cost model values to enter in Resource Justification Model funding worksheets. The attachments give state base workloads for fiscal…
2001 military pension increases and unemployment benefit offsets Withdrawn
ETA reported military retired pay increases effective December 2001 and gave different percentages based on a member’s service or retirement date. It told states whose unemployment laws reduce…
State employees' overtime is governed by c. 149, not the minimum wage law
A state agency asked which statute governs overtime for its employees, what the statute of limitations is on a state employee's overtime claim, and whether the agency would face attorney's-fee and…
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.