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 2022 community project grant deadline extension, Change 1 Unknown
ETA extended the application deadline for named FY 2022 Community Project Funding recipients from February 28 to March 31, 2023. It left the other grant instructions in TEGL 03-22 unchanged. The…
Fiscal year 2023 RESEA grants and state plans
ETA gave state agencies fiscal year 2023 grant amounts and operating rules for Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment programs. States seeking funds had to submit a state plan by April 10,…
CPR refresher training frequency
OSHA said its guidance supports annual instructor-led CPR and AED retraining, but OSHA does not generally mandate that refresher frequency. Some standards do require covered employees to receive…
Reduced workdays for a chronic serious health condition
An employer asked whether employees normally required to work longer than eight-hour days may use FMLA leave to stop after eight hours because of a chronic serious health condition. WHD said…
Telework under the FLSA and FMLA
WHD explained that teleworkers must be paid for all hours worked, including short compensable rest breaks, and can receive protected breaks to pump breast milk. It also explains that telework hours…
Scalpel blade removal devices as bloodborne-pathogen controls
A healthcare requester asked whether single-handed scalpel blade removal devices and common forceps are engineering controls. OSHA said a single-handed removal device can be an engineering control…
Extended PUA administrative grant deadlines
ETA extended the deadline for state applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance administrative grants under UIPL No. 16-20, Change 7 to February 24, 2023. It also extended the deadline for…
Good jobs strategies for the workforce system Withdrawn
ETA encouraged state and local workforce boards and agencies to identify employers offering good jobs and build training pathways that reach underserved jobseekers. The letter describes job quality…
2023 federal employee pay rates for unemployment claim estimates
ETA pointed state unemployment agencies to 2023 federal General Schedule pay rates for 53 locality areas. When a federal agency did not respond promptly, states could use those rates with other…
Prevailing wage for truck drivers hauling barrier rail from a shared NDOT storage yard Unknown
The Nevada Department of Transportation asked whether prevailing wage applies to truck drivers hauling temporary median barrier rail between a BLM-owned, NDOT-leased storage yard used for multiple…
2023 Social Security and federal civilian pension adjustments
ETA told state unemployment agencies about 2023 cost of living increases in Social Security annuities and federal civilian pensions. Where state law requires a retirement income offset, agencies…
Military pension cost of living adjustments for 2023
ETA alerted state unemployment agencies to increases in military retired pay and survivor benefits effective December 1, 2022. Where state law reduces unemployment payments because of pensions,…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for January–March 2023
ETA published each state’s minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amount for major disasters declared from January 1 through March 31, 2023. State agencies were to use the attached table to…
Longer performance period for later equity grant awards
ETA changed the performance period for state unemployment equity grants awarded on or after December 21, 2022 to 27 months from each award date. The revised application instructions replaced…
Pell Grants and unemployment benefits during approved training, Change 2
ETA encourages state workforce and unemployment insurance agencies to tell jobseekers about possible Pell Grant and other student aid eligibility. It urges states to explain how claimants can seek…
Hazard communication for lithium-ion batteries and battery packs
A battery trade association asked how OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard applies to lithium-ion cells, batteries and packs. OSHA said manufacturers and importers must assess inherent hazards,…
Trade Adjustment Assistance case management funding, Change 1
ETA changes its earlier interpretation of Trade Act funding for workers covered by petitions filed on or after July 1, 2021. It says states may use TAA Training and Other Activities funds for…
FY 2023 initial Work Opportunity Tax Credit allotments
ETA gave state workforce agencies initial FY 2023 funds to administer the Work Opportunity Tax Credit under a continuing resolution through December 16, 2022. It listed state allotments and required…
Electronic transmission of bulk chemical labels
A manufacturer asked whether labels for bulk hazardous-material shipments may be sent electronically. OSHA said electronic platforms, links and QR codes may be used if workers have immediate…
Program Year 2022 National Farmworker Jobs Program youth grants
ETA offered up to $325,200 in additional Program Year 2022 youth funds to current National Farmworker Jobs Program grantees. The letter explains eligibility, use of funds, application materials, and…
Workforce grant performance data validation, Change 1 Rescinded
ETA gave state and other workforce grant recipients instructions for checking the accuracy and reliability of performance data and supporting records. Its attachments provided validation procedures…
Additional administrative funding for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
ETA offered state workforce agencies up to $61 million for administrative work on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program that earlier funding did not cover. States had to justify their need…
Labor Relations Rules and Procedures Under Colorado State Law
This Division notice covers labor-management relations under two Colorado laws: the Labor Peace Act (private-sector employees not covered by the federal NLRA, like agriculture, plus mass-transit…
Extension of CARES Act unemployment grant application deadline
ETA gave state workforce agencies more time to apply for grants under UIPL No. 28-20, Change 4 after the application system was temporarily unavailable. The new deadline was October 30, 2022; the…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for late 2022
ETA gave state workforce agencies a table of minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared in the final quarter of 2022. The amounts are based on half of each…
Fiscal year 2023 unemployment insurance resource planning targets Unknown
ETA gave state workforce agencies preliminary funding and staffing targets for administering unemployment insurance in fiscal year 2023. It explained the allocation method and supplied detailed…
Vacation payout on cessation of employment
Issued September 20, 2022 by the Wage and Hour Division of Maine's Bureau of Labor Standards, this interpretive guidance explains a 2022 amendment to 26 M.R.S. §626 that requires covered private…
Extended Tiger Team unemployment grant interest deadline
ETA extended the deadline for states to express interest in its unemployment insurance Tiger Team assessments and related grants to March 31, 2023. It also replaced the grant application…
WIOA core program performance accountability, Change 2 Rescinded
ETA and the Education Department updated performance accountability guidance for WIOA core programs, including reporting changes and clarifications. This version replaced TEGL 10-16, Change 1. A…
Program Year 2022 Indian and Native American WIOA allotments
ETA notified WIOA Section 166 Indian and Native American grantees of Program Year 2022 Comprehensive Services and Supplemental Youth Services allotments. It also explained how excess unspent…
Trade Adjustment Assistance data integrity, Change 1
ETA updates state agencies’ Trade Adjustment Assistance data integrity procedures for quarterly performance reports. The change clarifies reporting timelines, adds data consistency measures, and…
QUEST dislocated worker grant deadline extension, Change 1
ETA extended the deadline for eligible applicants to request Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy, and Training disaster recovery dislocated worker grants from August 4 to August 15, 2022. The base TEGL…
Funding for CARES Act unemployment reporting and overpayments
ETA offered states up to $225 million for reporting and overpayment detection and recovery under certain expired CARES Act unemployment programs. It separately described existing workload-based…
Fiscal year 2023 state unemployment quality service plans Unknown
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to prepare their fiscal year 2023 State Quality Service Plans, including priorities for payment timeliness, equitable access, fraud control, and program…
FY 2022 community project grant applications Unknown
ETA gave 173 named FY 2022 Community Project Funding recipients instructions for applying for their designated demonstration grants. It listed projects and awards and set out required application…
2022 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance improper payment reviews
ETA canceled the 2022 Benefit Accuracy Measurement paid claims peer reviews and directed states to take part in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance case reviews instead. Federal and state staff were to…
OMB approval of the unemployment resource justification model Unknown
ETA told state unemployment agencies that OMB had extended approval of the Resource Justification Model information collection without changing its reporting burden. The attached handbook and…
QUEST disaster recovery dislocated worker grants Withdrawn
ETA offered up to $140 million in QUEST disaster recovery grants, with awards up to $15 million, for projects serving workers affected by the pandemic. The letter detailed eligibility, applications,…
Program Year 2022 workforce and labor market information grants
ETA set Program Year 2022 requirements for state Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants. It described required databases, public information products, staff training, schedules, and other…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for mid-2022
ETA gave state workforce agencies a table of minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July through September 2022. The amounts are derived from half…
National Dislocated Worker Grant program guidance Rescinded
ETA described the two National Dislocated Worker Grant types, eligible applicants, uses of funds, application procedures, and reporting. It replaced TEGL 12-19 and its Change 1. TEGL 09-24 later…
Section 511 services for workers with disabilities
WHD gave investigators more detail on the documentation and timing of career counseling and other services required by section 511 for workers paid under FLSA section 14(c) certificates. It also…
FY 2022 Trade Adjustment Assistance allocations and reserve funds
ETA gave state agencies their initial FY 2022 Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities allocations. It explained the formula behind state amounts and how states could request…
FY 2022 Trade Adjustment Assistance grant applications
ETA instructed state agencies how to submit SF-424 applications through Grants.gov for FY 2022 Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities funds. The funds could cover training, case…
COVID-19 protections in retail workplaces Unknown
OSHA told a retail industry association that employers must continue complying with applicable safety standards and the General Duty Clause while using layered controls to address COVID-19 risks.…
Trade Adjustment Assistance operations after June 2022
ETA explains how state agencies should administer Trade Adjustment Assistance if Congress did not reauthorize the program before its June 30, 2022 authorization deadline. It says the Department…
Foreign labor certification grants for FY 2022–2024
ETA gave state workforce agencies program and financial guidance for foreign labor certification grants through FY 2024. It described state roles in recruitment and application processing, budgets,…
Program Year 2022 SCSEP allotments and grant plans Rescinded
ETA gave state, territorial, and national Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees their Program Year 2022 allotments and grant application instructions. It also addressed minority…
Chemicals associated with formaldehyde gas
An attorney asked what OSHA meant by chemicals associated with formaldehyde gas. OSHA said the term covers chemicals that can release the gas, such as substances heated during some work processes,…
Exit signs and ISO emergency exit symbols
An employer asked whether ISO emergency exit symbols and arrows could be used with OSHA compliant EXIT signs. OSHA said the symbols may be used in the circumstances described when the sign also…
Program Year 2022 farmworker grant planning Withdrawn
ETA gave National Farmworker Jobs Program career services, training, and housing grantees their Program Year 2022 allotments and application instructions. It also described performance target…
Revised fiscal year 2022 unemployment insurance funding targets Unknown
ETA revised the fiscal year 2022 funding and staffing targets for state unemployment insurance administration after Congress enacted a smaller amount than the preliminary budget request. The letter…
Payment of Wage
This Field Operations Manual chapter is DOLI's most detailed, covering how it enforces Virginia's Payment of Wage Law (§ 40.1-29) and Overtime Wage Act (§ 40.1-29.2): required pay-period frequency…
Program Year 2022 WIOA and Employment Service allotments
ETA gave states and outlying areas Program Year 2022 allotments for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs, the Employment Service, and workforce information grants. It explained funding…
FY 2022 WOTC remaining allotments and backlog awards, Change 2
ETA gave state workforce agencies the remaining FY 2022 Work Opportunity Tax Credit administration funds under the full-year appropriation. It also named 18 states selected for extra funding to…
2022 retirement annuity cost-of-living adjustments for UI systems
ETA supplied the 2022 cost-of-living adjustment figures for federal civilian retirement annuities so states could update unemployment benefit calculations. States whose laws reduce weekly…
H-2B workers in unapproved job classifications
WHD addressed H-2B employers who assign workers to job classifications omitted from their temporary employment certification. It explains how investigators calculate back wages using the applicable…
Extended performance period for unemployment equity grants
ETA extended the period for state unemployment insurance equity grant projects and said grant funds had to be obligated by March 31, 2024 and liquidated within 90 days after that. States with…
Paid Leave under HFWA through Dec. 31, 2020 (COVID-19 categories)
This Division notice details Colorado's Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) as it applied through December 31, 2020: employers had to give up to two weeks' paid leave for three…
Voting access through American Job Centers Rescinded
ETA shared nonpartisan voting information and resources with American Job Centers and state workforce systems. It described how centers could work with state election officials to provide voter…
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.