State Labor Guidance
Free state 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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Traditional sabbatical leave generally falls outside Suastez, decided case-by-case
A company president asked DLSE how the Suastez decision and Interpretive Bulletin 86-3 apply to sabbatical leave. DLSE explained that sabbatical leave is generally not covered by Suastez, assuming it …
Workweek overtime and split-shift premium explained for an irregular retail schedule
A retail employer's assistant employee relations manager asked DLSE about overtime owed under a specific weekly work schedule. DLSE explained that IWC Order 7-80 requires overtime after 8 hours in a d…
Computing pro rata vacation pay for salespeople on a draw plus commissions
A trade association's executive director asked DLSE how vacation pay should be computed for salespeople paid a draw plus commissions, following the Suastez decision. DLSE explained that Suastez lets e…
Flexible time off (FTO) that mixes vacation, sick leave, and personal time is subject to Suastez
A manufacturers' association's general counsel asked DLSE to review a member employer's flexible time off (FTO) policy against the Suastez decision. DLSE concluded FTO usable at the employee's discret…
Floating holidays and general absence time count as vacation; deducting advanced vacation at termination
A law firm asked DLSE several questions under Interpretive Bulletin 86-3. DLSE stated that floating holidays and general absences count as vacation time under Suastez. Vacation time advanced before it…
A quitting employee generally must return to the workplace to collect final wages under Section 208
A retailer asked DLSE to issue an Interpretive Bulletin clarifying Labor Code Section 208's requirement that wages of a discharged employee be paid at the place of discharge, and that a quitting emplo…
IWC uniform-maintenance requirements are not preempted by the NLRA, even under a collective bargaining agreement
A defense contractor's senior counsel argued that the Industrial Welfare Commission Orders' requirement that an employer maintain uniforms it requires interferes with collective bargaining and is pree…
Car allowance is a business expense, not vacation pay, absent a specific agreement
A personnel coordinator asked DLSE whether a car allowance must be included when calculating accrued vacation pay owed to terminated employees. DLSE responded that, absent a specific agreement includi…
The ten-minute rest period must be 'net' of travel time, including in the cotton gin industry
A trade association executive raised a dispute with DLSE staff over the meaning of "net" rest time under Industrial Welfare Commission Order 8-80, Section 12, for the cotton gin industry. DLSE explain…
California IWC Orders apply to a business on federal National Forest land
A resort marina's regional accounting manager asked DLSE whether the business must comply with the California Industrial Welfare Commission Orders given its location on federal National Forest land. D…
Mechanics paid a 'flat rate hour' are not exempt from overtime as commissioned salespeople
An attorney asked DLSE to reconsider its position on overtime for auto mechanics paid on a "flat rate hour" basis, citing a municipal court decision that treated such mechanics as paid on commission a…
Vacation pay is wages: accrual caps, use-it-or-lose-it, and payout on separation
This Advisory from the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division explains that once an employer chooses to offer paid vacation, Massachusetts law treats it as wages: it vests as it is earned and must be …
24 hours of extra unpaid leave for school activities and elder/child medical appointments
This Advisory from the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division explains the "Small Necessities Leave Act," M.G.L. c. 149, s. 52D, which entitles eligible employees (those meeting the federal FMLA's 12-…
Tip pooling, service charges, and payroll-record changes under the 2004 Wage Act amendments
This Advisory from the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division explains "An Act Protecting the Wages and Tips of Certain Employees," signed into law June 10, 2004. It defines which workers (wait staff,…
The Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law's three-prong test, explained
This Advisory from the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division explains the three-prong "ABC" test under M.G.L. c. 149, s. 148B for classifying a worker as an independent contractor rather than an empl…
Alaska Employment Preference Information (explaining the 2015 determination)
This DOLWD information sheet explains the mechanics of the Employment Preference Determination effective July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017 under AS 36.10.150 and 8 AAC 30.064: which trade classificat…
Alaska Employment Preference Q&A: the 90 percent Alaska-hire requirement (2015)
This DOLWD question-and-answer sheet addresses contractor concerns about the Employment Preference Determination effective July 1, 2015, under AS 36.10: which ongoing public construction projects are …
Domestic violence leave: the 15-day job-protected leave for victims and family members
This Advisory from the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division explains M.G.L. c. 149, s. 52E, which requires employers with 50 or more Massachusetts employees to permit an employee who is (or whose fa…
Recouping an inadvertent wage overpayment: when a wage deduction is and isn't allowed
This Advisory from the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division addresses when an employer may recover an inadvertent wage overpayment -- caused by a clerical or mathematical error -- through payroll de…
Minimum pay for reporting to work
This Maine Bureau of Labor Standards guidance explains a new law (effective September 24, 2025) requiring employers to make a good-faith effort to tell employees before a scheduled shift is cancelled …
Salaried workers: exempt versus non-exempt overtime guideline
This Maine Bureau of Labor Standards guideline corrects a common misconception: paying an employee a salary does not, by itself, exempt them from overtime. Whether overtime is owed depends on the empl…
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.