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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Anti-Retaliation
This Field Operations Manual chapter (labeled Chapter 11 in the text, filed as LEL-14) covers Virginia's anti-retaliation laws, Code of Virginia §§ 40.1-33.1 and 40.1-33.2, which bar firing or…
CAREER dislocated worker grant funding announcement Withdrawn
ETA offered up to $43 million in CAREER National Dislocated Worker Grants to connect people affected by the pandemic with work and expand digital service delivery. The letter described eligible…
Hazard communication for lithium batteries
Battery industry groups asked OSHA to assess lithium batteries before applying its hazard-communication rule. OSHA said manufacturers and importers classify hazards, including hazards in normal use…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for July to September 2021
ETA provided state unemployment agencies a table of minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July 1 through September 30, 2021. The amounts use half…
Trade Adjustment Assistance Reversion 2021 operating instructions
ETA gave state agencies operating instructions for the Reversion 2021 version of Trade Adjustment Assistance, covering workers in groups petitioning on or after July 1, 2021. It explained…
State grant compliance and benefit offsets under Families First
ETA asked states to document how they met conditions for emergency unemployment administration grants under the Families First law, using Form MA 8-7 by August 2, 2021. It also clarified the rules…
Program Year 2021 National Farmworker Jobs Program grants
ETA gave National Farmworker Jobs Program career services, training, and housing grantees Program Year 2021 allotments and application instructions. It required plan and budget documents through…
Short time compensation for businesses reopening after COVID-19
ETA explained how states could use short time compensation, also called work sharing, when businesses brought back employees with reduced hours after pandemic closures. Under a state approved plan,…
Personal locks in group lockout procedures
A worker asked OSHA about two group lockout arrangements for replacing a pump. OSHA rejected a setup in which only the supervisor locked the group box and kept a worker log, because each authorized…
Program Year 2021 Indian and Native American WIOA allotments
ETA gave WIOA Section 166 Indian and Native American grantees Program Year 2021 Comprehensive Services and Supplemental Youth Services allotments. It explained grant application documents and how…
Registered apprenticeships on WIOA training provider lists, Change 1
ETA clarified how registered apprenticeship programs can appear on WIOA eligible training provider lists and how states should handle their inclusion. It told states to review related policies and…
Registered apprenticeships as eligible training providers, Change 1
ETA clarified how registered apprenticeship programs can appear on WIOA eligible training provider lists and how states should handle their inclusion. It told states to review related policies and…
FY 2021 foreign labor certification state grants
ETA gave state workforce agencies FY 2021 foreign labor certification grant allocations and application instructions. It described state recruitment, job order, and housing inspection work, plus…
Program Year 2021 SCSEP allotments and grant plans Rescinded
ETA gave state, territorial, and national Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees Program Year 2021 allotments and application instructions. It directed grantees to HHS poverty…
Enforcement procedures for missing electronic injury and illness records Unknown
OSHA instructed inspectors to check whether employers had submitted required electronic injury and illness summaries. The memo said an employer should not be cited for a March 2 deadline miss caused…
Pandemic unemployment overpayment waivers and fraud penalties
ETA explained how states should handle overpayments in CARES Act unemployment programs, including when to assess fraud penalties and when recovery could be waived. It instructed states not to add…
Returning unemployment funds held by banks after suspicious activity
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to recover federally funded benefits that banks held after detecting suspicious activity, when several states had paid into the same account. States were to…
2021 benefit accuracy measurement reporting schedule Unknown
ETA set deadlines and procedures for state agencies to finish and reconcile 2021 Benefit Accuracy Measurement samples of paid and denied unemployment claims. The results supported the annual…
Minimum approach distance while installing portable grounds
A utility asked whether workers must keep the minimum approach distance while installing portable grounds after closing fixed grounding switches. OSHA said lines and equipment must still be treated…
Measuring background noise in audiometric testing rooms
An audiology company asked what sound-meter settings can be used to check background noise in rooms used for workplace hearing tests. OSHA said Z weighting, slow or equivalent-level time…
Fiscal 2021 state unemployment resource allocations Unknown
ETA gave state unemployment agencies their fiscal 2021 administrative funding allocations and instructions for planning, above base funding and supplemental budget requests. The attachment lists…
Program Year 2021 WIOA and Employment Service allotments
ETA gave states and outlying areas Program Year 2021 allotments for WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs, the Employment Service, and workforce information grants. It explained funding…
Trade Adjustment Assistance financial reporting alignment
ETA instructed state agencies how to align Trade Adjustment Assistance participant records with ETA-9130 financial reports. It addressed accrual accounting, expenditure categories, adjustments,…
Hands-on training in initial HAZWOPER courses
A requester asked whether computer-based or classroom HAZWOPER courses can omit hands-on practice. OSHA said initial training must include an actual hands-on component, including practice with…
Hazard classification of saturated wipes
A manufacturer asked how to classify cloth-like wipes saturated with hazardous liquid for workplace hazard communication. OSHA said the manufacturer or importer must classify the product based on…
Interim Enforcement Guidance for the 2020 Final Beryllium Standards Unknown
OSHA gave inspectors interim procedures for enforcing its 2020 beryllium rules in general industry, construction, and shipyards. The memo covers exposure assessment, controls, medical surveillance,…
SCSEP priority and participation limits after 2020 amendments
ETA updated Senior Community Service Employment Program guidance after 2020 changes to the Older Americans Act. Grantees must consider eligible people incarcerated within the prior five years, or…
Evidence for PAPR welding helmet protection factor
A welding employer asked whether OSHA approves powered-air respirators rated at an assigned protection factor of 1,000. OSHA said it does not test or certify them; employers need appropriate…
Identity verification in unemployment claims
ETA explained the procedures state unemployment agencies must follow when a claimant’s identity is questionable. Agencies must verify identity while applying claim determination and appeal…
Liquidated damages in pre-litigation settlements Rescinded
WHD’s 2021 bulletin instructed staff to seek liquidated damages in some pre-litigation FLSA settlements after consultation with the Solicitor’s Office. WHD rescinded it effective June 27, 2025, when…
American Rescue Plan changes to Extended Benefits
ETA explained how the American Rescue Plan extended full federal funding for certain Extended Benefits costs and coordinated Extended Benefits with Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. The…
Work Opportunity Tax Credit certification procedures Withdrawn
ETA gave state workforce agencies updated procedures for processing Work Opportunity Tax Credit certification requests, including backlogged requests. It replaced the older ETA Handbook 408…
Program Year 2020 dislocated worker fund reallotment
ETA adjusted Program Year 2020 WIOA dislocated worker funding after Kentucky, Nevada, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia had more than 20 percent of their prior-year allotments unobligated. It…
FY 2021 WOTC remaining allotments and backlog awards, Change 1 Withdrawn
ETA gave state workforce agencies the remaining FY 2021 Work Opportunity Tax Credit administration funds under the full-year appropriation. It also named 12 states selected for backlog awards and…
Labels on intermediate hazardous-chemical shipping packages
A shipper asked whether a third packaging layer around labeled chemical vials needs an OSHA hazard-communication label. OSHA said the layer is not an immediate container and generally needs no such…
Exposure limits and pharmaceuticals on safety data sheets
A requester asked which exposure limits belong on a safety data sheet and when pharmaceutical products qualify for a hazard-communication exemption. OSHA said action levels are optional supplemental…
American Rescue Plan relief for reimbursing employers
ETA instructed states on American Rescue Plan relief for state and local governments, certain nonprofits and federally recognized tribes that reimburse unemployment costs instead of paying…
American Rescue Plan extension of pandemic emergency benefits
ETA explained how the American Rescue Plan extended Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation through weeks ending on or before September 6, 2021. It also increased total benefits, eliminated an…
American Rescue Plan extensions of FPUC and MEUC
ETA explained that the American Rescue Plan extended Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation through weeks ending on or before September 6, 2021.…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance for April to June 2021
ETA gave state unemployment agencies a table of minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April 1 through June 30, 2021. The amounts use half of each…
Explosives standards for DOT non-explosive devices
A manufacturer asked whether OSHA’s explosives and process-safety rules apply to devices classified by DOT as outside the explosive class. OSHA said those two standards do not apply to articles or…
American Rescue Plan unemployment insurance provisions
ETA explained the American Rescue Plan’s unemployment provisions and gave state agencies instructions to implement them. The law extended several temporary pandemic benefit programs, with changes,…
Expanded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance eligibility
ETA added three COVID-19 reasons under which a claimant could self certify for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance: certain unsafe work situations, certain work in education, and reduced hours or…
Fall distance on fixed ladders with cages and platforms
A grain-equipment manufacturer asked whether its ladder cages, straps and landing platforms could satisfy the fixed-ladder fall-protection rule without a separate arrest system. OSHA said yes if the…
Supplemental guidance on 4/10 schedules: discipline-related absences and extra shifts
The Nevada Labor Commissioner issued supplemental guidance on 4/10-schedule (four 10-hour-day) overtime rules, addressing two situations left open by Advisory Opinion 2013-04. First, placing an…
Fiscal 2021 RESEA grant operating guidance
ETA gave state agencies operating guidance and projected funding for fiscal 2021 Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments grants. States seeking funds had to submit a plan and budget within…
Fiscal 2021 sequestration for mandatory unemployment programs Unknown
ETA instructed state agencies on a 5.7 percent sequestration reduction for nonexempt mandatory unemployment programs in fiscal 2021. It identified exempt programs and explained how reductions…
FY 2021 initial Trade Adjustment Assistance allocations Withdrawn
ETA gave state agencies their initial FY 2021 Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities allocations. It explained the formula behind state amounts and how states could request…
FY 2021 Trade Adjustment Assistance grant applications Withdrawn
ETA instructed state agencies how to submit SF-424 applications through Grants.gov for FY 2021 Trade Adjustment Assistance Training and Other Activities funds. These grants cover training, case…
FY 2021 RESEA grant funding and operating guidance
ETA set out the fiscal year 2021 funding limits and operating rules for state Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment grants. States seeking funding had to submit a RESEA state plan and…
Truck safety measures and owner-operator status Withdrawn
A motor carrier asked whether requiring truck safety measures counts as control over owner-operator drivers, and whether drivers who choose loads, supply trucks, and bear operating costs are…
Status of food-product distributors under the FLSA Withdrawn
A food manufacturer asked whether distributors who bought and resold its products were employees or independent contractors. Based on the described control over their operations and opportunity for…
Creative professional exemption for local journalists
Local news employers asked whether their journalists could qualify for the FLSA's creative or learned professional exemption. WHD said journalists at small or local outlets can qualify for the…
Staffing firms and the retail or service exemption
A staffing trade association asked whether firms that recruit and place temporary workers can be retail or service establishments for the FLSA's commissioned employee overtime exemption. WHD said a…
Additional pandemic UI identity verification and fraud funding
ETA offered state unemployment agencies additional funds to verify Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claimants’ identities, prevent fraud and recover overpayments in PUA and PEUC. It explained…
Overtime calculation for a tipped server and bartender
An employer asked how to calculate overtime for a worker who served tables, tended bar, received tips, and was paid service charges in one week. WHD worked through the stated 42-hour example and…
Tip pool for restaurant servers and hosts Withdrawn
A restaurant asked whether hosts who were paid the full minimum wage could share a traditional tip pool with servers for whom it claimed a tip credit. WHD could not conclude from the facts that the…
Seasonal amusement exemption and receipts test
Three organizations asked about the FLSA exemption for seasonal amusement or recreational establishments. WHD said an outdoor excursion operator and an event provider lacked qualifying…
Updated PUA rules under the Continued Assistance Act
ETA updated state instructions for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance after the Continued Assistance Act. The change extended the then current program, raised the maximum number of weeks, limited…
State staffing flexibility for unemployment administration
ETA explained which state unemployment administration tasks could use flexible staffing, including contractors, after emergency pandemic staffing rules expired in March 2021. It distinguished work…
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.