Guidance Search
The Department of Labor provides this guidance search tool as a single, searchable location where users may search for guidance issued by any of the Department’s agencies, including significant guidance documents under Executive Order 12866. Individual guidance documents are maintained on the various agency websites, and if you know what agency you are looking for, you may also find guidance by navigating directly to that agency’s website. The Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Register, which are not maintained by the Department, also include some of the Department’s interpretations of law and similar material.
The Department and its agencies issue guidance to provide clarifying information and technical assistance to the public on existing statutory and regulatory rights and obligations, inform the regulated community about best practices, and provide other useful information. The contents of these documents do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way, except as authorized by law or incorporated into a contract, cooperative agreement, or grant.
Members of the public may petition the Department to modify or withdraw specific guidance documents. To petition for a significant guidance document to be created, modified, reconsidered, or rescinded, email the Department of Labor.
Petitions to Modify or Withdraw a DOL guidance document may also be submitted by mail at the address below. Petitions should identify the specific guidance document by name and include your reason(s) for requesting withdrawal or modification.
U.S. Department of Labor
Office of the Executive Secretariat
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210
Search Tips
- If you are searching using an acronym, try a second search with the acronym spelled out. For example, if you are searching for guidance related to the Davis-Bacon Act, try searching "Davis-Bacon Act" as well as "DBA".
- For more specific results, use quotation marks around phrases.
- For more general results, remove quotation marks to search for each word individually. For example, minimum wage will return all documents that have either the word minimum or the word wage in the description, while “minimum wage” will limit results to those containing that phrase.
Whether certain aspects of a proposed plan for utilizing “volunteer” firefighters on a regular basis in a municipal fire department in a rural town would comply with the FLSA. Aspects discussed include scheduling of 24-hour shifts, the compensability of sleep time, and payment of different rates for different work.
This letter provides guidance on the employer's failure to notify the employee of his or her FMLA eligibility status.
Whether an employee who performs administratively exempt work for his employer’s customers would be exempt, notwithstanding the fact that the employee could be viewed as producing the administrative services his employer is in business to provide.
This letter provides guidance on using FMLA leave intermittently to bond with the child.
This letter provides guidance on designating Worker's Compensation leave as FMLA leave, a well as the FMLA Poster requirements.
Whether an individual may be considered an uncompensated volunteer when the individual is otherwise employed by the same public agency to perform the same type of services as those for which the individual proposes to volunteer.
This letter provides guidance on the employee notice requirements for unforeseeable leave.
Whether a "special detail" exception pursuant to section 7(p)(1) of the FLSA applies in a scenario in which law enforcement employees of a public agency voluntarily provide extra off duty contractual security services to separate agency in the same city.
Whether section 3(o) of the FLSA applies to the putting on, taking off, or washing of the protective safety equipment typically worn in the meat packing industry, such as mesh aprons, plastic belly guards, mesh sleeves or plastic arm guards,wrist wraps, mesh gloves, rubber gloves, polar sleeves, rubber boots, shin guards, and weight belts.
Whether a career firefighter/paramedic employee can volunteer to provide similar services to local volunteer fire departments, which are part of the a county's integrated fire service, without having the volunteer time count as compensable hours worked under the FLSA.
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