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 To petition for a significant guidance document to be created, modified, reconsidered, or rescinded, email the Department of Labor.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.
This opinion letter addressed the legality of a proposed 12-month installment plan for nonexempt school staff who work 9 months each year and perform varying amounts of overtime work. The letter concluded that, although monthly payments would adjust to account for the varying overtime work, the proposed plan would not comply with the FLSA because it would unreaonably delay the payment of all of the wages which have been earned by an employee in any pay period.
This letter responses to a request for approval of an alternate system to the "90-10" form in order to determine a commensurate wage.
This letter advised that a school district does not need to treat "layover time" in excess of 1 hour as compensable worktime, where bus drivers and driver aides park buses at transportation facilities located near shopping centers and restaurants. Under these circumstances, it appears that the employees may be able to use their layover time in excess of 1 hour effectively for their personal business.
This letter advised that a school district does not need to treat time spent by bus driver employees attending a mandatory 20-hour driver recertification course as compensable worktime under the FLSA, where state law requires the drivers to attend this course every 3 years as a prerequisite for retaining their license to operate school buses.
This opinion letter gave general guidance on the permissibility of tip pool arrangements under the FLSA. In relevant part, the letter advised that "hosts" and "hostesses" may qualify as tipped employees in some circumstances, and that WHD generally considers contributions to a mandatory tip pool that exceed 15 percent of a tipped employee's tips to be unlawful.
This letter advised that a municipal government employer must include "State educational incentive supplements" paid to firefighters and law enforcement personnel who fulfill certain educational or training requirements in the employee's regular rate of pay. The letter advised that it is immaterial that the State, and not the municipal governments, is the source of funds for the supplemental payments.
Elimination of SF-99 Reporting Requirement Under Walsh-Healey
This letter advised that participants in a rehabilitation work program may be employees individually covered by the FLSA. Moreover, the letter advised that any public financing in support of "board, lodging, and facilities" furnished to program participants must be subtracted from the cost of providing such facilities where the empoyer claims a credit towards its minimum wage obligation under section 3(m) of the Act.
This letter advises that "per diem" payments intended as reimbursement for actual or reasonably approximate transportation and living expenses incurred by an employee while traveling on behalf of the employer may be excluded from the employee's regular rate of pay. However, the letter cautions that any payments to an employee which are disproportionately large or which obviously exceed the employee's actual (or reasonably approximate) expenses must be included in the employee's regular rate of pay.
This letter advises that time spent by employees visiting their private physician outside of normal working hours would not be considered compensable hours of work even if they are instructed to do so by their employer as a condition for return to work after an absence due to illness.
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