To provide Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) grant award recipients and stakeholders with information about how a temporary suspension of Federal Government services impacts the execution of ETA and OCTAE funded programs and services.  

To advise states of sequestration rules for FY 2026 to ensure State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) apply these rules to mandatory UI programs.

This Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) outlines the priorities, modification requirements, submission process, and deadline for the required modification of the WIOA Unified and Combined State Plans (State Plans) for PY 2026 and PY 2027, in accordance with Sections 102 and 103 of WIOA.

The purpose of this Training and Employment Notice (TEN) is to announce that the U.S. Department of Labor’s (Department) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) published a final rule, Wagner-Peyser Act Staffing, Delay of Merit Staffing Compliance Date (91 FR 2486, January 21, 2026), which delays by one year the date by which State grantees must comply with the regulatory requirements in the 2023 Wagner-Peyser Act Staffing Final Rule for States to use State merit staff to deliver services in the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service (ES). The delay applies only to the State merit staffing requirement and does not modify other provisions adopted in the 2023 Wagner-Peyser Act Staffing Final Rule.

To ensure State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) are aware of the social security survivors and old age retirement annuities and the Federal civilian pensions annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increased for calendar year (CY) 2026.

To ensure states are aware of the Schedule of Remuneration for the UCX program that reflects the military pay increase effective January 1, 2026.

To transmit the subject computation for State Workforce Agency usage in computing minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) amounts for all major disasters declared from January 1 – March 31, 2026 (second quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2026).

To ensure states are aware of the locality-based salary rates for certain Federalcivilian employees.

To provide Employment and Training Administration (ETA) grant and cooperative agreement recipients (recipients) with information regarding the Payment Management System’s (PMS) mandatory payment request justification, ETA’s review and approval of payment request justifications, as well as to provide examples of acceptable payment request justifications.

To ensure State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) are aware of the Federal military retired pay annual COLA provided by the Department of Defense.