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October 13, 2008    DOL Home > Compliance Assistance > Employment Law Guide   
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Employment Law Guide

--> Laws, Regulations, and Technical Assistance Services

Prepared by
the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy

 

Updated: February 2008

This Guide describes the statutes and regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that affect businesses and workers. The Guide is designed mainly for those needing "hands-on" information to develop wage, benefit, safety and health, and nondiscrimination policies for businesses in general industry.

Note: The federal minimum wage for covered, nonexempt employees increased to $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007. Most changes are related to the minimum wage increase, although small revisions were also made in Chapters B and D.

Also, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) was amended on January 28, 2008. Section 585 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 amends the FMLA to permit a “spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a “member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.” Additional information is available on the Wage and Hour Division’s Web site.

The February 2008 errata sheet (PDF) lists all the changes that have been made to various pages of the Employment Law Guide.

Table of Contents

  1. Wages and Hours of Work
  2. Safety and Health Standards
  3. Health Benefits and Retirement Standards
  4. Other Workplace Standards
  5. Work Authorization for Non-U.S. Citizens*
  6. Federal Contracts: Working Conditions
  7. Federal Contracts: Equal Opportunity
  8. Index of Acts by Specific Industry

* - Information on temporary non-immigrant registered nurses program (H-1C) is available from DOL's Employment and Trainining Administration. (Back to text)

 



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