Friday, November 8, 2019: USDOL Issued Opinion Letters to Enhance Military Service Members’ Ability to Succeed in the Civilian Workforce
The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) announced the release of two new Opinion Letters. The first Letter, issued by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), addresses the applicability of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Davis Bacon Act (DBA), the Service Contract Act (SCA), and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) to the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) SkillBridge program. SkillBridge is a DOD job-training program that permits service members of any rank to use up to their last 180 days of service to work and learn with a participating employer that best matches that applicant’s job training and work experience.
After carefully examining the relevant statutes, case law, regulations, and guidance, as well as the facts presented, the Department concludes in the letter, FLSA2019-4, that SkillBridge participants who follow its requirements and provide meaningful on-the-job training are not subject to the at-issue laws. These participants are thus not subject to the FLSA, DBA, or CWHSSA, and are thus exempt from the SCA.
The second Letter, OFCCP2020-1, issued by the Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), addresses whether employers that participate in SkillBridge are subject to OFCCP’s jurisdiction. In the Opinion Letter, the Department concludes that employer participation in the SkillBridge program is not by itself sufficient to render an employer a Federal Government contractor subject to OFCCP’s jurisdiction.
“The opinion letter issued today by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is another step toward ensuring transparency and certainty to stakeholders and contractors about OFCCP’s jurisdiction,” said OFCCP Director Craig E. Leen. “The SkillBridge program provides necessary support and training and its indispensable role in helping service members transition to civilian life must be free of unwarranted regulatory restraints.”
This marks the 50th opinion letter issued by WHD and the 4th for OFCCP during this administration.