Resources

Find information to answer your questions about SkillBridge.

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Military Members

Industry Employers

Education Centers & Commanders

Other General Guidance

Department of Labor Opinions

Would U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) SkillBridge program be subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act (SCA), and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA)?

  • Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) concludes that "active duty Service members who participate in the SkillBridge program would not be covered by the FLSA, the Davis-Bacon Act, the SCA, and the CWHSSA. As emphasized throughout, these aforementioned statutes were not intended to prevent potential businesses like yours from participating in the SkillBridge program by providing on-the-job training opportunities and instruction at a place and in a manner which would most benefit Service members who will soon be leaving the military. To find otherwise would be a disservice to those who serve our country in uniform."
    • "This letter, FLSA2019-14, is an official interpretation by the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division for purposes of the Portal-to-Portal Act. See 29 U.S.C. § 259. This interpretation may be relied upon in accordance with section 10 of the Portal-to-Portal Act, notwithstanding that after any such act or omission in the course of such reliance, the interpretation is "modified or rescinded or is determined by judicial authority to be invalid or of no legal effect."
  • Department of Labor Opinion Letter: Jurisdictional inquiry concerning whether businesses participating in the Department of Defense’s SkillBridge Program constitute federal contractors for the purposes of Executive Order 11246, as amended (E.O. 11246); Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 503), 29 U.S.C. § 793; and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended (VEVRAA), 38 U.S.C. § 4212.
    • "As a cooperative agreement is a statutorily defined legal instrument separate from that of a procurement contract, participation in the SkillBridge Program is not sufficient by itself to render an employer or industry participant a covered federal contractor subject to E.O. 11246, Section 503, or VEVRAA. See 31 U.S.C. §§ 6303-6305; Partridge, 141 F.3d at 924-25 (holding that OFCCP regulations do "not apply to all agreements between the federal government and third parties" due in part to the separate statutory definitions of a contract, a grant, and a cooperative agreement embodied in the Grant Act)."

Military Transition Assistance

Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (COOL) Sites

Department of Defense Sites

SkillBridge programs are deemed compliant with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

All SkillBridge participants should also be familiar with the DOD Standards of Conduct Office (SOCO) guidance for seeking employment and gift acceptance (available at https://dodsoco.ogc.osd.mil/) and adhere to Service specific ethics standards. For ethics related questions, he or she should consult with his or her command’s designated ethics counselor, contact a Regional Legal Service Office (RLSO) legal assistance attorney, or refer to his or her Office of General Counsel (OGC) for guidance.

Updated: October 22, 2021