Federal Labor Guidance
Free plain-English summaries of opinion letters, administrative policies, and interpretive notices from the U.S. Department of Labor, with the current status and the official source on every page.
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Machine Guarding
An ironworker-machine manufacturer asked OSHA to confirm that users would comply if they kept or replaced the factory guards. OSHA said an employer met its machine-guarding rule when the machine was…
The excessive space required on job sites to comply with the posting of various posters mandated by Federal law.
A contractors’ association proposed shrinking OSHA’s workplace safety poster to fit alongside other required notices at construction sites. OSHA said the proposed 5¼-by-7¾-inch copy did not comply;…
Guidelines for First Aid Training Programs.
Ontario’s labour ministry asked OSHA for its first-aid training guidelines and further suggestions. OSHA said inspectors could use the guidelines to evaluate training, and trainers could tailor…
Protection from hazards of bloodborne pathogens in dentistry
A senator relayed a dentist's concern that OSHA had singled out dental offices for inspections and bloodborne-disease safeguards. OSHA said its inspection program covered health care settings…
St. Mary’s Hospital employee plans as church plans
A Catholic hospital asked whether several employee benefit plans were church plans. EBSA said the Franciscan order’s control of hospital and plan administration met the church-plan definition on the…
Training requirements for post-emergency response operations
A contractors' group asked how OSHA would apply training rules to cleanup workers after a hazardous-materials emergency. OSHA said its enforcement instruction allowed a de minimis treatment for…
Fire brigade physical-capability guidance under 29 CFR 1910.156
A fire chief asked about compliance with OSHA's fire brigade rule. OSHA pointed to Appendix A's explanation that physical capability can be assessed through the required duties, performance tests,…
1990 budget law changes to unemployment compensation
ETA explained how the 1990 budget law changed federal and state unemployment programs. It described a new basis for distributing Reed Act funds, changes to when states could use those funds for…
Maintenance employees at hazardous-waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities
An employer asked whether maintenance employees entering its permitted hazardous-waste treatment, storage, and disposal areas for repairs, housekeeping, and material transfers were covered by OSHA's…
Crystalline silica warning labels under the Hazard Communication Standard
A mineral-products supplier asked whether crystalline silica warnings depended on the total silica content or only the respirable portion of a bulk sample. OSHA said products with more than 0.1%…
Restored UCFE coverage for temporary census workers
ETA rescinded Change 1 to UIPL 43-88 and explained that temporary Census Bureau service was again covered by UCFE. It instructed states to revisit claims denied or miscalculated under the prior…
Coverage of laboratories under OSHA's Laboratory Standard
An OSHA regional office asked which kinds of laboratories fell under the Laboratory Standard. OSHA said coverage turns on laboratory use and scale and whether work is part of or related to…
Warning garments for flagmen at construction sites
A warning-vest maker asked whether its garment met OSHA requirements for construction flaggers and workers exposed to traffic. OSHA said the vest appeared to meet the intent of the cited…
National Employees and Operators health trust as a MEWA
Tennessee regulators asked whether an employee and operator association health trust was a MEWA. EBSA said its benefits reached employees of unrelated employers, so ERISA did not bar state…
Use of self-luminous and electroluminescent exit signs
An exit-sign manufacturer asked whether its self-luminous and electroluminescent products met OSHA's then-current illumination rules. OSHA said signs installed and maintained as described could…
Request for OSHA approval of a commercial scuba diver training program
A member of Congress asked OSHA to approve a commercial scuba diver training and certification program. OSHA said it does not approve or certify specific programs, although the submitted outline…
1991 military remuneration schedule for UCX claims
ETA issued a revised federal military pay schedule for unemployment claims by former service members after the January 1991 pay increase. State agencies were to use the attached monthly, weekly, and…
Construction industry cooperation trust outside ERISA
A requester asked whether a construction industry cooperation trust was an ERISA welfare plan and whether its activities complied with labor-management law. EBSA said the trust provided no benefit…
Inspection procedures for hazardous-waste emergency response
A training adviser asked whether OSHA would check compliance with its hazardous-waste emergency response standard at every inspection. OSHA said it was revising its enforcement guidelines and…
Material safety data sheet distribution by retail hardware stores
A congressional office asked how retail hardware stores should distribute chemical safety sheets to employer customers. OSHA said retailers selling hazardous chemicals for workplace use must keep…
Group lockout and tagout for hazardous energy control
An attorney asked who could place locks or tags on isolation devices during group maintenance. OSHA said someone other than a worker doing the service could place them under specified group…
Applicability of underground-construction standards to sewer tunnel rehabilitation
An OSHA regional office asked whether underground-construction rules applied to rehabilitation of a sewer tunnel built decades earlier. OSHA said the work created underground-construction conditions…
Using a powered industrial truck as a loading worktable
A bottling company asked whether workers could load cases onto a pallet held at waist height on forklift forks. OSHA said that, to protect workers from a driverless truck moving with raised forks,…
Physical examinations for interior structural firefighters
A fire chief asked how often interior firefighters needed physical exams and whether employers had to follow a stricter NFPA respirator standard. OSHA said its rules required firefighters to be…
Decontamination of equipment used at hazardous-waste sites
A member of Congress relayed concerns that equipment was leaving hazardous-waste sites without proper decontamination. OSHA said 29 CFR 1910.120(k) required a decontamination plan before entry,…
Emergency-response interpretation in North Carolina state-plan jurisdiction
North Carolina's emergency management office asked federal OSHA about hazardous-waste emergency-response requirements. Federal OSHA said it concurred with the technical interpretations in a December…
Use of nonapproved and improperly used respirators
OSHA told its regional offices how to handle three respirator uses: a smoke-filtering device for fires, a dust and mist respirator claimed for mercury vapor, and a powered respirator with a drinking…
Guarding hazards on vertical food mixers
An engineer reported hazards from unguarded vertical mixers in bakeries and restaurants. OSHA said the cited machine-guarding rules covered point-of-operation and rotating-part hazards and that…
Hazardous-waste emergency-response coverage in general industry
A senator asked how OSHA's hazardous-waste operations rule applied to ordinary industrial workplaces. OSHA said section 1910.120(q) applied where hazardous-substance emergencies might occur, while…
Employee emergency alarm systems under 29 CFR 1910.165
An alarm-system maker asked how several parts of OSHA’s employee emergency alarm rule applied to its equipment. OSHA said workers must be able to perceive and understand alarms, emergency messages…
Disaster unemployment benefit amounts, January to March 1991
ETA supplied state average weekly benefit amounts to use when calculating disaster unemployment assistance for major disasters from January through March 1991. Its attachment listed each…
1991 federal civilian salary schedules for UCFE claims
ETA supplied revised annual federal civilian salary rates for state agencies processing unemployment claims by former federal employees. The rates were to help staff complete the UCFE claimant…
Emergency Title XII advance request fax procedures
This change to UIPL 3-91 gave governors and their delegates a fax route for urgent requests for federal unemployment loans or voluntary repayments. It said a fax or telegram needed prompt…
Florida blood banks insurance trust as a MEWA
A Florida blood banks association asked whether its group health trust escaped state insurance oversight under ERISA. EBSA said it covered workers of multiple employers and was a MEWA, so ERISA…
Employer payment for hepatitis B vaccine for nursing-home staff
Nursing-home representatives asked why employers had to pay for hepatitis B vaccination for workers exposed to blood or other infectious material. OSHA said its then-current interpretation required…
Sampling and laboratory analysis for benzidine congener dyes
An OSHA regional office asked how to collect and analyze samples for benzidine-related dyes and their metabolites. OSHA's technical center provided guidance on air and wipe filters, bulk standards,…
Laboratory Standard coverage for quality-control and environmental labs
A chemical manufacturer asked whether several quality-control and environmental laboratories were covered by OSHA's Laboratory Standard. OSHA said labs that support or control production generally…
Standards for coal barge unloading equipment
A testing laboratory asked which OSHA standards applied to a crane-supported coal unloader used at a power plant's barges. OSHA said the equipment fell under its longshoring standards, including the…
Laboratory Standard coverage for building-products testing
A building-products company asked whether its research and testing labs qualified for OSHA's Laboratory Standard. OSHA said it lacked enough facts for a definitive classification: research work…
Diversified Industrial Group collective bargaining exception
Three state insurance regulators asked whether a union-linked health trust could be regulated as a MEWA. Assuming its collective bargaining agreements were bona fide, EBSA said the trust fit the…
Oregon contractors health trust as a MEWA
A requester asked whether an Oregon contractors association health trust was a MEWA and an ERISA welfare or pension plan. EBSA separately considered whether it was fully insured. EBSA found a MEWA…
Joint Economic Total Trust as a MEWA
A requester asked whether the Joint Economic Total Trust was subject to New Jersey insurance oversight. EBSA found that its group benefits served employees of more than one employer, making it a…
Railway health services association as a MEWA
Oregon regulators asked whether a railway health association’s plan was a multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said the plan covered workers of separate employers and was not tied to a…
Laboratory Standard coverage for electric-utility testing labs
An electric utility asked whether its water-testing labs were covered by OSHA's Laboratory Standard. OSHA said testing process water for electricity production was quality control and generally…
Excavation inspections and soil classification by a competent person
An OSHA regional office asked what a competent person must do when classifying soil and inspecting excavations. OSHA said a competent person must inspect before work and as needed during a shift,…
Point-of-operation guarding on a wire terminal machine
A company asked whether a specific automated wire terminal machine needed point-of-operation guarding. OSHA said the submitted design appeared to make access difficult and included interlocks and a…
Use of insurer loss-control reports during OSHA inspections
An insurer asked whether OSHA's use of its safety reports would damage its relationship with policyholders. OSHA said inspectors could review employer records, including insurer reports, to identify…
Stop Loss Concepts health trust as a MEWA
A requester asked whether Texas insurance laws applied to Stop Loss Concepts' benefit trust. EBSA said it covered employees of multiple employers and was a MEWA, so ERISA allowed state regulation…
United Dairy Association benefit plan as a MEWA
A requester asked whether the United Dairy Association health plan was subject to Texas insurance oversight under ERISA. EBSA found that it covered employees of separate employers and was a multiple…
Who may inspect bakery ovens under 29 CFR 1910.263
A company asked whether its staff could be recognized as qualified to inspect ovens for compliance with a bakery-equipment rule. OSHA said representatives of the oven maker could qualify if…
Brett-Guard blade protection on hand-fed ripsaws
A machinery company asked whether a particular manually adjusted table-saw guard met OSHA’s hand-fed ripsaw requirements. OSHA said a guard providing protection equivalent to an automatically…
HAZWOPER coverage for uranium mill tailings cleanup
A cleanup contractor asked whether OSHA's hazardous-waste operations rule applied to a uranium mill tailings project. OSHA said the work was a government-mandated hazardous-substance cleanup, that…
HAZWOPER coverage for general workplaces with hazardous-substance emergencies
A senator asked how OSHA's hazardous-waste operations rule applied to general workplaces with possible chemical emergencies. OSHA said section 1910.120(q) governed emergency response there and that…
OSHA jurisdiction over odorant tanks at pipeline facilities
A gas-odorizing company asked whether OSHA regulated refitted propane tanks used to store odorants at pipeline facilities. OSHA said another federal agency's exercise of safety authority could…
Protective clothing for airport crash-rescue firefighters
An OSHA regional office asked whether firefighters could wear structural firefighting clothing during airport crash and rescue work. OSHA said clothing meeting its cited fire-brigade rule could be…
Evaluating workplace first-aid training programs
A safety consultant asked why a named first-aid course met one OSHA rule but not another's CPR requirement. OSHA said it was no longer approving individual courses in advance; inspectors would…
HAZWOPER coverage for general-industry emergency response
Safety consultants asked whether the full hazardous-waste operations standard applied to ordinary industrial workplaces with possible chemical emergencies. OSHA said section 1910.120(q) addressed…
Follow-up blood lead tests and medical removal thresholds
An OSHA regional office asked how follow-up blood lead testing interacted with two medical-removal triggers. OSHA said a result above 60 micrograms per 100 grams of whole blood required a follow-up…
Select Business Development Trust as a MEWA
A requester asked whether a small-employer benefit trust was a MEWA and fully insured. EBSA found that it covered workers of independent employers and was a MEWA. The trust said it was not fully…
When petroleum tank cleaning is covered by HAZWOPER
A petrochemical service company asked whether cleaning petroleum storage tanks at terminals and refineries was covered by OSHA's hazardous-waste operations rule. OSHA said coverage depended on…
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These are official interpretive documents from the U.S. Department of Labor: opinion letters answering questions from employers and workers, administrative policies, and interpretive notices. They show how the agency applies wage-and-hour and workplace law to real situations, but they are guidance, not statutes or court decisions, and the agency can supersede or withdraw them. Every page above shows the document's current status, when that status was last verified, and a link to the official source.