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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Manufacturer responsibility for material safety data sheet accuracy
An employer questioned whether a chemical supplier's material safety data sheet accurately listed hazards and protective equipment. OSHA said manufacturers and importers were responsible for the…
Estate claim to Nordstrom profit-sharing benefits
A retirement plan asked whether a Washington probate order could assign part of a participant’s benefit to his deceased spouse’s estate. EBSA applied the analysis in Advisory Opinion 1990-46A and…
Estate claim to Nordstrom self-employed retirement benefits
A retirement plan trustee asked whether Washington community property law let a deceased spouse's estate receive part of a participant's benefits. EBSA said the probate order arose from a probate…
Sisters of St. Benedict retirement plan as church plan
A Benedictine religious order asked whether its retirement plan for employees of affiliated institutions was a church plan. EBSA found the institutions controlled by or associated with the Catholic…
Training hazardous-materials responders for their assigned duties
A fire department asked OSHA to accredit its hazardous-materials training and whether response teams needed an asbestos course. OSHA said its proposed accreditation program was not accepting…
Authority to change OSHA citations at informal conferences
An employer asked what an OSHA representative could change during an informal settlement conference. OSHA said area directors could adjust abatement dates, violation classifications, penalties,…
Hazard communication for consumer products used at work
A safety software provider asked how OSHA treated consumer products used commercially. OSHA said the Hazard Communication Standard applied when employees' exposure was more frequent or longer than…
HAZWOPER training for employees in uncontaminated support areas
A cleanup contractor asked whether staff working only in a hazardous-waste site's support zone needed HAZWOPER training. OSHA said the standard could cover the entire cleanup area, but workers…
Drug-free workplace certifications for state UI grants
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to apply the revised federal drug-free workplace certification process to their grants. A state was to keep the original statewide certification in the…
Agriculture Producers benefit trust as a MEWA
A requester asked whether Texas could require an agricultural employers' benefit trust to obtain a certificate of authority. EBSA found that the trust served workers of separate employers and was a…
West Indies H-2A worker health and savings programs
The request asked whether health insurance and payroll savings programs for West Indian H-2A farmworkers were ERISA plans. EBSA said the health program was not one ERISA welfare plan because the…
Illinois Members and Clerks Trust as a MEWA
The request asked whether the Illinois Members and Clerks Trust was an ERISA plan and a MEWA. EBSA found it served employees of separate employers and was a MEWA, so ERISA did not prevent state…
Members and Clerks Group Insurance Trust as a MEWA
The request asked whether the Members and Clerks Group Insurance Trust could claim ERISA protection from state regulation. EBSA found that it provided benefits to workers of separate employers and…
HAZWOPER response duties in a laboratory setting
A research center asked which hazardous-waste emergency-response training rules applied to its laboratory. OSHA said there were too few facts for a definitive answer: incidental spills outside a…
Meaning of immediate, incidental and uncontrolled releases under HAZWOPER
A consultant asked OSHA to clarify emergency-response terms in its hazardous-waste rule. OSHA explained the immediate release area, uncontrolled and incidental releases, and when maintenance workers…
OSHA and FAA jurisdiction over airline ground-crew hazards
A senator asked whether OSHA could inspect and cite airline ground-crew hazards where the FAA also regulated aircraft operations. OSHA said an FAA-approved maintenance or operations manual could…
Who pays for hepatitis B vaccine screening tests
A nursing-home association asked who had to pay for a hepatitis B immunity test before workers received an employer-funded vaccine. OSHA said employers did not have to pay for a test a worker chose…
Hazard determination for hydrotreated re-refined oils
A lubricant maker asked whether re-refined oil could be treated as noncarcinogenic because a cited research review had not studied its process. OSHA said that omission did not establish safety; the…
OSHA jurisdiction over public-school radial arm saw injuries
An attorney asked whether OSHA's radial-arm-saw guarding standards applied to an injury involving a public vocational-school student. OSHA said it had saw standards but lacked jurisdiction over…
Hazard labels on outer shipping containers
A federal distribution center asked whether OSHA required hazard labels on outer shipping containers. OSHA said an outer package normally did not need its own warning if it merely held a separately…
First-responder versus technician training for hazardous releases
A turnpike operator asked whether an eight-hour first-responder course was enough for workers who might plug leaking fuel tanks. OSHA said plugging or patching a release was an aggressive technician…
Construction and Service Industry Trust as a MEWA
Texas regulators asked whether a construction and service industry health trust could avoid a state insurance certificate under ERISA. EBSA found that the trust covered employees of separate…
Governor requests for Title XII unemployment advances
ETA set procedures for governors to request federal loans when a state's unemployment fund could not meet benefit payments. A request had to cover a three-month period with a separate amount for…
Lockout and tagout during corrugated-metal production
An OSHA regional office asked how lockout rules applied to servicing during normal production in the corrugated-metal industry. OSHA said minor servicing could fall outside the lockout standard…
When minor chemical spills are incidental rather than emergencies
An attorney argued that a client's spills could be handled by nearby workers and therefore fell outside HAZWOPER emergency response. OSHA said nuisance or minor spills without immediate danger were…
Independent Distributors health plan as a MEWA
The request asked whether the Independent Distributors of America health plan was a MEWA and could be regulated by the state. EBSA found that it served workers of separate employers, making it a…
United Health Care Benefits Trust as a MEWA in New Jersey
The request asked whether the United Health Care Benefits Trust could avoid state insurance oversight under ERISA. EBSA found that the trust covered workers of separate employers and was a MEWA, so…
Disaster unemployment benefit amounts, October to December 1990
ETA supplied state average weekly benefit amounts to use when calculating disaster unemployment assistance for major disasters from October through December 1990. Its attachment listed each…
United Health Care Benefits Trust as a MEWA in Texas
The request asked whether the United Health Care Benefits Trust was a MEWA and whether ERISA barred state insurance rules. EBSA found that the trust covered employees of separate employers and was a…
Greater Lafayette Chamber medical trust as a MEWA
The request asked whether a chamber of commerce medical trust was subject to the state’s unauthorized-insurers law. EBSA found that the trust provided benefits for employees of separate employers…
Texas Panhandle SelectCare program as a MEWA
Texas regulators asked whether a medical group’s SelectCare program for small employers was a MEWA and whether the state could require an insurance certificate. EBSA found that the program served…
New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association health plan as a MEWA
The request asked whether a licensed beverage association’s health plan could avoid state insurance oversight under ERISA. EBSA found that its benefits reached employees of separate employers,…
Southern pine scaffold plank grading designations
OSHA relayed the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau's description of Dense Industrial 72 and Dense Industrial 65 scaffold plank designations. The bureau said the designations referred to wood whose…
Full-time plant contractors and HAZWOPER cleanup rules
A plant operator asked whether contractors routinely assigned to its facility could follow HAZWOPER's workplace-employee cleanup provisions. OSHA said full-time contract personnel may use those…
Petrochemical inspection program and onsite contractors
OSHA clarified how its petrochemical inspection program selected firms and onsite contractors. It told inspectors to focus on contractors whose work could cause catastrophic events, including…
Texas homes for the aging medical trust as a MEWA
The request asked whether a homes for the aging association’s medical trust was a MEWA and whether a state insurance certificate could be required. EBSA found the trust covered employees of separate…
Electrical work coverage and written hazard communication plans
A consultant asked which safety standards govern painting and electrical work, and whether a written hazard communication plan must always be kept at a jobsite. OSHA said maintenance generally fell…
Electrical work under lockout and tagout standards
An electrical service company asked whether OSHA's hazardous-energy lockout/tagout standard covered its electrical work. OSHA said that standard did not cover electrical hazards from work on or near…
Safety data sheet duties of hardware distributors
A hardware trade group asked how distributors should provide material safety data sheets to business customers and workers. OSHA said commercial distributors must supply sheets with initial…
Machine guarding for drill presses and lathes
A laboratory asked about point-of-operation guards for drill presses and lathes. OSHA said its machine guarding rule applies to both machines and requires methods that protect workers from operating…
Hazard information for carcinogenic residues in mixtures
A requester asked whether a material safety data sheet must address a carcinogenic residue present below 0.1% in a reacted mixture. OSHA said the mixture's sheet generally need not include the…
When quality control laboratories fall under the laboratory standard
A manufacturer asked which of its laboratories were covered by OSHA's laboratory standard. OSHA said coverage depends on whether the work meets the rule's definitions of laboratory scale and…
OSHA does not certify material safety data sheets
A manufacturer asked OSHA to approve safety data sheets for three windshield washer products. OSHA said it does not review, approve, or certify such sheets; manufacturers and importers are…
Training for workers in hazardous waste site clean zones
A worker safety fund asked how to decide whether cleanup workers at a hazardous waste site needed HAZWOPER training. OSHA said employers must characterize site hazards and keep that assessment…
International Health Care Benefits Trust as a MEWA
The request asked whether an independent farmers and self-employed association’s health trust was a MEWA. EBSA found that the trust served employees of independent employers and was a MEWA, allowing…
Ionizing radiation standards and radon in workplaces
A radon scientists' association asked whether OSHA's ionizing radiation rule applied across industries. OSHA said the general industry rule applied to workplaces except specified sectors and places…
Continuous fall protection while climbing utility poles
A consultant asked OSHA to clarify fall protection for workers climbing poles. OSHA said workers at an elevated position with a serious fall hazard must be protected at all times, including while…
Proposed seat belt rule and railroad signal workers
A railroad union asked whether OSHA's proposed vehicle occupant rule would affect its members. OSHA said the proposal excluded vehicles running exclusively on rails, which remained under Federal…
Overload limiters used as upper stops on chain hoists
A regional office asked whether a chain hoist's overload limiting clutch could also act as an upper travel stop. OSHA said the cited hoist standards required a top stop and prohibited using the…
Digital ohmmeter for testing blasting circuits
A regional office asked whether a specific digital ohmmeter could test blasting circuits. OSHA said its general industry rule allowed a purpose-designed digital ohmmeter and reported that the model…
Employment Division v. Smith and unemployment eligibility
ETA explained the Supreme Court's 1990 Smith decision to state unemployment agencies. It said the Free Exercise Clause permitted Oregon to deny benefits to workers dismissed for illegal peyote use…
Wire rope diameter for perimeter guardrails
An OSHA official discussed proposed wire rope guardrail requirements and the agency's then-current steel erection position. The memo said 1/4-inch toprails were proposed for general fall protection,…
When recapping needles with a one-hand scoop is acceptable
A regional office asked whether healthcare workers could recap needles with a one-hand scoop. OSHA said routine recapping was inappropriate and used needles should go into sharps containers. Where…
Central safety sheet inventory for hardware retailers
A hardware trade group proposed a central safety sheet inventory with phone, computer, fax, and mail delivery. OSHA said computer or fax delivery could work if workers had unimpeded access to a…
Kansas independent bankers benefit trust as a MEWA
Kansas regulators asked whether an independent bankers association benefit trust could claim ERISA protection from state insurance rules. EBSA found that the trust served workers of separate…
Chemical hygiene plan within existing workplace manuals
A pipeline company asked whether it could include its chemical hygiene plan in existing hazard communication and other manuals. OSHA said that was sufficient if all required information was covered,…
Respirators for coke oven emissions
A regional office asked whether a particular disposable dust and mist respirator could protect coke oven workers. OSHA said the cited rule allowed NIOSH-approved dust and mist respirators except…
Cold DOP aerosol testing of vacuum HEPA filters
OSHA answered whether vacuum HEPA filters could be certified using cold DOP aerosol. It said cold aerosol has a broader particle size distribution than the thermally generated test aerosol and was…
HAZWOPER training when hazardous waste exposure is unlikely
An attorney asked whether people entering a hazardous waste site without expected hazard exposure needed HAZWOPER training. OSHA said its training requirements did not apply to employees with no…
Kansas Dental Association benefit trust as a MEWA
The request asked whether the dental association’s benefit trust could avoid state insurance regulation under ERISA. EBSA found that it served workers of separate employers and was a MEWA, so state…
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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.