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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Chest X-ray retention under employee medical records rule
A hospital asked which employee chest X-rays must be retained under OSHA's medical records rule and whether films may be microfilmed. OSHA said the rule covers workers with qualifying hazardous…
Hazard communication and independent contractors in beauty salons
A member of Congress asked whether a salon with workers called independent contractors had to follow OSHA's hazard communication rule. OSHA said labels and contracts alone do not settle worker…
1989 budget acts and federal unemployment tax wages
ETA informed state unemployment agencies about 1989 federal-law changes affecting which employer payments counted as wages under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. The attached explanation covers…
Industrial packaging machinery and electrical listing requirements
A packaging company asked whether industrial machines needed a testing laboratory listing. OSHA explained the rule's listed and labeled equipment definitions and said a custom-made machine for a…
Qualifications to inspect bakery ovens annually
A bakery oven specialist asked whether his background qualified him to perform annual inspections under a rule naming oven manufacturers' representatives. OSHA said the experience he described would…
ERISA exclusion for a California voluntary disability plan
An employer asked whether its California voluntary disability plan was outside ERISA Title I. EBSA said the plan, as then operated solely to provide state-mandated disability benefits, fell under…
Georgia insurance oversight of a physicians benefits trust
The request asked whether a physicians and hospitals benefits trust was a MEWA and whether state insurance rules could apply. EBSA said it was a MEWA subject to state regulation to the extent ERISA…
ERISA status of a fishing-industry group health plan
A fishing association asked whether its group health plan was an ERISA welfare plan under title I. EBSA could not decide whether the association was a bona fide employer group because actual…
1990 federal military remuneration schedule for UCX claims
ETA issued a revised federal military pay schedule for unemployment claims by former service members. State agencies were told to use the attached rates for first claims filed beginning with the…
Material safety data sheets from chemical distributors
A senator asked whether distributors must include a material safety data sheet with every chemical package. OSHA said manufacturers and distributors provide a sheet at initial shipment and when new…
Workplace drug testing results under the employee medical records access standard
An OSHA regional office asked whether workers and OSHA inspectors could access workplace drug test results under the employee medical records rule. OSHA said the rule covers drug test results only…
OSHA and motor carrier jurisdiction over tank car drivers and helpers
OSHA explained how motor carrier safety rules affect its authority over drivers and helpers. Where the motor carrier agency has exercised authority over a particular working condition, OSHA said it…
Training after a chemical spill at a manufacturing site
A manufacturer asked whether one HAZWOPER training paragraph alone covered employees cleaning up a spill discovered after hours. OSHA said the facts were insufficient for a definite answer and…
When small facilities may give emergency and fire plans orally
A trade association asked when emergency action and fire prevention plans must be written. OSHA said the threshold is 11 or more employees physically present at a facility at any time during the…
HAZWOPER training for police, firefighters, and incident commanders
A fire department asked what HAZWOPER training police officers, firefighters and incident commanders need. OSHA said duties determine the responder level: awareness-level workers must demonstrate…
Cleaning product safety claims and hazard communication duties
A member of Congress asked whether a cleaning product's claim to meet OSHA requirements amounted to an agency endorsement. OSHA said it does not set requirements for cleaning chemicals as products,…
Field sanitation training for farmworkers
A senator asked about field sanitation citations at a farm and the rule's hygiene instruction requirement. OSHA said employers must tell field workers why drinking water, handwashing and toilet use…
Expiration of interim crane personnel platform guidance
An OSHA regional official told compliance staff that interim guidance and temporary variances for anti-two-blocking cranes hoisting personnel had expired. The memorandum said the 1988 personnel…
Lockout rule coverage for manufactured home production
A manufactured housing association asked whether its members' plants were excluded from the lockout/tagout rule as construction. OSHA said employees engaged in manufactured home production under the…
Cartridge change intervals for dry cleaning respirators
An OSHA regional office asked how dry cleaners should use air-purifying respirators against perchloroethylene vapors. OSHA said cartridge change intervals must account for the highest expected…
Scaffold end-frame members used as ladder access
A safety consultant asked whether horizontal scaffold end-frame members could serve as ladder rungs. OSHA said they could if the manufacturer designed them for access and they met the stated…
Safety data sheets for consumer pesticides used at work
A pesticide manufacturer asked whether it could decline to supply a material safety data sheet when an institution uses a household product differently from a homeowner. OSHA said the…
Hazardous waste emergency response duties for generators
A waste generator asked how OSHA's emergency response rule applies alongside EPA's hazardous waste requirements. OSHA said the evacuation exception applies only when employees leave the site and…
Medical devices as articles under hazard communication
A medical supply group asked whether devices such as metal bed pans and crutches count as articles under OSHA's hazard communication rule. OSHA said they do when ordinary use poses no exposure…
Monthly certification deadline for Reed Act obligations
ETA supplied a due date omitted from UIPL 05-90. States setting aside Reed Act funds were told to certify new obligations and deobligations by the tenth business day of the following month and send…
Pharmaceutical drugs under the hazard communication standard
A safety consultant asked how OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard applies to pharmaceutical drugs, including solid pills, package inserts, and IV bags. OSHA said solid drugs ready for direct…
Hazardous-waste-site training for perimeter and support workers
A hazardous-waste industry group asked whether clerical staff, support personnel, and delivery drivers working around a site must receive HAZWOPER training. OSHA said workers who stay outside…
State insurance oversight of a church association benefits trust
The request asked whether a church association’s self-funded employee benefits trust was a MEWA subject to state insurance law. EBSA said it was a MEWA because it covered workers of separate…
Approved alternate safety standards for federal agencies
OSHA reviewed alternate safety standards used by federal agencies and told regional staff which four remained approved in its records. It said other claimed approvals required an OSHA approval…
Asbestos training and medical surveillance as employment conditions
An OSHA regional office asked whether an employer may require asbestos training and medical surveillance as conditions of employment. OSHA said pre-employment conditions are outside its…
Georgia insurance oversight of a business association trust
The request asked whether a business association benefits trust was a multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said the trust was a MEWA subject to state insurance regulation to the extent ERISA…
Emergency showers and eyewash facilities for formaldehyde work
A photographic manufacturers’ group asked how OSHA’s formaldehyde standard applies to photographic-processing facilities. OSHA said employers must provide emergency showers after splashes involving…
Contaminated soil discovered during construction excavation
A regional OSHA office asked whether contaminated soil found during a sewer construction excavation made the work a hazardous waste cleanup under HAZWOPER. OSHA said the described excavation was for…
California insurance oversight of the Associated Benefits Trust
California asked whether the Associated Benefits Trust was a multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said the trust was a MEWA subject to state insurance regulation to the extent ERISA permits.…
Retention of medical records for office workers
A medical center asked which medical records employers must retain under OSHA’s access standard. OSHA said orthopedic X-rays need not be retained unless they relate to employees exposed to toxic…
Carcinogen labeling for nickel in mixtures
A manufacturer asked whether nickel powder in a mixture must be included in hazard determinations and carcinogen labeling when it is not expected to become airborne. OSHA said a chemically bound…
Eight-hour training for hazardous-waste first responders
An employer asked whether the eight-hour minimum training requirement for first responders at the operational level means eight instructional hours or a normal workday. OSHA said the requirement…
Effectiveness of two syringe recapping devices
OSHA technical staff reviewed two syringe recapping devices for field personnel. They considered one shield too small to protect the whole hand and found the other suitable only for larger gauge…
State agreements for child-support locator data matching
ETA clarified how state unemployment agencies should participate in the federal child-support locator system and negotiate agreements for sharing wage and claim information. It said the model…
Standard threshold shifts for workers with severe hearing loss
A system designer asked how to identify a standard threshold shift for a worker with a very poor baseline audiogram. OSHA said the 10 dB average change at 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 Hz applies…
Title XII advances and obligated Reed Act funds
ETA revised its interpretation of how states calculate the need for a federal Title XII unemployment trust-fund advance. Properly appropriated and obligated Reed Act funds need not first be spent on…
Fall protection during steel connecting work
A construction safety director asked when steel connectors had to tie off while receiving a piece flown in by crane. OSHA said a connector did not have to tie off during actual receipt, but had to…
Federal computer-matching law and state unemployment records
ETA explained that the 1988 federal computer-matching amendments generally did not cover state-maintained unemployment records or ordinary state-to-state claim matching. The restrictions apply to…
Field sanitation coverage for reforestation work
An OSHA regional office asked whether reforestation work is covered by the field sanitation standard. OSHA said reforestation is covered, including hand seeding, planting, spraying, thinning,…
Recirculating exhaust air in spray operations
A manufacturer asked whether filtered spray booth exhaust could be recirculated under a newer NFPA standard. OSHA said the described controls could satisfy its de minimis policy if they maintained…
Governmental status of county hospital benefit plans
A county hospital asked whether its employee welfare plans were excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA found the hospital was a governmental agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision and its…
Separate establishments for injury recordkeeping at one site
An OSHA regional office asked whether a brewery, bottle plant, can plant, and shared maintenance shop on one site were separate establishments for injury records. OSHA agreed the three plants were…
Performance fees for a plan investment manager
An investment manager asked whether performance-based fees paid by employee benefit plans would violate ERISA’s prohibited-transaction rules. EBSA said payment under the described agreements would…
HAZWOPER coverage for marine spills and cleanup workers
An employer representative asked how OSHA’s HAZWOPER standard applies to petroleum releases on water, including ship crews, first responders, cleanup contractors, fishermen, and volunteers. OSHA…
Crane requirements for hoisting personnel platforms
An equipment company asked how OSHA's crane personnel platform rule applied to free fall, boom-angle indicators, and anti-two-blocking devices. OSHA said free fall could not be used while hoisting…
Participant loan access under ERISA’s exemption
The requester asked whether ERISA’s participant-loan exemption requires loans to participants who are not parties in interest. EBSA said its reasonably equivalent access requirement applies to…
Hiring an affiliated investment manager for a retirement plan
A retirement plan proposed to hire an investment manager affiliated with its sponsor. EBSA said the service arrangement could qualify for ERISA’s exemption only if its conditions were met, and…
Fiduciary duties in a multiemployer pension-plan merger
Trustees proposed to merge three multiemployer pension plans. EBSA said fiduciaries must independently assess the merged plan’s funding and long-term viability; a favorable PBGC merger determination…
Performance-based investment management fees
An investment manager asked whether employee benefit plans could pay it performance-based fees. EBSA said payment under the described agreements would not by itself violate sections 406(b)(1) or…
Employee loans back to a top-hat plan sponsor
A company asked whether employees could voluntarily loan deferred-compensation distributions back to it without changing the plan’s top-hat character. EBSA said loans on the stated terms would not…
ERISA status of a residential-facilities benefits trust
A residential-facilities association asked whether its shared employee benefits trust was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA could not confirm that status because association membership was not limited to…
Rabbi trust and unfunded excess-benefit plan status
A company asked whether its supplemental profit-sharing plan would cease to be unfunded because it used an irrevocable grantor trust. EBSA said the described trust alone would not defeat unfunded…
Oil spill cleanup and post-emergency training
A petroleum association asked OSHA to allow off-site oil spill cleanup workers to use the training option for a plant's own employees. OSHA said the rule expressly distinguished on-site plant work…
New Hampshire home-builders benefits trust
A home-builders association asked whether its shared benefits trust was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the trust was not such a plan because it was not established or maintained by a qualifying…
HAZWOPER plans for underground storage-tank remediation
An OSHA regional office asked whether contractors assessing and remediating gasoline leaks from underground storage tanks must prepare site-specific HAZWOPER safety and health plans. OSHA said the…
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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.