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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Field sanitation coverage for agricultural hand labor
OSHA revised its interpretation of which agricultural employers are covered by the field sanitation standard. It said coverage applies when an employer had 11 or more field hand-labor workers at any…
Guardrails for shallow floor depressions
An OSHA regional office asked whether a large floor with a 12-inch depression needed opening guardrails. OSHA said the described area was not a floor opening or hole under the cited rule and that no…
Hazard labels and safety data sheets for orlon yarn
A lawyer asked whether orlon yarn shipped to downstream processors needs hazard labels and material safety data sheets addressing acrylonitrile and dimethylformamide. OSHA said the supplied…
HAZWOPER training for underwater drum-location divers
An employer asked whether divers locating drums underwater during a preliminary site investigation need HAZWOPER training. OSHA said preliminary investigations are part of cleanup, so the standard’s…
HAZWOPER training at waste facilities and incidental spills
A manufacturer asked how HAZWOPER applies to waste facilities and spills in ordinary manufacturing areas. OSHA said regulated treatment, storage, and disposal facilities must provide 24 hours of…
Corrected state-law language for noncitizen unemployment wages
ETA corrected its earlier model state-law language for unemployment claims based on work performed by noncitizens. It said the worker must have been in an eligible immigration category when the…
Citation policy when an OSHA standard is under revision
OSHA answered whether inspectors should cite employers that comply with a proposed or newer consensus standard while the current OSHA standard remains in effect. It said a violation may be…
Hazard communication for silica sand and consumer products in construction
A construction employer asked why common materials such as silica sand require hazard information under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard. OSHA said workplace exposure can differ from everyday…
Dental plan for federal employee association members
An association asked whether its dental plan for government employees was covered by ERISA. EBSA said the plan was an ERISA welfare plan and was not a governmental plan because no government entity…
ERISA status of the Tacoma Industrial Trust
The Tacoma Industrial Trust asked whether it was itself an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said it was not, but each employer using it for worker benefits had a separate ERISA plan whose administrator had…
Pension trust securities sale to an underwriting syndicate
A pension trust asked whether selling securities to an underwriting syndicate was a prohibited transaction because a syndicate member was linked to a future corporate acquisition. EBSA said the…
Equal-opportunity data for unemployment claims
ETA told state unemployment agencies to collect and maintain claim, determination, and appeal data by race or ethnicity, sex, age, and disability status for civil-rights monitoring. It also told…
Ionizing radiation areas, radon surveys, and agency jurisdiction
An OSHA training office asked how the ionizing radiation standard treats restricted areas, radon, state programs, and military medical sources. OSHA explained area classifications and when…
HAZWOPER coverage for construction above contaminated groundwater
A lawyer asked whether construction over groundwater containing hazardous waste falls under HAZWOPER when most excavation is not expected to reach the groundwater. OSHA said construction activities…
Controlled lowering on barge cranes hoisting personnel
A marine contractor sought clarification about a barge crane brake system used to hoist workers. After observing a demonstration, OSHA said the described system met the intent of the controlled…
Permissible deductions from unemployment benefits
ETA said states generally must pay unemployment benefits directly and in full to the eligible claimant, with deductions only where federal law specifically permits or requires them. The letter…
State oversight of a voluntary employee benefits trust
A benefits trust asked whether it was an ERISA welfare plan and a MEWA. EBSA could not resolve the trust’s ERISA plan status without facts about employer control, but said it appeared to be a MEWA.…
Safety data sheet access at construction jobsites
An OSHA regional office asked where construction employers must keep material safety data sheets and whether paper copies are required. OSHA said sheets must be at the jobsite and readily accessible…
Galveston police retirement plan as a governmental plan
A police association asked whether the City of Galveston police retirement plan was excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA said the city established and maintained the plan for its police employees,…
Initial capital held before a venture fund’s first investment
A requester asked whether a new venture fund could treat initial plan contributions as outside plan assets before making its first long-term venture investment. EBSA said it could not yet qualify as…
Transfer restrictions on publicly offered partnership interests
A securities institute asked whether tax-related transfer limits on partnership interests prevent those interests from being freely transferable under an ERISA plan-assets regulation. EBSA said…
Access to written hazard programs and safety data sheets
A researcher asked how the hazard communication and employee-records standards apply to written programs and material safety data sheets. OSHA said employees or their representatives must receive…
Safety data sheets for diluted chemical products
A manufacturer asked whether diluting a product to working strength requires a new material safety data sheet. OSHA said the chemical manufacturer’s sheet should describe expected downstream uses…
Responsible-party contact information on safety data sheets
A manufacturer asked whether a material safety data sheet may list a contact who can provide only basic product information. OSHA said a listed responsible party must be able to clarify the sheet’s…
HAZWOPER plans, emergency response, training, and marine work
An employer group asked OSHA a series of questions about HAZWOPER cleanup plans, the line between emergency and post-emergency work, worker training, multi-employer sites, and marine operations.…
Hazard warnings on shipped chemical containers
A senator asked OSHA about a constituent’s citation for using in-plant labels on hazardous chemicals shipped to other employers. OSHA said shipped containers need specific hazard warnings, including…
Fall protection for crane personnel platforms over water
A construction company asked about fall protection for employees on a crane personnel platform over water. OSHA said the platform fall-arrest requirement has an over-water exception, while the…
Hazard communication duties for plumbing and HVAC contractors
A plumbing and HVAC contractors’ association asked how OSHA applies the Hazard Communication Standard at construction jobsites and checks employee training. OSHA explained that a workplace can be a…
Better Business Bureau trust and a store’s health plan
A requester asked whether a business bureau’s insurance trust and a participating store’s health coverage were ERISA plans. EBSA said the trust itself was not an ERISA welfare plan because employers…
Electronic delivery of material safety data sheets
A lawyer asked whether distributors can provide material safety data sheets by microfiche, computer, or fax instead of paper. OSHA said these methods can work if both parties agree, already have the…
Mercury thermometer labels under hazard communication
An OSHA regional office asked whether industrial thermometers require hazard labels under the Hazard Communication Standard. OSHA said thermometers expected to break in normal use and expose…
Free checking tied to IRA investments in bank products
A bank proposed free personal checking for customers who directed their IRAs to invest at least $2,000 in the bank’s financial products. EBSA said that benefit would be a prohibited transaction…
Grandfathered floor-offset arrangement after plan changes
A company asked whether merging its defined benefit plans and amending a stock bonus plan to meet ESOP form requirements would end an older floor-offset arrangement’s statutory grandfather…
Hazard labels and lead exposure in soldering
A purchaser asked why U.S. solder shipments carry hazard warning labels and whether solder fumes can harm workers. OSHA explained the Hazard Communication Standard’s labeling and safety data sheet…
Labels for chemical containers in cabinets and drawers
A training company asked whether employers must relabel chemical containers kept on shelves, in cabinets, or in drawers. OSHA said compliant incoming labels need not be replaced, but each movable…
Update to disinfectant guidance for HIV-contaminated surfaces
OSHA told regional offices it would update its bloodborne exposure enforcement instruction after EPA clarified which antimicrobial products could claim effectiveness against HIV on environmental…
Frazee decision and religious objections to unemployment work
ETA explained the Supreme Court's Frazee ruling: a claimant's sincere religious reason for refusing Sunday work was not disqualified from constitutional protection merely because he belonged to no…
OSHA coverage where another federal agency regulates the same work
A labor department policy official asked how transportation agency rules affect OSHA's authority over truck and bus work. The Solicitor's memorandum said OSHA could not enforce its rules for a…
Employer educational assistance as a scholarship program
An employer asked whether tuition and education payments from its general assets created an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the described program was a scholarship program excluded from the ERISA…
Responsible-party identification on chemical labels
An anonymized requester asked whether a distributor could replace the named responsible party on shipped chemical labels with coded letters. OSHA said the label must identify the manufacturer,…
Negative air bags and glove bags for asbestos removal
A contractor asked whether a negative air bag met the asbestos rule's enclosure requirement. OSHA said it did if the other construction asbestos provisions were met. A later memorandum on the same…
HIV-labeled disinfectants for body fluid cleanup
A requester asked whether OSHA would accept disinfectants labeled for HIV-1 when cleaning body fluid spills. OSHA said it planned to amend its enforcement instruction to allow HIV-labeled products…
Who certifies HAZWOPER worker training
A safety professional asked whether OSHA or another person could review and certify his HAZWOPER qualifications. OSHA said the employer documents or certifies whether an employee’s experience and…
Exposure sampling outside air-supplied respirators
An OSHA regional office asked where to sample air when workers use supplied-air hoods and whether respirators can replace engineering controls. OSHA said exposure sampling must occur outside an…
Required programs at hazardous-waste treatment facilities
A requester asked how the phrase “as appropriate” affects HAZWOPER duties at hazardous-waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. OSHA clarified that employers still need programs to learn…
Drug safety data sheets under hazard communication
Two pharmaceutical industry groups asked whether package inserts could replace material safety data sheets for prescription drugs while OSHA considered rule changes. OSHA said the sheets were…
Plan reimbursement of sponsor administrative expenses
A plan sponsor asked whether its benefit plans could reimburse it for specified employee and other direct administrative costs. EBSA said the described reimbursement would not by itself violate…
Engineering controls for wood-dust exposure
A forest-products association asked what counts as engineered dust-removal equipment and how OSHA judges feasibility. OSHA said employers must select and install controls suited to their workplace,…
Safety data sheet duties for laboratories
A company asked what the Hazard Communication Standard requires laboratories to do with material safety data sheets. OSHA said laboratories have a narrower duty than other workplaces: they must…
Boom-mounted work platforms and aerial lift rules
A refinery association asked which construction standard applied to a work platform fixed directly to a crane boom. OSHA said the modification made the crane a personnel carrier subject to aerial…
Emergency response team training at a plating facility
A plating department asked whether its team for hazardous chemical spills needed the interim HAZWOPER emergency response training. OSHA said the described policy fell under the emergency response…
Medical surveillance and training for emergency responders
A company asked which emergency responders needed medical surveillance and training under interim HAZWOPER rules. OSHA said workers who only contained a release from a safe distance were outside the…
Rollover protection for a backhoe operator seat
An equipment manufacturer asked OSHA to reverse an earlier interpretation requiring a rollover protective structure for a backhoe operator’s seat on a described tractor. OSHA said the proposed…
Quick-disconnect couplings for oxyacetylene welding hoses
OSHA evaluated two quick-disconnect coupling series used on oxyacetylene welding hoses. It said they complied with the cited standards when installed with the supply-side female end and the sleeve…
Bakery-oven inspections and safety devices
A bakery-equipment lawyer asked who may conduct required annual oven inspections and which components count as safety devices. OSHA said qualified representatives of an oven manufacturer may conduct…
Cable strength and deflection for steel erection railings
A state safety official asked whether thinner aircraft cable could equal half-inch wire rope for temporary steel erection railings and whether midrails or deflection limits applied. OSHA gave…
Ground-fault protection and equipment-grounding tests
A construction company asked whether ground-fault circuit interrupters can replace the continuity tests required in an assured equipment-grounding program. OSHA said a GFCI does not test conductor…
Who may inspect bakery ovens annually
A bakers’ association asked how to satisfy annual oven inspection requirements when the original manufacturer no longer exists. OSHA said a qualified representative of any oven manufacturer may…
Personnel hoisting by barge-mounted cranes
A contractor asked whether barge-mounted cranes were exempt from OSHA's personnel platform rule. OSHA said they were covered and addressed controlled lowering, level operation, live booms, and…
Meaning of hazardous waste under HAZWOPER
A regional office asked OSHA for a simpler definition of hazardous waste under HAZWOPER. OSHA said it adopted EPA and DOT terminology for consistency and could not simplify it without losing that…
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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.