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.
No Federal documents match your search
Try different keywords or clear a filter.
HAZWOPER scope at sites with no exposure hazard
An employer asked when a hazardous-waste worksite is exempt from HAZWOPER because no employee hazard exists. OSHA said the employer must show that the entire site lacks operations with actual or…
Retroactive pension purchase for a plan employee
An apprenticeship trust proposed buying a $127,597 retirement benefit for its sole full-time employee as recognition for past service. EBSA said that unexpected payment was not compensation for…
Safety data sheets for crude oil and natural gas
A senator asked whether oil and gas producers need material safety data sheets for crude oil and natural gas. OSHA said both are hazardous chemicals under its Hazard Communication Standard, so…
Consumer products under the hazard communication standard
A requester asked about the consumer product exemption from OSHA's hazard communication rule. OSHA said a court decision had restored the disputed provisions and the agency's earlier blanket…
HMIS and NFPA codes on material safety data sheets
A manufacturer asked OSHA to require HMIS and NFPA codes on material safety data sheets. OSHA said some numerical or alphabetical systems can be used for workplace labeling when the overall hazard…
Bank incentive bonus plan and ERISA pension status
A bank asked whether its deferred incentive bonus plan was an ERISA pension plan. EBSA said the written terms did not appear designed to pay retirement or post-termination income, but actual…
Respiratory protection while gauging sour-crude tanks
An OSHA regional office asked how respiratory protection rules apply when workers gauge sour-crude tanks that may release hydrogen sulfide. OSHA said air monitoring is generally needed before each…
Safety data sheets for commercial and retail chemical buyers
A member of Congress asked whether a retailer must pass material safety data sheets to all buyers of hazardous chemical products. OSHA said distributors supply sheets to downstream employers, retail…
Quality-control requests to employer representatives
ETA told state unemployment investigators to ask an employer’s agent where the employer keeps its original wage and separation records before requesting an investigation by another state. If the…
Blank injury logs at construction jobsites
A construction company asked whether it needed blank OSHA 200 injury logs at sites with no recordable cases. OSHA said blank logs were unnecessary, but a zero-entry summary had to be completed and…
Recording an injury that restricts normal work activity
An employer asked whether an injured worker assigned to seated tasks within the same job category had a recordable restriction. OSHA said the described injury restricted normal work activity because…
Release of calendar-year 1988 unemployment quality-control data
ETA gave state unemployment agencies procedures and dates for publishing their 1988 benefit quality-control results. It addressed report software, report format, state narratives, review of federal…
Anti-two-blocking devices on construction cranes
A construction company asked what OSHA meant by a positive acting anti-two-block device on a crane hoisting people. OSHA said the device had to stop lifting automatically before the block reached…
No. 9 wire as support for reinforcing-steel structures
A worker representative asked whether No. 9 wire can support reinforcing-steel walls, piers, and columns. OSHA said the cited construction standard requires adequate support and that, without…
Vacation trust as an ERISA welfare plan
A hotel company asked whether its proposed vacation-pay trust was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the company was an employer under ERISA, and because the trust would disburse the vacation…
Minnesota conformity decision on withholding unemployment benefits
ETA reported the Secretary of Labor's decision that Minnesota's law allowing unemployment benefits to be withheld for a claimant's former employer tax debt failed federal conformity requirements.…
Partnership redemptions and significant plan participation
A requester asked when ownership changes require a partnership to retest whether benefit plans hold a significant share under the plan-assets regulation. EBSA said a partner’s redemption and the…
1988 federal tax amendments affecting unemployment insurance
ETA explained 1988 federal statutory changes affecting unemployment tax coverage, wages, dependent-care providers, and demonstration-project reporting. Its attached interpretation sets out…
Hazard communication for clerical staff at client sites
A member of Congress asked about hazard communication duties for a company whose clerical staff work at clients’ sites. OSHA said the site employer maintains sheets for chemicals under its control,…
Venture capital investments through partnerships or trusts
A proposed energy investment fund asked whether partnerships and trusts could qualify as venture capital investments under ERISA’s plan-assets regulation. EBSA said corporate form was not required:…
IRA stock purchase from a company linked to its owners
IRA owners asked whether their accounts could buy stock from a company in which they held interests. EBSA said the company was not a disqualified person solely through the cited employer and…
Claims review for in-service hardship distributions
A bank asked whether denial of a participant’s requested hardship distribution from a retirement plan must follow ERISA’s claims procedures. EBSA said the distribution appeared to be a plan benefit,…
State OSHA authority and clean towels for required showers
A union representative asked about state OSHA authority and the sanitation rule for showers. OSHA said West Virginia had no approved state plan, so federal OSHA enforced private-sector standards…
Hazard communication on multi-employer construction sites
OSHA instructed its regional offices how to apply the expanded Hazard Communication Standard to construction and multi-employer worksites. It said employers can exchange safety data sheet access by…
Crystalline silica exposure and hazard communication
A building materials manufacturer asked whether products containing crystalline silica were covered by hazard communication when testing showed no detectable downstream exposure. OSHA said the rule…
Polyethylene containers for combustible liquids
A chemical company asked whether combustible liquids could be stored in plastic containers rather than metal ones. OSHA said polyethylene containers could be treated as a de minimis violation if the…
Personnel transfer baskets at offshore construction sites
An OSHA regional office asked about using a Billy Pugh basket to transfer people between an offshore platform and a boat. OSHA said the described basket did not meet the construction crane personnel…
Safety data sheet duties for chemical distributors
A member of Congress asked about a distributor’s duty to pass material safety data sheets to customers. OSHA said distributors send sheets with the first commercial shipment and after updates, while…
Asbestos medical exams after exposure ends
A lawyer asked whether workers need continued asbestos medical exams after their jobs no longer expose them. OSHA said annual exams are not required once exposure ends; under the general-industry…
Training guidance on crane-suspended personnel platforms
The OSHA Training Institute told regional staff how it taught the crane personnel platform rule. It said workers could be hoisted only when conventional access was more hazardous or infeasible,…
Face-mounted cartridges for mercury and chlorine respirators
A respirator maker asked whether its mercury and chlorine cartridges could be used on a face-mounted half-mask instead of the approved belt-mounted arrangement. OSHA said the configuration was…
Child-support locator access to state unemployment wage and claims data
ETA transmitted a DOL–HHS memorandum of understanding for child-support locator access to state wage and unemployment claims records. It directed state agencies to review legal authority, negotiate…
Protective clothing for formaldehyde in apparel work
An OSHA regional office asked whether only apparel workers who already have skin problems need protective clothing against formaldehyde. OSHA said protection is meant to prevent irritation and…
Decomposition products on material safety data sheets
An OSHA regional office asked when decomposition products belong on a material safety data sheet. OSHA said hazardous products formed during normal operations, such as hot-wire cutting, must be…
PRUCOL alien status and unemployment eligibility
ETA gave additional interpretation of aliens permanently residing under color of law for unemployment benefit eligibility under FUTA. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Labels for hazardous chemicals moved between company plants
A company asked whether chemicals sent from one of its plants to another require hazard labels. OSHA said hazardous chemicals moved between company facilities must be labeled, regardless of whether…
Safety data sheet duties for healthcare wholesalers
A lawyer asked whether a healthcare-products distributor could use the retail rule that provides material safety data sheets only on request. OSHA said the company’s sales to hospitals, clinics, and…
ERISA preemption of proposed Utah pharmacy restrictions
Utah asked whether proposed restrictions on third-party purchasers of prescription drugs could govern ERISA plans. EBSA said the proposal would be preempted insofar as it applied to covered employee…
Inspection of rubber insulating equipment for electrical work
An electric utility asked which ANSI standards govern rubber protective equipment and how it must be inspected during use. OSHA listed the manufacturing standards for gloves, matting, blankets,…
Silica bound in rubber under hazard communication
A manufacturer asked whether crystalline silica bound in silicone rubber must appear on a material safety data sheet. OSHA said a hazardous ingredient is outside the standard if it cannot expose…
Former field sanitation worker-count interpretation
OSHA once advised its regional offices how to count agricultural hand-labor workers for field sanitation coverage. The agency expressly rescinded this February 6 memo in its September 5, 1989…
Concrete and masonry limited access zones
OSHA responded to questions about its concrete and masonry construction standard, 29 CFR 1926.706. The memorandum addressed who must establish a limited access zone, when employers may be cited, how…
Unemployment insurance quality-control questions and answers, Change 3
ETA answered state agencies' questions about unemployment insurance quality-control investigations and coding. It addressed how to verify claims and wages, conduct interviews, and record findings…
Hazard communication for portland cement
An employer asked why portland cement came with a material safety data sheet. OSHA said the cement maker identified eye and skin irritation hazards, so employers whose workers are exposed must make…
Distributor charges for material safety data sheets
A supplier association asked whether distributors may charge customers for material safety data sheets. OSHA said the rule does not bar charges before a hazardous chemical is shipped, but sheets…
Distributor responsibility for safety data sheet delivery
A veterinary distributors’ association asked whether a proposed system for sending material safety data sheets to downstream customers would satisfy OSHA’s rule. OSHA said the plan appeared capable…
Who may inspect bakery ovens
A member of Congress asked whether an outside professional could inspect bakery ovens for several employers. OSHA said ovens require twice-monthly inspections by an appointed, instructed bakery…
1988 family-support and housing amendments to unemployment data sharing
ETA explained how 1988 federal amendments affected state unemployment agencies' sharing of wage and claim information. The letter and its two interpretation attachments address child-support…
IRA loan to a corporation linked to its owner
An IRA owner proposed lending account funds to a corporation in which he had an ownership interest. EBSA said the company was not a disqualified person solely through the specified employer or…
Diesel fuel exhaust under hazard communication rules
A trucking association asked whether diesel exhaust fell under OSHA's hazard communication rule. OSHA said exhaust alone was not a covered chemical, but diesel fuel was, and known combustion hazards…
Union input on pension investment choices
A company and union proposed a committee to suggest communities for residential mortgage investments and nonprofit debt opportunities. Separately, the union could recommend avoiding investments in…
ERISA preemption of Puerto Rico plan-funding limits
A requester asked whether Puerto Rico Act 17 could regulate how ERISA plans are funded through payroll deductions. EBSA said section 5 was preempted to the extent interpreted to limit, prohibit, or…
Seat belt anchorage on off-highway construction vehicles
A construction employer asked how seat and seat belt anchorage provisions applied to off-highway jobsite vehicles. OSHA said the anchorage requirement was independent of the rule about firmly…
County hospital pension plan as a governmental plan
A county hospital asked whether its defined benefit pension plan was covered by ERISA Title I. The Department found the hospital to be a governmental agency or instrumentality and its plan a…
Eligibility of certain noncitizens for unemployment benefits
ETA explained how work authorization and temporary resident status under federal immigration law affect unemployment eligibility. It distinguished availability for work from use of base-period…
Live booms and controlled lowering when hoisting workers
A crane manufacturer asked about the personnel platform rule's live boom prohibition and controlled lowering requirement. OSHA said a boom lowered only by its brake was prohibited, while the load…
Hazard communication training for stevedores handling sealed cargo
A maritime employer asked OSHA to exempt stevedores who handle trailers carrying sealed hazardous cargo from hazard communication training. OSHA said the trailers count as sealed containers, so…
Fall protection for cable television ladder work
A cable television company asked about fall protection during service work from ladders. OSHA said employees working directly from a ladder more than four feet above ground had to use a safety belt…
Weighing outbound vehicle containers at marine terminals
A marine terminal asked whether closed containers carrying only vehicles qualified for a weighing exemption. OSHA said the cited rule exempted only open-type vehicle carrying containers, although it…
Hot-water capacity in temporary labor camps
An agency office asked what an adequate hot-water supply means under OSHA’s temporary labor camp rule. OSHA said capacity depends on the number of occupants and gave minimum recovery and storage…
Browse Federal guidance by topic
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.