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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Miami firefighters insurance fund as governmental
EBSA said the Miami firefighters insurance fund was a governmental plan excluded from ERISA Title I because it covered city employees and retirees and received substantial city funding. Adding other…
Palm Beach County firefighters insurance fund
EBSA said the Palm Beach County firefighters insurance fund was a governmental plan excluded from ERISA Title I on the described coverage and county funding. Extending coverage to another employer’s…
West Palm Beach firefighters benefit fund
EBSA said the West Palm Beach firefighters benefit fund was a governmental plan excluded from ERISA Title I because it covered city employees and retirees and received substantial city funding.…
Carcinogen warnings on formaldehyde product labels
OSHA told regional staff how to assess formaldehyde product labels under the hazard communication rule. It said valid positive studies supported warnings about potential cancer risk and that such…
Longspan bridging for steel joists and trusses
A steel joist manufacturer asked how OSHA’s longspan bridging rule applied. OSHA said “longspan” meant any joist or truss at least 40 feet long, beyond the industry’s product naming; a later…
Mixing tube and coupler scaffold components
A requester asked whether a tube and coupler scaffold could use components made by two companies. OSHA said mixing manufacturers was not prohibited if the scaffold complied with all applicable…
Guarding narrow scaffolds four to ten feet high
A regional administrator asked how the minimum horizontal dimension and guarding rule applied to scaffolds four to ten feet high. OSHA said the dimension referred to the platform and that the…
Testing of single-point suspension scaffold winches
A scaffold equipment maker asked whether manually operated winches tested by a laboratory other than the two named in OSHA’s rules could be used. OSHA said the arrangement described appeared to be a…
Batterymarch incentive fees for plan investment management
EBSA said Batterymarch’s described performance fee would not by itself violate ERISA sections 406(b)(1) or (b)(2). It would not rule out violations during operation, and independent plan fiduciaries…
BDN incentive fees for plan investment management
EBSA said BDN’s described performance fee would not by itself violate ERISA sections 406(b)(1) or (b)(2). It declined to rule out operational conflicts, and plan fiduciaries had to evaluate and…
Guardrails and hoists on two-point suspension scaffolds
A scaffold manufacturer asked about guardrails attached to platforms rather than hangers and about a hinged two-platform system suspended by three hoists. OSHA said the rail arrangement could be…
Brake rules for older earthmoving scrapers
A federal contracting officer asked whether construction brake rules applied to earthmoving scrapers made before 1972. OSHA said the applicable requirements covered the equipment regardless of…
St. Agnes medical center benefit plans as church plans
EBSA said the St. Agnes Medical Center pension and welfare plans were church plans excluded from ERISA Title I on the submitted facts. It suggested correcting plan materials that stated ERISA rights…
Facial hair and tight-fitting respirator seals
A requester asked whether workers with facial hair could use a particular tight-fitting air mask. OSHA said thick hair where the mask meets skin prevents the required seal, so an employer could not…
Exposure limits listed on material safety data sheets
A manufacturer asked whether it could list only its most conservative exposure limit on material safety data sheets. OSHA encouraged disclosure of all known limits, but said the sheet had to include…
Timing of unemployment trust fund transfers
ETA restated target timing for transferring state unemployment receipts to the trust fund and drawing money for benefit payments. Current status is unconfirmed.
Quality-control program questions and answers
ETA answered state questions about the newly implemented unemployment quality-control program, including investigation methods and data handling. Current status is unconfirmed.
Hazard warnings for shipped printing inks
A printing-ink trade group asked how OSHA's hazard communication rule applied to labels. OSHA said shipped hazardous chemical containers needed identity, appropriate hazard warnings and…
Vehicle components as hazard communication containers
A truck manufacturer asked whether chemical-label rules applied to vehicle components that held operating fluids. OSHA said a radiator, engine or battery was not itself a container requiring a…
Chromate salts and carcinogen information on safety sheets
A chemical company asked whether sodium and potassium chromate and dichromate salts met the hazard communication rule’s carcinogen definition. OSHA said its reviewed sources did not then classify…
Concrete trowel handle shutoff after release
A manufacturer asked whether its safety switch met the construction rule for power concrete trowels. OSHA said the rule aimed to stop handle rotation after an operator let go. A centrifugal switch…
COBRA unemployment compensation amendments
ETA explained 1986 federal amendments allowing benefit offsets to recover overpayments, changing trade benefits and FUTA coverage, with attached interpretation and draft state-law language. ETA…
Existing exit signs with smaller lettering
A requester asked about the size of exit sign letters in an existing building. OSHA said certain externally lit signs with 4½-inch letters could be treated as de minimis deviations if the building…
Splicing construction extension cords with heat-shrink covers
An electrical contractor asked whether heat-shrink covers could insulate splices in extension cords. OSHA said the covers were acceptable if the splice met the cited construction electrical rules…
UCFE student-worker eligibility and agency notices
ETA directed states to review UCFE claims from student workers under state law and correct agency notice and follow-up procedures identified in a GAO audit. Current status is unconfirmed.
Visibility of hazard labels on shrink-wrapped pallet bags
A manufacturer asked whether labels hidden under shrink wrap on palletized chemical bags satisfied the hazard communication rule. OSHA said the label had to be visible before workers could be…
Carbon black in fingerprint powder safety data sheets
A fingerprint-powder maker asked how OSHA's hazard communication rule treated carbon black. OSHA said carbon black was a hazardous chemical because it had an exposure limit, so relevant hazards…
Consumer hand soap under hazard communication rules
A soap company asked whether borax hand soap fell under OSHA's hazard communication rule. OSHA said a finished consumer product was exempt when workers used it as a typical consumer would. It…
Deadline to notify workers of a hearing threshold shift
A requester asked when the hearing-conservation rule's 21-day notice clock began after an audiogram showed a standard threshold shift. OSHA said the clock started when the shift was determined, not…
Extended-benefit charges on combined-wage claims
ETA clarified how states should bill and allocate combined-wage extended-benefit charges during the 1986 reduction in federal reimbursement. Current status is unconfirmed.
Compliance of a welding helmet with eye-protection rules
A helmet maker asked whether employers could use its welding helmet in place of equipment specified by OSHA's welding rules. OSHA said the available information showed equivalent protection when the…
Safety data sheets for blended waste-derived fuel oil
A waste-oil processor asked whether fuel oil blended with solvents needed a material safety data sheet. OSHA said a sheet was required when the product was sold to covered manufacturers and use…
Military reenlistment bonuses and UCX wages
ETA explained that military reenlistment bonuses are not federal military wages for calculating unemployment compensation for ex-servicemembers. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
St. Francis Hospital employee plans as church plans
EBSA said employee benefit plans maintained by a Catholic religious order for St. Francis Hospital workers were church plans excluded from ERISA Title I on the stated facts. The opinion concerns…
Labels and data sheets for bulk scrap-metal shipments
A scrap-industry group asked whether hazard labels could be mailed separately instead of accompanying every bulk shipment. OSHA said no: label information had to travel with each shipment, either on…
Persistent hearing threshold shift and baseline audiograms
An audiologist asked what OSHA meant by a persistent standard threshold shift in hearing tests. OSHA said it meant a shift confirmed by a later audiogram. The rule permitted, but did not require, a…
Carcinogenicity entries on material safety data sheets
OSHA circulated an interpretation to its regional offices about carcinogenicity entries on material safety data sheets. It said the rule required an affirmative carcinogen indication when applicable…
Hazard communication duties of scrap-metal dealers
A recycling association asked OSHA to exempt non-manufacturing scrap dealers from the hazard communication rule. OSHA said they were distributors and had to pass on labels and material safety data…
Food-stamp overissuance withholding from UI
ETA explained when and how states may withhold unemployment benefits to recover food-stamp overissuances and the order of competing deductions. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Manhole access through concentric concrete cones
A concrete supplier asked whether OSHA allowed workers to enter underground workplaces through concentric manhole transition cones. OSHA said it did not require eccentric cones or prohibit entry…
Special state funds for Title XII interest
ETA clarified when a state may use a special fund outside its unemployment fund to pay interest on Title XII advances. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
OSHA jurisdiction over dormitory smoking and worker exposure
A dormitory resident asked whether OSHA set ventilation limits for rooms shared with smokers. OSHA said it did not regulate residential ventilation and had no smoking-specific regulation. It…
Carcinogen labeling for solvent-refined petroleum oils
A refiner challenged OSHA's earlier hazard-label interpretation for solvent-refined oils. OSHA agreed that the cited studies did not show carcinogenicity for the naphthenic oils in question and…
Cancer-warning labels on polyvinyl chloride products
A plastics-industry lawyer asked whether polyvinyl chloride products needed cancer warnings. OSHA said resin that still required melting or final molding had to carry the label required by its vinyl…
Schedule A reporting of excess broker commissions
EBSA said excess insurance broker commissions calculated using employee benefit plan contracts had to be reported proportionately on Form 5500 Schedule A. The exception for agency-management…
Air-line couplings for supplied-air respirators
An employer asked whether a supplied-air respirator system could share couplings or lines with other gases. OSHA said breathing-air couplings had to be incompatible with nonrespirable gas outlets…
Use of the M-17 military gas mask by civilian workers
A state safety official asked whether civilian workers could use surplus M-17 military gas masks. OSHA said the mask lacked the required approval and could not be used for those workers, and it saw…
Guardrail bracket spacing on flying forms
An equipment company asked whether flying form guardrail brackets could be spaced 14 feet apart. OSHA said that spacing was permissible if the rail system offered protection equivalent to brackets…
Refinery amine absorber vessel cracking advisory
OSHA alerted regional staff to cracking and possible catastrophic failure in refinery amine absorber vessels after a fatal explosion. It cited preliminary testing and industry surveys, pointed to…
Union leader support fund outside ERISA plan definition
EBSA said a union support fund giving need-based subsistence assistance to leaders dismissed in retaliation did not provide benefits described in ERISA section 3(1) or 3(2), so it was not an ERISA…
Steel cable top rails and intermediate rails
A company asked whether quarter-inch steel cable could serve as top and intermediate guardrails. OSHA said the proposal appeared to meet its railing requirements if the cables stayed secured and…
Data sheets supplied with metal machining scrap
A metalworking trade group asked whether members selling chips and other metal scrap had to give dealers material safety data sheets. OSHA confirmed that they did under the hazard communication rule…
Ethylene oxide product exemption and hazard data sheets
A formulator asked whether a supplier's ethylene oxide exemption covered its finished products and what to disclose on labels and data sheets. OSHA said the formulator had to assess its own expected…
Bag valve masks for emergency resuscitation
A regional office raised concern about infection transmission during mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. OSHA noted a CDC recommendation to use bag valve masks or similar devices, but said no OSHA…
State income and eligibility verification system
ETA gave states implementation guidance for sharing wage and benefit information under the state income and eligibility verification system. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Waterman Medical Center employee health plan
EBSA said Waterman Medical Center’s employee health plan was an ERISA welfare plan on the described facts, regardless of whether benefits were insured. It did not decide other compliance questions,…
Form 5500 reporting of service-provider sales commissions
EBSA said commissions paid to independent agents for marketing a plan service provider’s work had to be reported in Form 5500 item 12 when the then applicable payment threshold was met, even if paid…
Sea-Land savings plan and employer securities
EBSA said Sea-Land’s arrangement could be an eligible individual account plan under ERISA section 407 if participant accounts and benefits met the described conditions and it was not an IRA program.…
Hazard communication sheets for flavor extracts
A senator asked whether a small flavor-extract maker had to produce costly hazard data sheets. OSHA said the rule might require sheets, but hazard evaluation could rely on existing literature and…
Concentrated load for guardrail design
A project engineer asked how the 200-pound load in OSHA’s construction guardrail rule should be applied. OSHA said it was a single concentrated load at any point on the top rail in any direction,…
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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.