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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Accountants insurance trust and employer plans
EBSA said the New Jersey accountants association did not itself maintain an ERISA welfare plan through its insurance trust. Association membership was open regardless of employer status, and…
GIC annual reporting must reflect current assets
The Department rejected a proposed method of reporting a guaranteed investment contract that would amortize the former insurer's market value adjustment charge over the contract's term and inflate…
Body belts, safety straps, and lanyards for linemen
A safety equipment engineer asked which OSHA rules applied to body belts and lanyards used by linemen on aerial lifts. OSHA mapped the cited electrical work standard’s tests and hardware provisions…
Crane-mounted work platforms for personnel
A contractors’ association asked about work platforms attached to crane booms. OSHA said routine personnel carrier use required applicable design safeguards, including platform and ground controls.…
Ventilation and grounding of battery installations
A battery company asked about installation requirements. OSHA said storage battery areas must be ventilated to prevent explosive gas mixtures. It identified general equipment grounding rules but…
Model work-sharing legislation and partial benefits
ETA supplied model state legislation for short-time compensation and discussed improvements to partial unemployment benefits. Current status is unconfirmed.
New York unclaimed insurance proceeds law survives ERISA preemption
EBSA said New York’s law requiring insurers to report and turn over certain unclaimed policy proceeds was saved from ERISA preemption as insurance regulation. It relied on the submitted…
Instruction labels on step ladders
A member of the public asked about instruction and warning labels on a four-foot step ladder. OSHA said its ladder standards did not require manufacturers to attach such labels, though manufacturers…
Fire brigade protective clothing materials
A textile group questioned whether OSHA’s fire brigade clothing standard favored one synthetic fiber. OSHA said the rule allowed any material, natural or synthetic, that met its criteria. It also…
Insurer seed money transfer from separate accounts
EBSA said Lincoln Pension’s seed money in pooled separate accounts was not ERISA plan assets under section 401(b)(2) and its separate-account surplus treatment, so withdrawing excess seed money…
Cummins salary continuation is a payroll practice
EBSA said Cummins’ short-term salary continuation program was a payroll practice outside ERISA welfare-plan requirements because it paid no more than normal pay from the employer’s general assets…
Religious school coverage enforcement position
ETA stated its enforcement position concerning state unemployment coverage of private schools with a religious orientation. Current status is unconfirmed.
Wisconsin education insurance trust plan status
On the representation that the organizations fully controlled the arrangement, the Department originally treated the Wisconsin Education Association Insurance Trust as a union-maintained ERISA…
Body belts and lanyards for electrical line work
A safety equipment engineer asked which fall protection standard applied to linemen on aerial booms. OSHA said the described ANSI belt and six-foot lanyard did not give equivalent protection for…
Location and access to workplace toilets
A worker asked how close workplace toilets must be. OSHA said its federal sanitation rule gives no specific distance, but employers must use reasonable judgment and provide free, unobstructed…
Emergency reverse control for mill roll rescues
A flooring manufacturer proposed an emergency reverse jog control to free workers caught in mill rolls. OSHA said its mill rule did not prohibit the concept and reversal could be appropriate in some…
Acceptance of JTPA training opportunities
ETA explained that qualifying training opportunities under the Job Training Partnership Act count as approved training for unemployment compensation purposes. Current status is unconfirmed.
State unemployment loans and interest changes
ETA explained federal amendments affecting state unemployment loan repayment, interest and tax-credit reductions. Current status is unconfirmed.
Guarding agricultural power take-off shafts
An agricultural equipment maker asked about guarding power take-off shafts. OSHA said both the shaft and its journal couplings needed protection under the farm equipment standard. An integral cone…
Weiser Lock assistance program is an ERISA welfare plan
EBSA said Weiser Lock’s employer-funded employee assistance program was an ERISA welfare plan because its counseling addressed health, health-related and mental-health problems that counted as…
John Hancock joint-property transition exemption
EBSA said a proposed sale of pre-ERISA jointly held mortgage and real-estate interests between a John Hancock separate account and general account could avoid the cited prohibited-transaction rule…
FUTA credits and state taxable wage bases
ETA explained state-law changes needed to preserve employers’ federal unemployment tax credits after increases in the federal taxable wage base. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
General principles of employer experience rating
ETA explained federal standards for state employer experience-rating systems and the corresponding federal unemployment tax credits. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Louisville Gas savings program is a pension plan
EBSA said Louisville Gas and Electric’s voluntary savings program was an ERISA pension plan subject to Title I reporting and disclosure. The agency did not decide whether it was part of an existing…
Accounting firm training outside ERISA welfare status
EBSA said an accounting firm’s internal professional development courses were not an ERISA welfare plan and did not trigger Title I reporting and disclosure. The opinion concerns those in-house…
Audiotronics pension audit despite bank certification
EBSA said the Audiotronics profit-sharing plan still had to engage an independent accountant and include the accountant’s opinion in its annual report, despite bank-certified assets. The…
Rebsamen pension audit despite certified assets
EBSA said the Rebsamen pension plan could not skip its independent accountant merely because an insurer certified plan asset information. The certification could limit the accountant’s examination…
Citations for emergency plans and alarm systems
A lawyer asked how OSHA's fire protection rules interact with emergency action plans, prevention plans, and alarm systems. In its June 20 follow-up, OSHA changed its earlier citation approach: for a…
Closed-circuit breathing apparatus in IDLH and fire brigade use
OSHA reviewed test results for two BioPak closed-circuit breathing apparatus models. It told regional administrators that both remained acceptable as positive-pressure self-contained breathing…
Bank affiliate investment manager selection
EBSA said a bank’s appointment of its affiliate to manage trust assets did not itself violate ERISA’s fiduciary self-dealing rule. A conflict during the actual decision to retain the affiliate could…
Supplemental hazard labels on electrical equipment
An electrical manufacturers’ association asked about its warning label system. OSHA said the labels did not violate its rules, but they could only supplement required danger, caution, and safety…
Employer-linked life insurance payroll deductions
EBSA said a proposed life insurance payroll-deduction program was an ERISA welfare plan where an employer affiliate would reinsure the coverage and the employer’s role exceeded the limited safe…
Foreign pension scheme outside ERISA Title I
EBSA said the London and Manchester Group pension scheme qualified for ERISA’s foreign-plan exclusion under the described facts, even though it held or invested some assets in the United States. The…
Guarding power press flywheels
A tool and die company asked about guarding flywheels on power presses. OSHA said its general industry rules required a guard, with flywheels above work areas needing one strong enough to contain a…
Audiometer calibration and hearing conservation tests
An employer asked about audiometer calibration under the 1983 hearing conservation amendment. OSHA described required test frequencies and calibration checks, and said exhaustive calibration was…
Safety devices on compressed-air tool hoses
A contractor asked which hoses were covered by the construction pneumatic tool rule. OSHA said hoses exceeding one-half inch inside diameter needed a safety device at the supply source or branch…
Swing radius protection for drill and pile rigs
A drilling contractor asked how OSHA's crane swing radius barricade rule applied to drill and pile rigs that move constantly. OSHA said the rule applied but recognized barricading might be…
Guardrails and toeboards on antenna service platforms
An antenna equipment company asked OSHA to review guardrails and toeboards on an elevated service platform. OSHA said the illustrated design appeared to meet the intent of its general industry rule,…
Frank Russell real estate fund fiduciary roles
EBSA said the described trust company could serve as trustee and investment manager under the existing agreements once designated. Serving as named fiduciary with authority to appoint trustees or…
Equivalent injury recordkeeping forms for a railroad
A railroad asked whether its own injury forms and procedures could satisfy OSHA's recordkeeping rules. OSHA found two forms equivalent and accepted the third if specified physician, hospital, report…
IRA payroll deductions and employer influence
EBSA said buying county bonds did not alone disqualify the proposed IRA payroll-deduction program from ERISA’s exclusion. An employer’s delay in remitting deductions or influence over bank…
Crane handled personnel baskets as suspended platforms
A construction firm asked whether a crane handled personnel basket fell under OSHA's suspended work platform instruction. OSHA said it did if the basket met the instruction's design criteria, and…
Safety nets for bridge deck removal
A requester asked about fall protection under the construction safety net rule. OSHA said an employer must use a net when removing a bridge deck more than 25 feet above water or ground unless it…
Tax administrators pension as governmental plan
EBSA said the Federation of Tax Administrators staff pension was a governmental plan excluded from ERISA Title I because of substantial state sponsorship, funding and intergovernmental ties. It left…
Employer-run 403(b) custody program and ERISA
EBSA could not assure that Group Health’s proposed tax-sheltered annuity custody arrangement was outside ERISA pension-plan status. The employer had designed the program and retained approval powers…
Proof coil and high-test chain slings
An OSHA office evaluated a variance request involving proof coil and high-test chain slings. It said the sling rule did not specifically ban nonalloy chain, but chain makers recommended alloy steel…
Legal services benefits group plan status unresolved
EBSA declined to decide whether the legal-services employer group NEBO was a bona fide employer association because actual employer control was factual. Its benefit programs could be ERISA welfare…
United Way affiliate plans and audit waiver
EBSA treated the United Way affiliate arrangements as separate plans rather than one combined plan. Each individual plan could use the small-plan audit waiver if it had fewer than 100 participants…
Military separation reasons and UCX eligibility
ETA explained how DD Form 214 narrative separation reasons affect unemployment compensation for ex-servicemembers. Current status is unconfirmed.
Investment adviser reimbursement of direct expenses
EBSA said a related adviser’s services to a common trust could qualify for the service exemption if its conditions were met, but conflicted selection could still be self-dealing. Direct…
Hinged rest platforms on fixed ladders
OSHA wrote a ladder manufacturer after learning it advertised a fixed ladder with a hinged rest platform as OSHA compliant. OSHA said its fixed ladder rule did not allow hinged platforms, except for…
Stop-loss insurance under affiliated-insurer exemption
EBSA said the described stop-loss contracts bought by health and disability plans could qualify as benefit-funding contracts under class exemption PTE 79-41. The opinion did not cover separate…
Face-amount certificate deposits and ERISA exemption
The Department said ISA, a face-amount certificate company, was a bank or similar financial institution under ERISA's cited exemption and that its certificates were deposits. Whether the…
Reporting FUTA credit-reduction discrepancies
ETA announced a two-year period for states to report apparent discrepancies in IRS collections of FUTA credit-reduction amounts. Current status is unconfirmed.
Light-duty pneumatic staplers without release levers
An OSHA region asked about furniture-industry pneumatic staplers without safety release levers. OSHA said tools operating below 100 psi could be acceptable with pressure control, light-duty staples,…
Ryland health plan covered by ERISA
EBSA said Ryland’s employee health program was an ERISA welfare plan both before and after it became partly self-funded on August 1, 1981. The employer maintained the program for its employees and…
Hearing conservation amendment and construction workers
A construction group asked whether the 1983 hearing conservation amendment covered construction employees. OSHA said it did not apply to construction or agriculture and pointed to the separate…
Retail paint thinner in approved plastic containers
A paint supplier asked about one-gallon plastic containers of paint thinner in a retail store. OSHA said the described Class II combustible liquid could be stored in approved plastic containers…
Power press brake guarding in job shops
An OSHA regional administrator asked how point of operation guarding requirements applied to power press brakes in job and model shops. OSHA said each setup needed evaluation and that safe distance…
Dental association IRA outside ERISA plan status
EBSA said an Equitable IRA offered to American Dental Association members was not an ERISA pension plan merely through the association because that association was neither an employer group nor an…
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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.