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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Flammable-liquid storage in unit physical operations
A company asked which flammable-liquid storage provisions applied to indoor tanks associated with acid tank vehicle loading. OSHA said the described facility appeared to be a unit physical…
Settlement arbitrator as plan fiduciary
EBSA said an arbitrator deciding how a welfare plan should pursue settlement reimbursement was acting as a plan fiduciary because he exercised discretion over plan administration. The opinion did…
Affiliate pooled-fund investments and fees
EBSA said certain investments among affiliated bank pooled funds could qualify under ERISA section 408(b)(8) if its conditions were met. It would not give blanket self-dealing clearance, especially…
Original health claims required for record retention
EBSA said a welfare trust could not rely only on annual-report recap sheets to meet ERISA’s six-year record-retention rule. Original claims records were needed to verify and explain the reported…
Floor-opening safeguards at bus and rail repair pits
A transit authority asked how the floor opening rule applied to bus and rail repair pits. OSHA said covered pits did not violate the cited rule during maintenance. For uncovered pits, it accepted a…
Guarding bus and rail repair pits
A transit agency asked how OSHA's floor opening rule applied to bus and rail repair pits. OSHA said maintenance work over a pit covered by a vehicle was permissible, and employees could walk at…
Plan investment committee and trustee liability
The Labor Department said appointing an unpaid investment committee to act as the trustees’ arm would not, by itself, contravene ERISA’s trustee-control rule. The trustees remained liable for…
Reuters pension fund foreign-plan exclusion
EBSA concluded that the Reuters pension fund was maintained abroad primarily for nonresident aliens and was outside ERISA Title I under the foreign-plan exclusion. Two companion letters in one PDF…
Sheet-metal pension plan established despite waivers
EBSA said the sheet-metal companies had established their pension plan despite a claimed lack of intent to implement it. It cited benefits accrued for four workers to reject the no-accrual argument,…
Later eye protection standard and visitor spectacles
An Army officer asked about eye protection standards and visitor spectacles. OSHA said a later ANSI edition did not become an OSHA requirement without rulemaking, though the agency accepted products…
Helene Curtis pre-ERISA asset sale transition
The Labor Department said the proposed sale of Empro stock and the plan's trademark interests to Helene Curtis could use the cited transition relief if all statutory conditions were met. Empro was a…
Ford income stream benefit as welfare plan
EBSA said Ford’s guaranteed income stream program was an ERISA welfare plan and did not appear to be a pension plan on the facts submitted. It did not need to choose between unemployment and…
Employer trust denied welfare reporting exemption
EBSA said the employer-controlled Bordine trust was not an employee organization, so its welfare program could not use the cited limited reporting exemption. The agency left the trust’s tax status…
When pension trustees must disclose meeting minutes
EBSA said trustee meeting minutes were not automatically documents that a plan administrator must furnish under ERISA. Minutes that establish or operate the plan, such as minutes setting a claims…
Multiemployer sick-pay tax reporting duties
EBSA said multiemployer plan trustees should choose the least costly feasible method for sick-pay tax reporting and employer FICA obligations, reassessing as facts change. An employer-affiliated…
Side guards for pneumatic plier straightening presses
A tool manufacturer sought guidance after a variance request for two pneumatic plier straightening presses was denied. OSHA said the open sides exposed operators to pinch points and described…
Plan investment adviser fees and expense advances
The Labor Department addressed a trust’s proposed fiduciary service arrangements and said furnishing office space to trustees was not a transaction between a plan and a party in interest, while…
Employee exposure record rule for finished-product warehouses
A distributor asked whether OSHA’s exposure and medical records rule applied to offices and warehouses handling finished consumer products. OSHA said the rule did not appear to apply where workplace…
Partnership fund investment manager delegation
Assuming the fund’s assets were plan assets, the Department said the described arrangement would permit delegation of management to the fund’s investment manager under ERISA section 403(a)(2). Its…
Oil-and-gas royalty bonus outside pension status
EBSA said Forest Oil’s royalty bonus was not an ERISA pension plan by its written terms because payments were not tied to retirement or employment termination. Systematic deferral in actual…
Backup alarms on construction equipment
An alarm maker asked what OSHA required for backup alarms. OSHA pointed to its construction vehicle and earthmoving equipment rules and said compliant alarms were acceptable, but OSHA did not…
Four union health funds covered by ERISA and predecessor law
EBSA concluded that four named laborers and carpenters health and welfare funds were covered by ERISA Title I and had also been covered by the earlier Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act. The…
Conrail payroll deduction IRA program and ERISA status
EBSA said Conrail’s selection and review of IRA sponsors did not alone make its payroll deduction program an ERISA pension plan. The program would remain outside that definition only if all…
Crane certification in marine construction
An OSHA regional office asked when longshoring certification requirements apply to cranes used in marine construction. OSHA said marine construction cranes were not subject to those certification…
Sponsor-paid trustee and brokerage services for benefit plans
EBSA said The Ohio Company’s proposed trustee and brokerage service arrangement could use the ERISA exemption for necessary services if its conditions were met. Sponsor payment and independent…
Coal-mine burial fund is an ERISA welfare plan
EBSA found that a voluntary coal-mine employee association’s death benefit fund was an ERISA welfare plan. Its cash death payments were more than the small remembrances excluded by regulation, so…
Trustee repurchase agreements with IRA and Keogh plans
EBSA said Home Federal, acting as trustee, would engage in a prohibited transaction if it caused the described IRA or Keogh plans to buy its own repurchase agreements. The agency did not decide any…
Eligibility Review Program operations
ETA urged state agencies to operate the Eligibility Review Program in all local offices and described review practices. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Puerto Rico IRA tax bill and ERISA fiduciary duties
EBSA said Puerto Rico’s proposed IRA tax provisions would not be preempted merely because they were income tax laws. IRA programs that were ERISA pension plans would still have to meet federal…
Dissimilar metals in tube and coupler scaffolds
A scaffold company asked whether aluminum tubes and steel clamps could be used together. OSHA said permanent use of dissimilar metals would reduce design strength, but short-term use without…
Photochromatic safety lenses in changing light
An optical company asked for OSHA's ruling on photochromatic safety lenses. OSHA said variable tint lenses were unsuitable for indoor work with changing light, but could be used in steadier indoor…
Bank affiliate mortgage investment services and fiduciary duties
EBSA said the bank and an investment affiliate would be fiduciaries in the described mortgage investment programs. Their services could qualify for ERISA exemptions if the statutory conditions,…
Tree-trimming saddle belt testing
An attorney asked how tree-trimming saddle belts should be tested. OSHA said its standards did not then provide a specific procedure. The described test appeared to meet the Act’s intent if…
Respirators for isocyanate paint spraying
A respirator company asked about protection during spraying of isocyanate-containing paints. OSHA said negative-pressure paint spray respirators did not provide adequate protection because leaks or…
Safety footwear availability in logging
An OSHA region asked how the logging footwear provision related to the general protective equipment rule. OSHA said the same interpretation applied: employers had to make appropriate safety footwear…
Single stroke mechanisms on enclosed power presses
An OSHA regional office asked how to classify a missing single stroke mechanism on a full revolution mechanical power press. OSHA said it could be treated as a de minimis violation only when the…
Inspection limits for commercial diving firms in 1982
A Washington resident questioned why OSHA was not routinely inspecting small commercial diving operations. OSHA explained that a 1982 funding rider restricted programmed safety inspections of…
Employer requests for plan reports and trustee minutes
EBSA said ERISA did not generally require a plan to furnish trustee minutes and other requested documents to a contributing employer who was neither a participant nor a beneficiary. Some minutes…
Employer-stock sale between profit-sharing and stock plans
EBSA said a proposed employer-stock sale from one Yellow Freight plan to its stock ownership plan could qualify for ERISA’s exemption if the price was adequate consideration. It declined to decide…
Manufacturer eligibility for a scaffold variance
A scaffold manufacturer asked for a variance from a construction rule on dissimilar metals in tube and coupler scaffolds. OSHA said only an employer could seek a variance for its affected workers,…
Child-support withholding from unemployment benefits
ETA explained how state agencies should implement withholding of unemployment benefits for child-support obligations. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Construction pneumatic demolition tools
A tool maker asked whether OSHA regulated the backhead design of handheld pavement breakers. OSHA said the construction pneumatic tool rule did not specify that component’s design. It said pneumatic…
Construction blasting equipment and drilling near loaded holes
A state labor commissioner asked about equipment near blast holes and drilling near loaded holes. OSHA explained which vehicles and machinery must be removed during loading and blast preparation. It…
Damaged synthetic web slings with protective outer yarns
A manufacturer asked when synthetic web slings had to be removed from service. OSHA said damage reducing load capacity required removal, but slings designed with non-load-bearing protective jacket…
Reynolds retirement account plan and employer stock
The Labor Department said Reynolds’ adopted Individual Retirement Account Plan would be an ERISA pension and individual account plan. It would also qualify as a savings plan and eligible individual…
Noise action levels for work shifts over eight hours
An employer asked how the noise standard applies to shifts longer than eight hours. OSHA said the Table G-16 limit used for controls was not adjusted below 90 dB for longer shifts. The 85 dB hearing…
Employer payment of IRA payroll administration fees
EBSA said an employer could pay an IRA sponsor’s fee for operating payroll deductions without that payment alone making the IRA program an ERISA pension plan, if the fee was for the deduction…
Separate defined benefit plans report separately
EBSA said each defined benefit plan treated as a separate plan under the cited Treasury ruling was also separate for ERISA Title I reporting and disclosure. Each plan administrator had to meet those…
Walkway width for equipment maintenance access
A steel company asked what minimum width would be acceptable for a walkway used to maintain and reach equipment. OSHA said an 18-inch walkway would comply with the intent of its then-current general…
Minnesota usury law and ERISA participant loans
EBSA said ERISA preempted Minnesota’s general usury statute to the extent it applied to loans by employee benefit plans. The statute regulated lending broadly rather than banking, insurance, or…
Taco Bell voluntary disability plan ERISA exclusion
EBSA said Taco Bell’s California voluntary disability plan, as operated solely to provide state-mandated disability benefits, was excluded from ERISA Title I. Additional disability benefits required…
General industry rules for water well drilling
An OSHA region asked which standards applied to water well drilling. OSHA said employers engaged in that work should comply with applicable general-industry standards because the hazards resembled…
Uniform 13.75-inch rungs on a fixed ladder
An OSHA regional office asked how to treat a fixed ladder with uniformly spaced 13.75-inch rungs, above the rule's 12-inch maximum. OSHA said the condition could be noted as a de minimis violation.…
Rubber hoods over beards beneath respirators
A union asked whether a rubber diving hood under a respirator could provide a seal over a beard. OSHA said it would treat that arrangement as unacceptable in hazardous atmospheres without…
Grain elevator inspection guidance for mixed facilities
A company asked how OSHA's grain elevator inspection instruction applied to facilities with both grain handling and milling, and to several safety devices. OSHA said the instruction covered typical…
Third-class mail for benefit-plan disclosures
The Labor Department said the AFTRA funds could use second- or third-class mail for required plan materials without guaranteed forwarding if they requested address corrections and resent corrected…
Banks offering payroll deduction IRAs to their own staff
EBSA said a bank offering its public IRA products to its own employees through payroll deduction would not endorse the program solely by using one in-house investment option if the stated conditions…
De minimis treatment of indoor consumer-product storage aisles
An attorney asked whether consumer-product storage aisle arrangements that departed from the literal flammable-liquid table could be treated as de minimis. OSHA confirmed that understanding under…
Grounding portable generators and hand-held tools
An insurer asked about generator and power tool grounding on construction sites. OSHA said generators above 150 volts needed frame grounding under the cited 1971 code, while smaller generators could…
Safety chains at ladderway openings
An engineering firm asked whether chains could replace a swinging gate at a ladderway opening. OSHA said its rule called for a gate or offset passage, but chains offering at least equivalent…
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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.