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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Securing a transmission tower while suspended by helicopter
A requester asked whether OSHA's ground-lines rule prevented a helicopter from positioning a two-legged electrical transmission tower. OSHA said it did not. The agency said some base bolts could be…
Collectively bargained vacation trust is an ERISA welfare plan
DOL found the described jointly bargained vacation trust to be an ERISA welfare plan subject to reporting, disclosure, and fiduciary requirements. It said the parties could decide whether to…
Puerto Rico welfare plans under ERISA Title I
A requester asked whether ERISA Title I covered an employee welfare plan maintained in Puerto Rico. DOL said ERISA’s state definition includes Puerto Rico and that a covered welfare plan was subject…
Fire-treated cardboard in a spray booth
A manufacturer sought a variance to use fire-treated cardboard on the floor and lower walls of a spray booth to simplify cleanup. OSHA said the described use met the spray-booth rule's intent, so no…
Aerial-lift basket use while traveling to a pole
An electrical workers' union asked whether aerial-lift rules barred riding in a basket and transferring to a pole. OSHA said the cited work-position rules applied while performing the task, not…
Electrical product approvals and testing laboratories
A standards organization asked about changes to the National Electrical Code and recognition of electrical-product approvals. OSHA described the code's revised enforcement text and said it could not…
Claims procedures in plan documents
A requester asked whether ERISA claims procedures had to appear in the written plan instrument when already in plan and summary descriptions. DOL said section 503 and the then proposed regulation…
Hydraulic restrictors on log-handling machines
OSHA reviewed a variance dispute over hydraulically operated log-handling machines. Its January 1975 answer said installing restrictors met the standard's intent to prevent a load or fork from…
Guarding by location on a machine with foot treadle
A manufacturer sought a variance from point-of-operation guarding for a modified machine. OSHA said moving the foot treadle and using a hand lever appeared to provide acceptable guarding by…
Gasoline drums used for construction-site refueling
An OSHA area office asked whether a pickup truck could carry 55-gallon gasoline drums and dispense fuel with a hand pump at construction sites. OSHA said that setup was permissible if the drums were…
Crane swing-radius memorandum and standard text
A contractor asked how an OSHA field memorandum affected the crane swing-radius standard. OSHA said a field memorandum could address part of a standard but did not alter it, and inspectors still had…
Safe ladder access to scaffold platforms
A contractor asked what counted as safe scaffold access. OSHA said attached portable ladders had to meet ladder rules and integral scaffold ladders could be acceptable if properly designed and…
Ground crews beneath hovering helicopters
OSHA clarified whether workers could work beneath a hovering helicopter to position a power-distribution tower. It said the cited construction rule contemplated such work when needed to guide and…
Vehicle standards for construction sites and deliveries
OSHA responded to a request to clarify which construction vehicle rule applied to equipment moving on a jobsite and vehicles delivering to it. The memorandum discusses Sections 1926.601 and 1926.602…
Union severance pay plan treated as an ERISA pension plan
DOL explained that the described union-funded severance plan is an ERISA pension plan to the extent it defers employees' income until their employment ends or later. The determination concerned a…
Historical ERISA view on sex discrimination in pensions
This 1974 letter discussed different pension participation rules and smaller early retirement annuity payments for women under the law then in effect. Its age-25 ERISA participation threshold has…
Clamshell buckets in demolition work
A demolition contractor asked whether clamshell buckets could be used. OSHA said they were not categorically prohibited, but the operation still had to meet demolition and crane rules, including…
Unemployment claimants in approved training
ETA explained when states must preserve unemployment benefits for claimants in approved training, how training allowances may affect payments, and which agency approves interstate training. ETA…
Scaffold platform widths and a proposed minimum
An internal OSHA memo identified scaffold types whose then-current rules lacked a general minimum platform width, while two-point suspension scaffolds had a 20-inch rule. The author recommended a…
Stair railings in public-use buildings
An OSHA region asked about railings on very wide stairways. OSHA said its stairway rule applied to stairs intended for employees, while the described public-use building stairway design fell outside…
Open-flame work on rope-supported staging
An OSHA field office asked about welding and other open-flame work on suspended staging. OSHA said it was prohibited where the staging was supported by fiber or synthetic rope, with stated…
Tenant employer responsibility for floor-load postings
An insurer asked who would be cited if a building owner refused to help a tenant evaluate and post floor loads. OSHA said the tenant employer remained responsible for exposed employees and would be…
Roll-over protection for trenchers and snow vehicles
A trade group asked whether trenchers and snow vehicles needed roll-over protective structures. OSHA said its standards did not require them on snow vehicles, but did require them on wheeled…
Records of welding-equipment inspections
A company asked whether OSHA maintained or approved forms for recording welding-equipment inspections. OSHA said it had no such forms and would accept any practical recordkeeping method an employer…
Sod growing and incidental installation as agriculture
A lawyer asked whether growing sod and installing it as a minor part of the same business counted as agriculture. OSHA's solicitor said both activities did on the specific facts presented, while the…
Nonprofit reimbursement options for elective coverage
ETA explained that federal law permits states to choose contribution or reimbursement treatment for small nonprofit employers covered only by election, while required coverage carries a contribution…
Fall protection at formwork deck edges
An OSHA standards official explained how the construction fall-protection rule applied at formwork decks. Workers at open sides generally needed railings or equivalents; leading-edge deck installers…
Flammable-liquid rule applied to wineries
OSHA issued a standard notice explaining how its flammable-liquid rule applied to wineries. It said Section 1910.106(i) governed and that wine held in tanks or vats before bottling was part of…
Cable and chain guards at construction openings
An OSHA regional memo addressed cable and chain barriers at construction floor and wall openings. It set regional criteria for strength, anchoring, tension, visibility, and toeboards so those…
Exit-door locks and illuminated exit signs
OSHA staff asked how exit-door locks and exit-sign lighting rules worked. OSHA said exit doors had to open from the egress side without a key and described acceptable release hardware and sign…
Maximum safeguards for reimbursing nonprofits
ETA explained that the combined safeguards imposed on a reimbursing nonprofit should not exceed the state’s maximum contribution rate applied to that employer’s annual taxable payroll. ETA still…
Disaster-related benefit noncharging and experience rating
ETA changed its prior position and allowed states to omit employer charges for benefits directly caused by a presidentially declared major natural disaster under specified conditions. ETA still…
Color of workplace exit signs
An employer asked whether OSHA prohibited red exit signs. OSHA said its cited exit-marking rule did not ban red; any color or combination was acceptable if the sign was readily visible or…
Torres and Dinger ruling on benefit termination
ETA explained that the Torres and Dinger decisions supported informal interviews before suspension or termination of unemployment benefits without a full prior hearing. ETA still lists the letter as…
Aisle marking colors and recommended widths
OSHA field offices asked what aisle markings would comply in industrial workplaces. OSHA said line color and pattern could vary if they clearly marked the aisle, and gave widths for markings and…
Experience recapture for returning employers
ETA explained that a returning employer who recaptures prior experience may still be treated as newly covered for reduced-rate eligibility, subject to the state’s lawful rating method. ETA still…
Small-package alcoholic beverage exemption
A distilled-spirits group asked OSHA to confirm an exemption for alcoholic beverages under its flammable-liquid storage rule. OSHA said beverages packaged in units of one gallon or less were exempt…
Procedures for implementing the Java decision
ETA sent model procedures for implementing the Supreme Court’s Java decision, including notice before determination and prompt benefit payment. It urged states that had not revised their own…
Draft state legislation implementing Java
ETA supplied draft state-law language and an explanation to implement prompt benefit payment after the Java decision. The letter names an explanatory statement and draft legislation as attachments.…
Java decision on prompt benefit payment
ETA explained that the Java decision requires prompt benefit payment after an allowance despite a pending appeal, plus notice and an opportunity for claimant and employer input before the…
Revised claim filing and employment-service standards
ETA explained revised standards that gave states more flexibility in filing and reporting including optional biweekly claim filing and payment and continued access to employment services. ETA still…
New work and prevailing wage conditions
ETA explained when an offer counts as “new work” for unemployment claims and when prevailing local conditions must be assessed. Any offer from a former employer after the employment contract has…
Reopening missed benefit appeal hearings
The Bureau of Employment Security explained that a claimant who misses a benefit appeal hearing for good cause must be able to request reopening within a reasonable time. ETA still lists the letter…
South Dakota wage-based benefit disqualification decision
ETA published the Secretary’s decision finding that South Dakota’s wage-based periods of benefit ineligibility conflicted with federal unemployment compensation requirements. The complete decision…
Uncashed unemployment checks and state funds
The Bureau of Employment Security explained that uncashed checks drawn on unemployment benefit or administration accounts cannot be transferred to a state general fund, and instructed states to…
Disaster-related benefit charges under experience rating
The Bureau of Employment Security reported that the Secretary found disaster-related noncharging provisions in two state laws inconsistent with federal requirements. Pennsylvania’s provision…
Interstate localization of work for UI coverage
The Bureau of Employment Security recommended a uniform interpretation of state-law tests for deciding which state's unemployment law covers work across state lines. Those laws call for considering…
UI internal security risk-analysis guide
ETA transmitted technical assistance materials on state UI security risk analysis and explained that their methodology was optional. Current status is unconfirmed.
Revenue Quality Control program questions and answers
ETA supplied answers to state agencies' practical questions about the Revenue Quality Control program for unemployment tax operations. The attached May 1994 questions address data processing,…
State insurance licensing of ERISA-covered MEWAs
Texas regulators asked whether requiring an ERISA-covered MEWA to obtain a certificate of authority, with penalties and injunctions for operating without one, would conflict with ERISA. EBSA said…
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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.