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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Sealing asbestos flooring before new installation
A contractor asked whether covering asbestos-containing flooring with a barrier film avoided asbestos-work rules. OSHA said no: vacuuming the existing floor can be Class IV work, and removing…
Replacing a damaged vacuum-cleaner plug
A maintenance manager asked whether a vacuum cleaner with a broken cord end needed an entire new cord. OSHA said an approved replacement plug could be used if the equipment is restored to its…
Round rungs on workplace ladders
A requester asked whether OSHA permits round rungs on bunk-bed and fire-escape ladders. OSHA said its rules apply to workplaces and do not prohibit round ladder rungs, provided the applicable…
FY 2014 Work Opportunity Tax Credit funding and reporting
ETA allocated fiscal year 2014 funds for state administration of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and set quarterly reporting instructions. During the authorization lapse beginning January 2014, it…
2014 SCSEP planning instructions and allotments
ETA instructed Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees how to apply for program year 2014 funding. It required a program narrative, signed assurances, budget forms, and service area…
Hazard statements and unknown toxicity in mixtures
A toxicology firm asked when a chemical label may omit a precautionary statement and how mixtures with unknown acute toxicity should be classified. OSHA said omission requires supporting data…
Remote monitoring of permit-required confined spaces
An employer asked whether a centralized control room could handle atmospheric testing, observation and attendant duties for permit-required confined-space entry. OSHA said remote testing and…
Submitting state UI work search rules
ETA reminded states to send the Department their work search laws, policies, procedures and precedential decisions in effect January 1, 2014, using Form MA 8-7. The letter explains that those…
DVOP specialist services for veterans ages 18–24
The Secretary of Labor designated veterans ages 18 to 24 for intensive services from Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program specialists upon request. ETA and the Veterans’ Employment and Training…
Veterans grant staff roles at American Job Centers
ETA and the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service explained the roles of veterans grant staff and other American Job Center staff serving veterans. It focused Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program…
FY 2014 UI reemployment assessment grants
ETA invited state workforce agencies to apply for FY 2014 grants to start or continue unemployment reemployment and eligibility assessment programs. The letter lays out program design, proposal…
2014 WIA and Wagner-Peyser program allotments
ETA provided program year 2014 funding allotments for WIA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs, Wagner-Peyser employment services, and workforce information grants. It explained funding and…
OSHA standards for airline cabin crew in operation
OSHA told its regional offices that three of its standards would apply to cabin crew on aircraft in operation: noise, hazard communication and bloodborne pathogens. The memorandum excludes flight…
SCSEP wages excluded from housing and SNAP income tests
ETA told Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees that participants’ SCSEP wages are excluded when determining income eligibility for federally funded housing programs and SNAP. It…
Post accident communication and tracking systems
MSHA explains how underground coal mines can meet MINER Act emergency communication and tracking requirements. It describes system features, coverage, equipment approval, and mine specific review by…
FLSA rules for shared living and home care
WHD examined shared living arrangements where a caregiver lives with an older adult or person with a disability. It explains how to decide whether the provider is an employee, which time counts as…
2014 farmworker employment and training grant planning
ETA instructed National Farmworker Jobs Program employment and training grantees how to seek program year 2014 funding. It required plans addressing the service area, training, partnerships,…
2014 farmworker housing grant planning
ETA instructed National Farmworker Jobs Program housing grantees how to submit second-year grant plans for program year 2014. It required housing needs analysis, activities, partnerships, outcomes,…
State program funding after the 2013 federal shutdown
ETA answered state workforce and unemployment insurance agencies’ questions about the October 2013 federal funding lapse. Its attachment explains when states could seek interest on their own funds…
Safety belts and lines at metal and nonmetal mines
MSHA explains when workers at metal and nonmetal mines need safety belts and lines under its fall hazard standards. It says compliance with OSHA’s fall protection rule will often satisfy MSHA’s…
Disaster unemployment assistance amounts for spring 2014
ETA sent state agencies a table of 50 percent of each state’s average weekly unemployment benefit, rounded for use as the minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance weekly amount. The figures covered…
Prompt access to workplace toilets
A worker’s family member asked about restrictions on toilet use at work. OSHA said its sanitation standard requires employers to make toilets available and allow employees prompt access;…
Combustible-dust labels and safety data sheets
A petroleum trade group asked how the 2012 hazard-communication rule applied to products that could form combustible dust during later processing. OSHA allowed certain added wording that does not…
Hazards not otherwise classified under HCS
A petroleum trade group asked what counts as a “hazard not otherwise classified” under the 2012 hazard-communication rule. OSHA said the effect must be a material impairment from a chemical’s…
Classifying and disclosing petroleum streams
A petroleum trade group asked how to classify crude-oil-derived streams and disclose their constituents on safety data sheets. OSHA explained that classifiers must use available hazard data and may,…
Target-organ toxicity classification for mixtures
A petroleum trade group asked whether a mixture containing 1% to less than 10% of a Category 1 target-organ-toxic ingredient could be classified as Category 2. OSHA said that may be acceptable in…
2014 agricultural outreach plans and farmworker offices
ETA instructed state workforce agencies on 2014 agricultural outreach plans for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. It designated states and local offices with significant farmworker activity,…
2014 interest on federal UI trust advances
ETA announced that Treasury would charge 2.3874 percent interest on repayable Title XII unemployment trust fund advances during calendar year 2014. It told states planning to borrow to arrange funds…
Additional options for state work-sharing laws
ETA approved nine additional optional provisions that states may include in short-time compensation or work-sharing laws without creating a federal conformity issue. The options include excluding…
FY 2014 initial TAA allocations and reserve requests
ETA gave states their initial fiscal year 2014 Trade Adjustment Assistance training and related activity allocations and explained the allocation formula. It also set out how states could request…
Phaseout of health coverage tax credit data
ETA told state agencies how to phase out data transmissions to the IRS after the Health Coverage Tax Credit expired at the start of 2014. It addressed transmission timing for eligible Trade…
2014 SCSEP poverty and income eligibility guidelines
ETA told Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees to use its attached 2014 federal poverty and 125 percent low-income thresholds when determining participant eligibility. It said the…
FY 2014 foreign labor certification grant planning
ETA told state workforce agencies how to apply for and manage fiscal year 2014 foreign labor certification grants. It set a 30-day application deadline and attached planning instructions, an annual…
2014 HCTC grant wind-down guidance
ETA instructed states on winding down Health Coverage Tax Credit National Emergency Grants after the credit's January 2014 expiration. It stopped accepting new or modified grant applications,…
Revised ETA 191 federal unemployment report
ETA transmitted revised pages for the ETA 191 report, which states use to report federal employee and ex-servicemember unemployment expenditures and adjustments. The attachment contains the updated…
YouthBuild sequential service eligibility clarification
ETA clarified TEGL 11-09, Change 1: a YouthBuild sequential service strategy applies to youth entering a YouthBuild program after at least a year in a YouthBuild-operated charter school that awards…
2014 military pension cost-of-living adjustments
ETA told states that federal military retired pay and survivor annuities had cost-of-living adjustments effective in late 2013. States whose unemployment laws reduce benefits for pension income were…
2014 pension adjustments and UI benefit offsets
ETA told state agencies that Social Security survivor and retirement annuities and federal civilian pensions had a cost-of-living increase for 2014. States whose unemployment laws offset weekly…
Spineboard decontamination and bloodborne pathogens
A device maker asked OSHA to require self-contained machines for decontaminating spineboards. OSHA declined to prescribe a particular device because its bloodborne-pathogens rule allows employers to…
WOTC procedures during the 2014 authorization lapse
During the WOTC authorization lapse that began January 1, 2014, ETA directed state agencies to accept, date stamp, log, and retain new certification requests without issuing eligibility…
2014 military pay schedule for UCX claims
ETA gave states an updated military remuneration schedule for ex-servicemember unemployment claims filed from January 2014. It says states use the schedule to calculate military wages when the…
Bleeder system examination and effectiveness
MSHA explains how underground coal mine operators should examine and evaluate bleeder ventilation systems. The policy covers travel through bleeder entries, measurements of methane, oxygen and air…
2014 Trade Adjustment Assistance sunset instructions
ETA instructed states how to administer Trade Adjustment Assistance for workers covered by petitions filed on or after January 1, 2014, under the 2011 law's sunset provisions. It distinguished those…
Combustible-dust classification enforcement guidance
OSHA instructed inspectors how to assess whether manufacturers and importers classify combustible-dust hazards correctly under the 2012 hazard-communication rule. It discusses test results, known…
Regular cleanup of coal dust and combustibles
MSHA explains the written cleanup program required for underground coal mine accumulations of coal dust, float coal dust, loose coal, and other combustibles. Operators should describe cleanup…
Electrical approval of industrial machinery
A code official asked whether OSHA’s electrical installation and approval rules cover industrial machinery. OSHA said powered machinery is utilization equipment covered by Subpart S, including its…
Mining under bodies of water
Coal mine operators planning to mine beneath a river, lake, stream, or other body of water must notify the district manager before work starts. MSHA says the notice should give enough detail to…
Employer payment for safety-toe footwear
An elevator workers’ union asked whether an employer must pay for safety-toe shoes required by its policy. OSHA said standard, non-specialty safety-toe shoes need not be employer-paid if workers may…
Interim enforcement of 2013 hazard-communication training
OSHA told inspectors to cite employers that had not trained potentially exposed workers on the new hazard-label elements and safety-data-sheet format by December 1, 2013. The attached questions…
Rapid HIV testing after workplace exposure
A federal health agency asked whether source-person HIV testing completed three to four hours after an exposure could be “as soon as feasible.” OSHA said it could under the 2013 guidance and that…
2013 shutdown claims and administrative funding questions
ETA answered further state questions about unemployment claims filed by federal workers furloughed during the October 2013 government shutdown and the effect of retroactive pay. Its attachment…
Disaster unemployment assistance amounts for early 2014
ETA sent state agencies a table of 50 percent of each state’s average weekly unemployment benefit, rounded for use as the minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance weekly amount. The figures covered…
Ingredients in Section 3 of mixture safety data sheets
A safety-data-sheet provider asked whether hazardous ingredients must be listed when a mixture is classified using test data for the whole mixture. OSHA said Section 3 ingredient disclosure still…
Protection factors for combination respirators
A federal agency asked why a combination supplied-air respirator has an assigned protection factor of 1,000 in normal use but 10,000 in escape mode. OSHA said the protection factor follows the mode…
Deferred prosecution agreements and QPAM eligibility
An investment manager asked whether an affiliate’s deferred prosecution agreements would disqualify it from acting as a qualified professional asset manager under a prohibited transaction exemption.…
Marking contaminated laundry for reuse
A laundry association asked whether blood-contaminated linens in red bags had to be treated as waste. OSHA said reusable contaminated laundry is separate from regulated waste, and red bags are…
Recovering benefits after 2013 federal shutdown pay
After the October 2013 government shutdown ended and furloughed federal employees received retroactive pay, ETA said they were no longer eligible for federal employee unemployment benefits for the…
Sharing employee medical and exposure records
An asbestos contractor asked whether project owners, consultants or inspectors could demand workers’ medical and exposure records. OSHA said its access rule grants rights to employees, their…
Program year 2012 WIA annual report narrative
ETA set the required and recommended content of states' program year 2012 Workforce Investment Act annual report narratives, including customer satisfaction, evaluation, cost, and veterans service…
Unemployment guidance during the 2013 federal shutdown
During the October 2013 federal shutdown, ETA answered state questions about federal employee unemployment claims and state unemployment administration. The attached questions and answers addressed…
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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.