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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PY 2006 common-measures performance negotiations
ETA instructed states to negotiate 2006 Wagner-Peyser employment and retention goals and average earnings targets, and to renegotiate earnings targets for WIA adult and dislocated worker programs.…
Sick leave deductions under fluctuating workweek pay
An employer asked whether it could reduce the fixed salary of nonexempt employees on a fluctuating workweek plan for full sick days after leave ran out. WHD said no: the plan requires the fixed…
Companionship exemption for third-party home-care staff
A home-care provider asked whether its staff could use the companionship exemption even though a third party employed them. WHD answered yes under the rule discussed in this 2006 letter. Current WHD…
Cylinder regulator shield and welding-gas storage rules
A device designer asked whether a small shield around a gas-cylinder regulator satisfies OSHA’s handling, movement, shielding, and storage rules. OSHA said it does not approve products, and this…
Weather breaks and restroom access for postal carriers
A postal carrier asked about breaks for heat or other weather exposure and restroom needs. OSHA said it had no specific comfort-break standard then, but provided heat and cold hazard guidance. It…
Annual performance and retention bonuses in overtime rate
An employer asked whether annual bonuses tied to financial goals and continued employment could be excluded from the overtime regular rate. WHD said no: the announced criteria made the bonuses…
Overtime calculation for production incentive bonuses
An employer asked whether its monthly production incentive plan paid enough overtime on nondiscretionary bonuses. WHD said the plan appeared compliant and explained that, when a bonus cannot be…
When welding-gas cylinders count as stored
A safety adviser asked why OSHA treated oxygen and acetylene cylinder storage differently in general industry and construction. OSHA explained that connected cylinders generally were not considered…
Expanding ETA’s youth services vision to Native American youth and youth with disabilities
ETA expanded its WIA youth services vision to include Indian and Native American youth and youth with disabilities among the groups it called most in need. It asked state and local workforce…
Single-lock exception for connected equipment
An employer asked whether the single-lock exception to written lockout procedures still applies when an adjoining conveyor needs a second lock to isolate a baler. OSHA said no. Two required locks…
Seat belts in excavator operator cabs
A contractor asked if excavator operator cabs must have seat belts under OSHA’s construction equipment rule. OSHA said the cited seat-belt provision covered listed earthmoving machines, not…
Double steel connections at beams away from columns
A steel erector asked whether the double-connection rule applies where two members meet at a beam web away from a column. OSHA said no: the cited provision addresses connections at a column web or a…
FY 2006 supplemental budget requests for UI technology security
ETA invited state workforce agencies to request FY 2006 supplemental funds to fix unemployment insurance technology security weaknesses found in recent audits or self-assessments. Each request had…
Construction welding-cylinder storage and de minimis policy
A requester asked when oxygen and acetylene cylinders on construction sites count as stored and how that differs from general industry. OSHA retained its 24-hour anticipated-use interpretation for…
Secure fastening of power-transmission guards
A lawyer asked whether a mechanical power-transmission guard must use screws or bolts to be securely fastened. OSHA said any method that prevents inadvertent movement or removal can satisfy the…
Temporary flexible cords through doorways and windows
A power plant asked whether temporary flexible cords can pass through windows, doorways, ceilings, and similar openings. OSHA said temporary cords may cross doorways or windows if protected from…
Blended twelve-hour shift rate and overtime pay
A union and employer asked whether a blended hourly rate for twelve-hour shifts satisfied FLSA overtime rules. WHD said it did not: the adjusted rate paid for every scheduled hour was the actual…
Application process for PY 2004 WIA section 503 incentive grants
ETA updated how states could apply for incentive grants tied to their 2004 performance under WIA, adult education and vocational education programs. It identified eligible states through a Federal…
City firefighters volunteering for a separate county district
A city asked whether its paid firefighters' volunteer service for a separate county fire district counted as city work time, including calls inside city limits. WHD said the two agencies were…
Police special details for a private coliseum contractor
A city asked whether its officers' security hours for a private contractor at a city-owned coliseum counted toward city overtime. WHD said the contractor was a separate employer, so qualifying…
Team sales bonuses in the overtime regular rate
A used-car business asked whether monthly team bonuses tied to sales-lot targets were discretionary and could be excluded from overtime calculations. WHD said they were nondiscretionary because…
Retroactive pension credit for a working owner
Multiemployer pension trustees asked whether a working owner counted as an ERISA employee and whether a proposed contribution for his past service would create a prohibited benefit. EBSA treated the…
Fall protection rules for attachable scaffold ladders
A consultant asked whether the construction fixed-ladder fall-protection provisions apply to ladders attached to scaffolds. OSHA said those Subpart X provisions do not apply to attachable scaffold…
Impalement hazards from rebar and similar projections
A contractor asked about guarding vertical pipe and conduit, sizing rebar caps, and temporarily removing caps for concrete pours. OSHA said the rebar rule does not itself cover other projections,…
Caged fixed-ladder climb with a lateral platform
A facilities employer asked whether a lateral access platform partway up a 62-foot caged ladder breaks the continuous climb. OSHA said no, because the climber would not leave the ladder, and the…
Tieback angle for window-cleaning boatswain chairs
A window-cleaning requester asked if a tieback 25 degrees from perpendicular was allowed for a boatswain chair. OSHA said the then-current rule specified a perpendicular tieback and discussed…
Cold-weather liners beneath construction hard hats
A construction company asked whether workers may wear hats, scarves, or liners beneath hard hats in cold weather. OSHA said liners designed to preserve the helmet’s protective properties were not…
Construction guardrail height at general-industry facilities
An OSHA regional office asked whether construction workers at a general-industry site could use an existing 36-inch guardrail accepted for general-industry work under a then-current directive. OSHA…
PY 2006 State Senior Employment Services Coordination Plans
ETA told Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees when they needed to modify their 2005 state coordination plans for Program Year 2006. Changes in grantees, governing law or policy,…
Revised deadline for 2006 areas of substantial unemployment designations
ETA moved the deadline for states to submit 2006 area of substantial unemployment designation forms from April 14 to May 26, 2006. The forms were to reach both ETA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics…
PY 2006 WIA and Wagner-Peyser allotments and related rescissions
ETA announced 2006 funding estimates and allotments for WIA youth, adult and dislocated worker programs, the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service, workforce information grants and two tax credit…
FY 2005 UI performance and FY 2006 targets
ETA reported that state unemployment insurance programs met the FY 2005 target for prompt employer tax-account determinations but fell just short on payment timeliness and overpayment detection. It…
Employment status of students in a weeklong externship
A university asked whether students shadowing workers for one week without pay became employees of their sponsors. WHD said no under the six-factor trainee test it used in 2006, emphasizing the…
Native American Employment and Training Council nominations
ETA asked Workforce Investment Act Section 166 grantees and eligible Native American organizations to nominate members for seats on the Native American Employment and Training Council. It listed the…
Outside sales exemption for field mortgage loan officers
A lender asked whether mortgage loan officers who sell loans during regular in-person visits away from the office qualified for the outside sales exemption. WHD said the described field officers…
PY 2005 dislocated worker fund reallotment
ETA announced that $239,605 in 2005 dislocated worker funds would be recaptured from two states and reallotted to other states under the Workforce Investment Act. It explained when obligation…
UI information technology security self-assessment
ETA gave state unemployment agencies additional information about federal IT security guidance and encouraged them to assess their unemployment systems using NIST's self-assessment method. It…
Release of 2005 UI benefit accuracy data
ETA set dates for state unemployment agencies to close and check their 2005 Benefit Accuracy Measurement cases before federal publication. It described how hurricane-related suspensions in five…
Access to viral genetic information under exposure-record rules
A former laboratory employee asked whether OSHA’s exposure-record rule required an employer to provide a viral vector’s genetic map, nucleotide sequence in a requested digital format, and a physical…
Impalement protection while tying rebar mats
A contractor asked whether workers could remove rebar caps to tie an upper reinforcement mat over vertical bars. OSHA said cap removal is not necessarily infeasible in every such case and that…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts, April–June 2006
ETA gave state workforce agencies a table of minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April 1 through June 30, 2006. It based the amounts on 2005…
Portable ladder rail extensions in general industry
A ladder-system manufacturer asked whether securely attached walk-through rail extensions violate general-industry ladder requirements. OSHA said it would treat extensions secured against…
Fiscal year 2006 alien labor certification grants
ETA explained how state workforce agencies could request and manage fiscal 2006 alien labor certification grants. It directed states to split funding between agricultural and nonagricultural…
Revised 2006 area of substantial unemployment designations
ETA directed states to recalculate their 2006 areas of substantial unemployment using 1990 Census data when breaking federal labor statistics areas into smaller units. It planned interim youth and…
Retail commission exemption for health club membership directors
A health club asked whether membership directors paid through base pay, draws, commissions, and bonuses qualified for the retail commission overtime exemption. WHD said the club was a retail service…
Stock purchase plan matching shares and overtime regular rate
An employer asked whether shares it matched under an employee stock purchase plan entered the regular rate for overtime. WHD found the described plan met the thrift-plan conditions for excluding…
Equipment damage charges against exempt employees
An employer asked whether it could charge salaried exempt workers for lost or damaged company equipment. WHD said deductions from salary or required out-of-pocket repayment would violate the…
Required hours and makeup time for salaried exempt staff
An employer asked whether requiring already exempt salaried staff to work set weekly hours and make up short personal absences would end their exemption. WHD said those requirements could be imposed…
Different pay rates for police canine care
A law enforcement agency asked whether officers could receive a different rate for required care of assigned dogs, including overtime care. WHD said a bona fide advance agreement could set a…
Existing two-bolt steel columns in renovations
A renovation contractor asked whether an existing column with two anchor bolts must be changed to four when the column remains in place but is extended. OSHA said the cited four-bolt requirement was…
Who may train workers on powder-actuated tools
A safety adviser asked whether a manufacturer representative or formally designated competent person must train construction workers on powder-actuated tools. OSHA said the rule names neither…
Horizontal rebar close to ground level
A requester asked whether rebar extending horizontally from a beam 12 inches above grade needs caps or covers. OSHA said the rule covers horizontal steel if a worker could fall or trip into it and…
Concrete-strength notice for steel erected on an old slab
A steel erector asked whether a controlling contractor must give a written concrete-strength notification for a slab poured years before a renovation. OSHA said failure to give the notice would be a…
Flame-resistant clothing at chemical process facilities
A chemical plant asked how OSHA assesses flame-resistant clothing for employees and contractors around flash-fire hazards. OSHA said flash-fire hazards at this facility required employees in…
2005 military pension cost of living adjustments
ETA told state workforce agencies about military retired pay cost of living increases effective December 1, 2005. It listed increases by retirement date and directed states whose laws offset…
2006 General Schedule locality pay adjustments
ETA alerted state workforce agencies to 2006 locality pay rates for General Schedule federal employees in 31 areas. It described when those rates took effect and where agencies could find the…
Using WIA funds for incumbent and employed worker training
ETA explained three ways workforce agencies could fund training for employed or incumbent workers under the Workforce Investment Act: statewide reserve activities, local formula funds under existing…
Voluntary after-hours English study and hours worked
A restaurant asked whether employees must be paid when they choose to study employer-provided basic English materials at home. WHD said the described voluntary study outside regular hours was not…
MSPA transportation vehicle safety standards
WHD gave investigators definitions and examples for applying Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act vehicle-safety requirements. It distinguishes vehicle types and configurations,…
Second-to-die life policy sale to insured participants
A requester wrote on behalf of a participating couple who wanted to buy their second-to-die life insurance policy from their plan. EBSA explained how prohibited transaction exemption 92-6 applies,…
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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.