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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Live-in domestic service overtime exemption for agency nurses
A care agency asked whether a nurse living with a client could qualify for the live-in domestic service overtime exemption. WHD answered yes under its 2005 interpretation, while still requiring…
2005 policy on third-party companionship exemption
A requester asked whether a court decision had changed WHD’s policy for third-party employers of companionship workers. WHD said in 2005 that its policy still allowed the exemption outside the…
Personnel entry controls under process safety management
A process operator asked whether trained maintenance staff who were planning future work had to follow facility-entry controls. OSHA said the process-safety rule covers maintenance supervisors and…
Release schedule for 2004 UI benefit accuracy data
ETA set deadlines for states to finish and check their calendar year 2004 unemployment benefit accuracy cases before federal publication in 2005. It supplied sample paid and denied claims reports,…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefit amounts, April–June 2005
ETA supplied a state-by-state table of average weekly unemployment benefits and the resulting minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April 1…
Experience Rating Index for unemployment tax rate year 2003
ETA published the Experience Rating Index for each state for unemployment tax rate year 2003, alongside historical figures for 1988 through 2003. The index measures how much of unemployment benefits…
Prime contractor responsibility for construction safety violations
A contractor asked whether the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act imposed broader responsibility for subcontractor safety violations than OSHA’s Multi-Employer Citation Policy. OSHA said…
FY 2005 Alien Labor Certification grant guidance
ETA told state workforce agencies how to use FY 2005 alien labor certification grants while permanent certification cases moved to federal processing centers. It set tasks for prevailing wage…
Box-truck confined spaces during hazardous-materials response
An emergency-response professional asked whether a box van becomes a permit-required confined space after a hazardous-materials release. OSHA said it could not determine the space’s classification…
Inspection timing for infrequently used forklifts
An employer asked whether a forklift used only once or twice a month had to be examined daily. OSHA said a powered industrial truck must be examined before it is placed in service, so a stored truck…
Emergency medical services on construction sites
A construction worker asked about AEDs, first-aid staffing, emergency communication, respirators, and foreman qualifications. OSHA said construction employers must plan for prompt medical attention…
Planned common performance reporting measures
ETA told states it planned to revise existing workforce program reports so several federal programs could use common performance measures. It gave proposed 2005 implementation dates, described the…
Native American Employment and Training Council nominations
ETA asked WIA section 166 grantees and eligible Native American organizations to nominate candidates for expiring seats on the Native American Employment and Training Council. It identified which…
Climbing roof trusses for bracing under residential construction guidance
An OSHA regional office asked whether workers could climb the lower chords of roof trusses to install bracing where a residential structure had no interior walls. OSHA said that method was outside…
Insurance broker compensation reported on Schedule A
A requester asked which insurer-paid broker commissions and fees must be reported for policies funding ERISA plans. EBSA said insurers must allocate the attributable compensation to each policy…
Self-employment training for Workforce Investment Act clients
ETA encouraged state workforce agencies and local boards to make entrepreneurial training available to people interested in self-employment under the Workforce Investment Act. It asked states to…
Toilet access for workers on high-rise construction sites
A worker asked whether toilets only on the ground floor are sufficient for crews working on the tenth floor without elevators. OSHA said it could not decide without knowing the travel time, but…
Changes to UI Performs unemployment insurance measures
ETA revised the UI Performs system for measuring state unemployment insurance administration. It reduced the measures with performance targets to a smaller group of core measures, kept other data…
Process safety at remote natural gas facilities
A natural-gas operator asked whether a compressor station and processing plant qualified for the process-safety rule’s normally unoccupied remote-facility exemption. OSHA said the facts were…
Fall-protection tie-off to structures beside aerial lifts
A device maker asked OSHA to expand its de minimis enforcement policy for workers tied to structures beside aerial lifts. OSHA declined to broaden it, explaining that the exception depended on an…
Different overtime rates for firefighters doing two jobs
A city asked whether firefighters assigned to higher-paid investigation and training jobs could receive overtime at the rate for whichever job they performed during overtime hours. WHD said section…
Georgia agricultural commissions in state health plan
Georgia asked whether employees of its agricultural commodities commissions could join the state health benefit plan without ending its governmental-plan exemption. EBSA found the commissions were…
Ambient-noise checks for audiometric testing rooms
A medical group asked how often to evaluate room noise for employee hearing tests. OSHA said the room must meet the required background-noise limits whenever a test is performed. A fixed booth may…
OSHA approval of machine design and risk assessments
A machinery maker asked OSHA to accept its packaging-machine design and risk assessment under OSHA and ANSI standards. OSHA said it had not reviewed or approved the design and does not test,…
European machine-guarding standards and OSHA requirements
A machine maker asked whether guards built to European standards could satisfy OSHA’s U.S. machine-guarding rule. OSHA said a European-standard method may be used if it actually protects workers as…
Extension of the ETA 5130 Benefit Appeals Report collection
ETA told state unemployment agencies that federal approval to collect the Benefit Appeals Report, ETA 5130, had been extended through November 30, 2007. It also supplied the required paperwork…
2005 increases in Social Security and federal civilian annuities
ETA notified state unemployment agencies of cost of living increases in Social Security and federal civilian retirement annuities. Its attachment lists the prorated 2005 increases for Civil Service…
2005 locality pay adjustments for federal civilian workers
ETA alerted state unemployment agencies to 2005 locality pay changes for General Schedule federal employees. Staff handling Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees claims could use the rates…
Interest on Title XII unemployment fund advances in 2005
ETA told states how interest on federal Title XII unemployment fund loans is calculated and when it must be paid. The letter's heading addresses calendar year 2005, but its rate sentence prints…
Ground-fault protection on construction branch circuits
An electrical-contractors group asked whether 208-volt construction outlets need ground-fault protection and whether the electrical subcontractor must monitor other trades. OSHA said protection…
Residential-use cooling fans in industrial workplaces
A manufacturer asked whether employees could bring home-use personal fans into an industrial workplace. OSHA said acceptability depends on the fan’s listing and labeling and on how and where it is…
Documenting process-hazard analysis of failed controls
A process-safety consultant asked what documentation satisfies OSHA’s requirement to evaluate the possible employee effects of failed controls. OSHA said the standard is performance based: teams may…
Asbestos regulated areas during construction demolition
A construction contractor asked when demolition work needs an asbestos regulated area and what controls apply to sheetrock with less than one percent asbestos. OSHA said regulated-area duties depend…
Ticket to Work eligibility for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit
ETA explained to state workforce agencies how the 2004 Ticket to Work amendment affected Work Opportunity Tax Credit requests. It said eligible ticket holders could be processed under the vocational…
Clarifications for 2004 workforce information grants
ETA clarified its 2004 workforce information grant guidance for state agencies. It moved the plan submission date to September 30, 2004, said the published suballocations were guidelines rather than…
Automatic restart of woodworking and metalworking equipment
A manufacturer asked whether low-voltage woodworking and metalworking tools need protection from restarting automatically after a power outage. OSHA said its woodworking rule applies regardless of…
Advance notice of 2005 WIA state planning guidance
ETA alerted states that it planned to revise Workforce Investment Act and Wagner-Peyser planning guidance for 2005. It previewed priorities for the new plans, set a May 31 submission target, and…
Pneumatic cleaning tools on construction sites
A tool maker asked which construction safety rules would apply to a pneumatic cleaner for concrete forms, bridge decks, and roads. OSHA identified hose-security, safe-pressure, chip-guard, and other…
Safety chains on pile-driving hydraulic hoses
A safety consultant asked whether the pile-driving rule’s hose-chain requirement covers hydraulic hammers and their power packs. OSHA said it does: the rule applies to each pressurized hose…
Why construction workers must secure compressed-gas cylinders
An insurance professional asked whether evidence disputing the risk of a fallen cylinder becoming a projectile made OSHA’s cylinder-securing rule unnecessary. OSHA said the rule also addresses…
Brush eradication and the agriculture overtime exemption
A brush-clearing business asked whether its workers qualified for the agricultural overtime exemption. WHD said clearing uncultivated growth and processing it into mulch were not primary…
Intrastate petroleum deliveries and motor carrier overtime
A petroleum carrier asked whether drivers completing in-state deliveries of fuel that arrived from out of state qualified for the motor carrier overtime exemption. WHD said deliveries to named…
2005 cost of living increases in federal military pensions
ETA listed cost of living increases in federal military retired pay effective December 1, 2004, with percentages varying by the service member's entry and retirement dates. State unemployment…
SCSEP income eligibility definitions and calculations
ETA told Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees how to count income and define a family when checking applicant eligibility. It excluded several benefits from income, used a six-month…
Professional exemption for paralegals
A paralegal asked whether a four-year degree, certificate, and experience made the role exempt as a learned professional. WHD said paralegals generally do not qualify because an advanced specialized…
Administrative exemption for clerical office work
An employer asked whether an employee handling data entry, word processing, receptionist work, and routine office supplies qualified for the administrative exemption. WHD said those clerical and…
Paid time off banks and exempt salary deductions
An employer asked whether it could reduce exempt employees’ paid time off balances for partial-day absences and dock salary after leave ran out. WHD said leave banks may be reduced for partial days…
Retail establishment sales attributed across dealership locations
A vehicle dealer asked whether wholesale sales made by one location should count against two retail locations merely because they recorded those sales under their dealer codes. WHD said the sales…
Timekeeping policy for salaried exempt city employees
A city asked whether weekly timesheets and attendance notices would undermine the salary basis of exempt employees. WHD said the described policy could track hours, leave balances, and full-day…
Effect of 2004 overtime rules on a national service opinion
A requester asked whether the 2004 federal overtime regulation changed a 1998 WHD opinion about National and Community Service Act participants. WHD said the relevant statutory provision had not…
Prepayment plan for overtime
An aircraft repair and maintenance contractor asked whether it could pay hourly employees for 40 hours each week and treat excess pay in short weeks as an advance against later overtime. WHD said…
Junior-level claims examiners and the administrative exemption
A state workers’ compensation office asked whether its junior-level claims adjusters qualified for the administrative exemption. WHD said their standardized interviews, form processing, and limited…
Project and business development managers’ FLSA coverage
A public benefit corporation asked whether two salaried managers were protected by the FLSA after their pay was reduced for working less than a scheduled week and their time records omitted meal…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits, January–March 2005
ETA supplied a 54-jurisdiction table of average weekly unemployment benefits and minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared January 1 through March 31,…
Fiscal year 2005 state UI administrative resource allocations
ETA explained fiscal year 2005 unemployment insurance administration funding for state agencies, including base allocations, contingency funds, and supplemental budget requests. It said state base…
Changes to the Agricultural and Food Processing Clearance Order, ETA Form 790
ETA sent state workforce agencies an updated bilingual Form 790 for recruiting temporary agricultural workers outside the local area. The letter asks states to use the form, and its attachments show…
Warning lines for non-roofing work near roof edges
A construction safety consultant asked why non-roofing work could use a warning line 15 feet from a roof edge, while roofing work had a different rule. OSHA said the six- and ten-foot exceptions…
2005 federal military remuneration schedule for UCX claims
ETA supplied an updated federal military pay schedule for states calculating Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers claims first filed from the week beginning on or after January 2, 2005.…
Pittsburgh Mercy employee pensions as church plans
Pittsburgh Mercy asked whether three retirement plans associated with a Catholic health system were church plans excluded from ERISA Title I. Relying on an IRS private ruling, EBSA agreed if the…
Vacation pay trust program outside ERISA welfare plans
A department store asked whether its vacation program was an ERISA welfare plan because it maintained a trust. The Department said the employer remained liable for ordinary vacation wages, employees…
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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.