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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Study of nonmonetary determination quality measures
ETA asked state unemployment agencies to comment by August 21, 2004, on a workgroup's proposed changes to reviews of nonmonetary benefit decisions. The report covered factfinding, automated…
Strategic vision for WIA youth services
ETA described a 2004 strategy for state and local Workforce Investment Act youth programs. It urged stronger alternative education, closer ties to employers and community colleges, priority for…
Trade Adjustment Assistance program reserve funds
ETA told states how to request fiscal 2004 Trade Adjustment Assistance reserve training funds and job search or relocation allowances. To qualify for reserve training funds, a state had to show it…
ATAA for older workers: questions and answers
ETA answered 54 state agency questions about Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance for older workers, including wage subsidy payments, unemployment insurance, eligibility, and state…
School employees volunteering for extracurricular activities
School districts asked when nonexempt employees could volunteer for coaching, bus driving, and other extracurricular tasks. WHD said volunteer work must be freely offered and generally cannot be the…
Denali concession transportation and SCA coverage
WHD examined a National Park Service concession at Denali. It said visitor transportation was outside the narrow exemption for specified concession services such as food and lodging, so the contract…
Hazard Communication treatment of UPS batteries and office chemicals
An employer asked whether sealed uninterruptible power supply batteries and small quantities of office chemicals were exempt from OSHA's Hazard Communication standard. OSHA said small UPS batteries…
Program year 2004 workforce information grants and allocations
ETA told state workforce agencies how to plan and apply for program year 2004 workforce information grants. Of $38 million available, it reserved $1,064,000 for postage, allocated $188,646 to Guam…
Restaurant vacation pay trust and ERISA plan status
A restaurant asked whether its vacation pay program was an ERISA welfare plan because payments passed through a trust. EBSA said the trust had a payment obligation, but contributions did not track…
Disaster unemployment assistance weekly minimums for summer 2004
ETA gave state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July 1 through September 30, 2004. The attachment shows each…
Nondeposit trust company and ERISA fidelity bonding
A Pennsylvania trust company asked whether its fiduciary personnel needed ERISA fidelity bonds. EBSA said a company with no deposits was not barred from the statutory bank exemption for lack of FDIC…
TEUC-A eligibility and Emery Worldwide Airlines certification
ETA explained that Emery Worldwide Airlines had been a certified carrier during some claimants' base periods but stopped operating before September 11, 2001. It said former employees were unlikely…
Fall protection on powered industrial truck platforms
An employer asked whether OSHA requires body belts, lanyards, or five-point harnesses on elevated platforms of powered industrial trucks and asked about penalties for fall hazards. OSHA said the…
Rehabilitation pay plans and the FLSA salary basis
An employer asked whether two plans for salaried exempt employees returning part time after illness or injury would preserve the FLSA salary basis. WHD said converting recuperating employees to…
Fiscal year 2005 unemployment insurance State Quality Service Plan instructions
ETA gave state unemployment agencies the fiscal 2005 instructions for their State Quality Service Plans. It specified performance and data validation criteria, when corrective action plans were…
Union death-benefit fund as a remembrance fund
A union asked whether a fund paying up to $250 to a deceased member’s beneficiary was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA treated the described small payment as a remembrance under its regulation, excluding…
Corrected 2004 WIA allotments and congressional rescissions
ETA corrected its earlier instructions for distributing 2004 workforce funds to states and outlying areas, including a congressional funding reduction. The letter revises attachment references,…
AED training and supplies under confined-space and first-aid standards
An employer asked whether confined-space rescuers trained in CPR must also be trained to use an automated external defibrillator, and whether an AED must be part of required first-aid supplies. OSHA…
When powered industrial trucks are unsafe or need repair
An employer asked how OSHA distinguishes a powered industrial truck that is in need of repair, defective, or unsafe under 29 CFR 1910.178. OSHA said the assessment depends on the truck's condition,…
2003 Adult and Dislocated Worker fund rescission
ETA told state workforce agencies how to apply a 0.59 percent rescission to the fiscal 2004 Adult and Dislocated Worker allotments used in program year 2003. States could distribute the reduction…
Domestic agricultural in-season wage survey forms
ETA told state workforce agencies that OMB had extended approval of the domestic agricultural in-season wage report, Forms ETA 232 and 232A, and the narrative plan used for agricultural…
OSHA guidelines are advisory and do not support citations
OSHA reminded regional administrators that its workplace guidelines are advisory and informational tools for reducing injuries. The memorandum says failing to implement a guideline is not itself a…
Career assistance for spouses of fallen law enforcement officers
ETA announced a four-year demonstration grant for the Steve Young Memorial Scholarship Program, which offered up to $15,000 in career training and related services to eligible spouses of law…
Negotiating 2004 labor exchange employment performance goals
ETA directed state workforce agencies to negotiate program year 2004 targets for entered employment and employment retention in the public labor exchange. States were to propose targets and…
Detention facility construction under Davis-Bacon
WHD reviewed construction of a detention center under a federal service contract. It concluded that substantial, separable construction was ascertainable when the contract was awarded and was…
Standard meaning can change only through rulemaking
An employer asked OSHA to expand a ladder slip-resistance requirement beyond ladder feet to railings and end-caps. OSHA said an interpretation letter may explain how a standard applies but cannot…
Port-of-entry officers and the FLSA law-enforcement work period
A state asked whether its port-of-entry officers could use the FLSA section 7(k) law-enforcement overtime work period. WHD said the described officers did not qualify because they lacked arrest…
OSHA jurisdiction over oil and gas pipelines
A petroleum company asked whether OSHA or federal pipeline rules govern oil and gas pipeline working conditions and whether a utility owner must respond when an excavator asks it to locate…
Footwear and fall protection on steep roofs
A contractor asked whether workers installing sheet metal on steep roofs must wear tennis shoes to prevent slips, or whether those shoes are prohibited. OSHA said workers must use one of the…
MSDS duties after a chemical manufacturer exits business
A company asked whether a chemical manufacturer that closes or discontinues a product line must keep providing material safety data sheets and product information. OSHA said the Hazard Communication…
Fixed ladder retrofits and cage spacing
An employer asked whether fixed ladders and cages built before OSHA's ladder standard must be retrofitted and how far apart the cage extensions may be. OSHA said the standard has no grandfather…
Steel-column anchorage and four anchor rods
A steel contractor asked whether a column could be field-welded to a base plate with four anchor rods already embedded in a concrete footing. OSHA said the column anchorage requirement does not…
White-noise reverse alarms on construction equipment
A construction company asked whether a reverse alarm using white noise instead of a single tone could satisfy OSHA's construction equipment rules. OSHA said those provisions do not require a…
FMLA medical recertification and absence patterns
An employer asked how often it could request FMLA medical recertification for chronic or recurring conditions and how to address Monday or Friday absence patterns. WHD discussed the applicable…
First-aid provider designation in maintenance and construction
A state transportation agency asked whether employers must designate trained employees as first-aid responders under OSHA's general-industry and construction standards. OSHA said the…
Blind securities trades through an alternative trading system
A trading-system operator asked whether a plan’s securities trades with a party in interest or fiduciary affiliate violated ERISA. EBSA said truly blind trades through the described anonymous…
OSHA standards for terrorist-event emergencies
A senator asked how OSHA standards apply to employee escape and protection during a terrorist event. OSHA said terrorist events were not treated as foreseeable workplace emergencies for the cited…
Grandfathered floor-offset pension arrangement after amendment
An employer asked whether amending a defined benefit plan to reduce future accruals would end a pre-December 17, 1987 floor-offset arrangement’s grandfathered treatment under ERISA section 407. EBSA…
Calendar year 2004 interest on Title XII unemployment fund advances
ETA announced a 5.9843 percent interest rate for Title XII unemployment fund advances during calendar 2004. It told states expecting a loan to arrange a lawful source for interest payments,…
Student marketing interns and employee status
A company asked whether college students earning credit in a marketing internship could work without FLSA pay. WHD found the facts insufficient to decide whether the students were employees under…
Masonry-wall homes under OSHA's residential-construction directive
A home builder asked whether houses with masonry walls and wood roof trusses fell within OSHA's residential-construction fall-protection directive. OSHA said the directive was written for…
Health Coverage Tax Credit gap filler grants, Change 1
ETA changed its guidance on National Emergency Grant funds for people eligible for the Health Coverage Tax Credit. States could request funds to pay 65 percent of qualified health premiums for up to…
Time tracking for exempt employees
An exempt employee objected to being required to clock in, keep a timesheet, and report daily hours under the employer’s policy. WHD said FLSA recordkeeping rules do not prevent an employer from…
Meal reimbursement for out-of-town work travel
An employer asked whether it could reimburse hourly workers for meals on out-of-town work trips without increasing their overtime regular rate. WHD said reasonable reimbursements for meals during…
Temporary wiring support spacing
A contractor asked whether securing temporary Romex wiring every 10 feet would violate OSHA's construction electrical standards. OSHA said Subpart K does not set a particular maximum distance…
Aluminum forms as trench-excavation egress
A home builder asked whether workers could use aluminum forms as an alternative exit route from trench excavations. OSHA said the forms' narrow stiffeners and the step from the form to the bank…
High-visibility garments in highway work zones
A road-building association asked whether OSHA's construction rules require high-visibility warning garments for workers in highway work zones and whether OSHA would update its rules when FHWA…
Localization of work for unemployment insurance wage reporting
ETA explained how states should decide which state receives unemployment insurance wage reports when an employee works in multiple states. Its guide applies a sequence of tests: where work is…
Eyewashes and showers near spray finishing operations
An employer asked whether a spray booth using lacquer and contact adhesive required an emergency eyewash and shower. OSHA said the spray-finishing rule does not itself require those facilities, but…
Slip-resistant feet on construction ladders
An employer asked OSHA to interpret the construction ladder rule as requiring slip-resistant strips and end-caps on upper ladder rails. OSHA said the rule's reference to slip-resistant feet means…
Multiemployer holiday and vacation trust under ERISA
A jointly maintained union-employer trust asked whether its holiday and vacation payments were merely payroll savings outside ERISA. EBSA said participants did not own the trust accounts and that…
Noise records retained by successor employers
A successor employer asked whether it must retain hearing tests and other noise records created by the previous owner of a manufacturing business. OSHA said the former employer must transfer the…
Rescue of a suspended worker after a fall
An employer asked how long a worker may remain suspended after falling from a bucket truck and what protection is needed during self-rescue. OSHA said its standards do not set one universal…
2004 WIA state planning for ten early implementing states
ETA told ten states whose initial Workforce Investment Act plans expired in 2004 how to keep their state plans approved for federal funding. Each could extend its existing plan for one year or…
Applications for WIA Section 503 incentive grants, PY 2002
ETA updated state applications for incentive grants based on Program Year 2002 results across workforce, adult education and vocational education programs. States had to document planned uses and…
Deflection limits for underslung bridge scaffolds
A bridge-platform manufacturer asked how to measure scaffold span and apply the deflection limit to an underslung platform supported by cables. OSHA said the relevant span is the distance between…
Alternative fall protection during precast concrete erection
A contractor asked whether a controlled access zone could replace conventional fall protection during leading-edge precast concrete erection. OSHA said the standard presumes conventional protection…
Labor exchange reporting corrections, Change 1
ETA amended the labor exchange reporting handbook for state workforce agencies. It removed the Vietnam Era Veterans reporting category, extended the newly separated veteran definition from 12 to 36…
Nonprofit traumatic brain injury association coverage
A nonprofit association providing support and information to people with traumatic brain injuries asked whether it was a covered enterprise under the FLSA. WHD said the association, as described,…
Temporary workers and the FMLA employee threshold
An employer asked whether temporary agency workers, day laborers, and an owner counted toward the FMLA’s 50-employee coverage threshold. WHD said joint employment and the workers’ relationship to…
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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.