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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Bloodborne-pathogen training for lifeguards
A park asked whether it could require prospective lifeguards to obtain bloodborne-pathogen training before hiring and then provide only an orientation. OSHA said an employer with exposed workers…
Whether an automated transfer device is a crane
A custom equipment maker asked whether its automated transfer device must meet OSHA's overhead and gantry crane rule. OSHA said the described machine likely functions as a conveyor, but it could not…
Unattended running vehicles at construction sites
A construction safety manager asked whether OSHA bans leaving vehicles running and unattended at an off-highway site. OSHA said its construction rules do not prohibit that practice. The parking…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for early 2004
ETA gave state unemployment agencies a table of minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from January through March 2004. The amounts use 50 percent of…
2003 military pension increases and unemployment benefit offsets
ETA reported December 2003 military retired pay increases, with different rates based on when the member joined or retired. It told states whose unemployment laws reduce benefits for pension income…
2004 federal military remuneration schedule for UCX claims
ETA directed state agencies to use an updated schedule of federal military wages when deciding eligibility for new unemployment claims by former service members from the first applicable week on or…
Corrected extended benefits for displaced airline workers
ETA corrected its earlier instructions after finding that the enacted statute differed from the conference report. During the program's transition period, states with high unemployment had to…
Bent-plate beam attachments and tripping hazards
A steel contractor asked whether it could shop-install an angle plate along a beam before decking when the upright part sits beyond the beam's original edge. OSHA said the plate extends the walking…
Georgia hospital authority retirement plan as governmental
A Georgia hospital authority asked whether its retirement plan for Brunswick campus employees was exempt as a governmental plan. EBSA found the authority was a governmental agency or instrumentality…
Asbestos labels for gaskets and packings
A consultant asked whether an exposure study could exempt asbestos-containing gaskets and packings from warning labels. OSHA said only the manufacturer can make the required demonstration for each…
Ventilation design documentation under process safety rules
An operator asked what ventilation design information it must document at gas, ammonia, and fuel facilities covered by the process safety rule. OSHA said applicable design standards, assumptions,…
Fall protection at stud-framed chases and stairwells
A homebuilders group asked whether workers need guards or covers at floor chases and stairwells surrounded by studs 16 inches apart. OSHA said the gaps are too narrow to count as wall openings and…
Whole-floor controlled decking zones in steel erection
A steel contractor asked whether an entire floor could be treated as a controlled decking zone without perimeter control lines. OSHA said departures from the usual marking and size limits would be…
Sloping designs for deep excavations
A trench-safety supplier asked whether manufacturer data alone could specify slopes for an excavation deeper than 20 feet and where the approving engineer must be registered. OSHA said a specific…
Fall-arrest inspections and rescue planning
A safety consultant asked how often fall-arrest systems need inspection and whether rescue requires a written plan or preplanning meeting. OSHA said systems must be inspected before each use by a…
Repayment of nonfederal loans used for unemployment benefits
ETA explained when states may repay a nonfederal loan used to pay unemployment benefits from their unemployment funds. The loan must have been identified for benefit payments when made, its proceeds…
FMLA paid-leave substitution and remedies
WHD gave general answers to questions about the FMLA. It said employers may generally require accrued paid leave to substitute for unpaid FMLA leave, but described an exception for absences covered…
Residential fall protection and roof warning lines
An OSHA regional administrator asked several questions about residential construction fall protection and roof warning lines. OSHA said painted lines do not satisfy the cited rule's rope, wire, or…
Fall protection on concrete-truck work platforms
A ready-mix association asked whether truck platforms with handrails need more fall protection and whether ladder entrances can remain open. OSHA said the cited construction fall-protection subpart…
Waste-site excavation and Davis-Bacon coverage
WHD reviewed wage-law coverage for a two-phase Department of Energy waste-disposal project. It found excavation and landscape restoration in the second phase to be Davis-Bacon construction work and…
Seat-belt use on earthmoving equipment
A safety director asked whether the rule requiring seat belts on earthmoving equipment also requires workers to wear them. OSHA said the general protective-equipment rule requires use when belts…
Steel joist support at columns parallel to joists
An OSHA regional office asked whether joist-stability rules apply to columns running parallel to joists. OSHA said a column that does not support the joists is outside the cited field-bolting…
Fall protection requirements for construction workers doing work while on a roof
A construction company asked about fall protection for workers on a roof who were not doing one of the work types with special exceptions. OSHA said warning lines generally cannot replace…
Hanford contractors welfare trust as single employer-group plan
A trust for contractors at the Hanford site asked whether it was one ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the contractors’ shared worksite relationship and employer control could make them a bona fide…
Revised interpretation of steel beam studs
A steel contractor had received an earlier OSHA view allowing studs on a plate welded to a beam flange before decking. OSHA revisited the question and said the plate extends the walking surface,…
Common measures policy for federal job training programs
ETA set common measures for federal job training and employment programs, including when a person counts as a participant, when a person exits, and how adult and youth outcomes are measured. It also…
Stairs or ladders for secondary containment structures
A safety specialist asked whether fixed ladders may provide access to secondary containment structures around bulk chemical tanks. OSHA said ladders were appropriate under the then-cited rules if…
Revised quarterly billing for combined wage claims
ETA instructed state workforce agencies to install Release 2 of the automated IB6 system for quarterly billing of unemployment claims that combine wages from multiple states. It described the…
Reflective clothing for nighttime flaggers
A road-work company asked whether night flaggers could wear reflective helmets instead of reflective jackets. OSHA said no: the cited rule requires retroreflective outer clothing visible at the…
Manufacturer approval for crane modifications
A crane inspector asked whether an employer could override a manufacturer's refusal to approve a crane modification. OSHA said the then-cited rule required written manufacturer approval for changes…
Residential fall-protection directive examples
A contractor asked whether various building methods and tasks qualified for alternative residential fall-protection procedures under a then-current OSHA directive. OSHA answered with examples…
Life jackets and rescue skiffs over water
A construction company asked whether full fall protection removes the need for life jackets and a rescue skiff when employees work over water. OSHA said uninterrupted fall protection can remove the…
Flammable liquids stored in ordinary drawers or cabinets
An employer asked whether small quantities of flammable liquids could be kept in an ordinary cabinet or drawer rather than a specified flammable-storage cabinet. OSHA said the stated quantity limits…
Grounding a fan on a concrete floor
A risk manager asked whether a dry concrete floor counts as ground and whether an ungrounded fan on concrete violates the cited electrical rule. OSHA said a conducting concrete floor can be ground…
Asbestos rules for building materials below one percent
A school-construction consultant asked whether OSHA's asbestos rule applies to hard plaster containing less than one percent asbestos. OSHA said some work practices, exposure assessments,…
HAZWOPER training after a terrorist hazardous materials incident
A safety consultant asked how OSHA's HAZWOPER rule applies to responses involving weapons of mass destruction. OSHA said an incident involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear…
Unemployment insurance data validation program guidance
ETA gave state unemployment agencies instructions for completing data validation, sending results and addressing failed checks in fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Its attached questions and answers…
Texas river authority plans covering power-company employees
A Texas river authority asked whether its retirement plans could cover employees of its power corporation without losing governmental-plan status. EBSA found GenTex was a state agency or…
Electronic access controls on emergency exit routes
A safety official asked whether card operated doors and turnstiles could obstruct employees leaving a building during an emergency. OSHA said such systems can meet exit route requirements if they…
Field bolting long steel joists during erection
A steel erector asked whether it could weld joists in bays of 40 feet or more instead of field bolting them if the hoisting line stayed attached. OSHA said the initial connection must be field…
Plan investments in a fiduciary-held limited partnership
An investment manager asked whether Verizon plans’ contributions to and distributions from a limited partnership were prohibited because their trustee held more than half its interests. EBSA said…
Access and fall protection on attachable scaffold ladders
A construction company asked which rules apply to bolt on scaffold ladders, including fall protection while climbing and toe clearance. OSHA said attachable ladders on supported scaffolds over 35…
Slide guard use on low slope residential roofs
A roofer asked whether workers needed fall protection while installing the first three roofing rows or removing slide guards under an older residential construction directive. OSHA's letter said the…
Trench shield flush with a road surface
A construction consultant asked whether a trench shield could sit flush with a paved road so steel plates could cover the trench when no one occupied it. OSHA said the excavation standard does not…
Quick disconnect couplings on pneumatic tools
A tool industry association asked whether a pneumatic tool's quick disconnect coupling with a pull down sleeve satisfies the construction rule requiring a positive connection to its hose. OSHA said…
WIA annual report and standardized record submission procedures
ETA told states how and when to submit Program Year 2002 WIA annual reports and standardized participant records, and revised the Program Year 2003 annual report deadline and reporting periods. The…
Trade Adjustment Assistance training deadlines and waivers
ETA clarified when trade affected workers had to enroll in approved training or obtain a waiver to qualify for Trade Readjustment Allowances, and how a separate 210-day application limit applied to…
Annual report of services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers
ETA gave state workforce agencies an outline for their annual report on services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers. The outline asks states to compare performance with goals, explain unmet service…
H-2B landscaping applications for the 2003–2004 season
ETA told state workforce agencies how to classify specified landscaping jobs and set their wage rate when processing H-2B applications for the 2003–2004 season. For jobs with only the listed duties,…
DUNS numbers for federal grant applications
ETA told federal grant and cooperative agreement applicants to obtain a DUNS number and include it on new or renewal applications submitted from October 1, 2003. It explained which entity needed the…
Metal cable ladders used on exhaust stacks
A construction company asked whether a steel cable ladder attached to an exhaust stack is allowed and which ladder rules apply. OSHA said it is a fixed ladder, not a portable one, because it cannot…
Super Brace sheathing as wall opening fall protection
A homebuilder asked whether Super Brace sheathing could guard wall openings during construction. OSHA said the reported test data appeared to meet guardrail strength and deflection requirements for…
Canadian inspection of a crane used in the United States
A crane owner asked whether an annual inspection by a competent person in Canada would count before using the crane in the United States. OSHA said the cited standard did not specify where the…
Revised PY 2003 dislocated worker allotment distribution
ETA corrected the timing of Program Year 2003 dislocated worker formula allotments between the July and October distributions. The correction changed when states and the National Reserve received…
Wet handling and disposal for demolition materials below one percent asbestos
A contracting official asked whether wet handling, prompt cleanup, and disposal requirements apply when demolition material contains less than one percent asbestos. OSHA answered yes for the two…
Concrete strength tests before steel erection
A construction safety coordinator asked whether concrete sample cylinders may be warmed in cold weather and whether Windsor Probe or Pin tests can replace field cured sample tests before steel…
Safe methods to locate underground utilities
A pipeline safety consultant asked whether hydro vacuum excavation or nonconductive hand tools can safely expose buried utilities. OSHA said nonconductive hand tools used with appropriate caution…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefit amounts for October–December 2003
ETA sent state agencies minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from October through December 2003. Its attachment lists each jurisdiction's average…
Hazard communication carcinogen listings and mixture threshold
A lawyer asked whether OSHA's Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3 exposure tables are lists of recognized carcinogens for hazard communication. OSHA said they are not; the letter identifies substance specific…
PY 2003 workforce information grant planning and allocations
ETA told states how to apply for and manage Program Year 2003 grants for workforce information products and services. It gave state allocations, required products, application procedures and annual…
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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.