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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Recording criteria for cases involving workers from a temporary help service, employee leasing service, or personnel supply service.
An employer-side lawyer asked how OSHA injury and illness records should be kept for temporary and leased workers. OSHA said the controlling employer that supervises them day to day is responsible…
QPAM related-party ownership test under PTE 84-14
A requester asked how to apply the five percent ownership test in prohibited transaction exemption 84-14. EBSA said ownership interests of entities merely under common control with the qualified…
Hazardous energy control for electric utilities
An electric utility executive commented on OSHA's draft enforcement instruction for electric power generation, transmission, and distribution. OSHA said the directive would not change employers'…
Development of OSHA electric power enforcement guidance
The Edison Electric Institute asked about OSHA's process for revising its electric power enforcement instruction and raised concerns about negotiations and hazardous energy controls. OSHA explained…
Lockout tagout for postal sorting machine servicing
A postal employee asked whether a USPS maintenance procedure for an automated sorter complied with OSHA's lockout and tagout rule. OSHA said the minor servicing exception may apply only when work is…
Scaffold storage and immediate operations
A contractor asked whether masonry materials could be stored on a scaffold two days before use and left overnight. OSHA's page retains a second answer saying a controlling contractor may impose…
Military commissary deli services and SCA coverage
WHD reviewed a Defense Commissary Agency contract for deli and bakery services. It affirmed the agency’s determination that the contract principally furnished services through service employees and…
Second extension of emergency unemployment compensation
Public Law 108-26 extended the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program for new claims through the end of 2003; ETA instructed states how to administer that extension. Claimants with…
OSHA duties and propane torches near oil field condensate
An oil and gas worker asked what OSHA law says about an injury caused by an unavailable safety device and whether propane torches may thaw ice near oil field condensate. OSHA explained that duties…
Language access for limited English proficient persons
ETA transmitted the Labor Department's revised Title VI guidance for recipients serving people with limited English proficiency. ETA asked state workforce agencies to distribute the guidance. It…
Arc flash clothing and electric power standards
A senator asked about clothing that protects electric utility workers from flames and electric arcs. OSHA said the then-current rule barred clothing that could increase injury from flames or arcs…
State unemployment experience rating indexes, 1998–2002
ETA published state unemployment insurance Experience Rating Index data for rate years 1998 through 2002, along with a historical series and the formula used to calculate the index. It explained…
Ladders placed on equipment or roofs
A contractor asked whether a worker may stand on a portable ladder placed on equipment or a roof during construction. OSHA said the portable-ladder rule does not require additional fall protection…
Mortar strength notification before steel erection
A masonry contractors association asked whether a steel erector must receive written notification of mortar strength before erecting steel on masonry walls. OSHA said no appropriate ASTM test…
Replacement plugs and strain relief on double insulated tools
A safety consultant asked whether a non original replacement plug and a metal strain relief could repair a double insulated electric hand tool. OSHA said a replacement plug may be used if it…
Lockout devices on modified electrical switches
An employer asked whether a lock and bracket could hold a modified on/off switch in the off position for lockout. OSHA said the bracket could serve as a lockout device if the switch isolates energy,…
OSHA authority over international machinery standards
A machinery manufacturer asked whether OSHA could enforce ISO and ANSI machinery standards directly. OSHA said it could enforce such standards when incorporated into an OSHA rule. Where an ANSI…
Applications for WIA Section 503 incentive grants, PY 2001
ETA updated state applications for incentive grants based on Program Year 2001 results across workforce, adult education and vocational education programs. States had to document planned uses and…
Electrical appliances and rechargeable racks at work
A worker asked which OSHA rules cover electrical appliances and rechargeable racks. OSHA pointed to Subpart S electrical requirements, including the appliance and approval provisions, and said…
Methylene chloride exposure in police training sprays
A Florida Highway Patrol captain asked about methylene chloride exposure from a training spray. OSHA said state agencies are generally outside federal OSHA coverage, identified methylene chloride as…
State police special-duty escorts and section 7(p)(1)
A state asked whether off-duty troopers escorting permitted vehicle loads had to have those hours combined with their regular state police work. WHD said section 7(p)(1) applies when the…
Clarifications of emergency benefits for displaced airline workers
ETA answered state agencies' questions about the added emergency unemployment benefits for displaced airline and related workers. The answers cover claimant notices, qualifying employment, benefit…
Aggressive asbestos flooring removal methods
A contractor asked whether aggressive removal methods are allowed for asbestos containing floor tile, sheet flooring, and mastic. OSHA said nonaggressive methods are preferred and aggressive methods…
Sick-day deductions after paid leave runs out
An employer asked whether it could deduct a full sick day from an exempt employee’s salary after the employee exhausted paid sick leave and was not covered by FMLA or disability benefits. WHD said…
Additional emergency unemployment benefits for displaced airline workers
ETA instructed state agencies how to provide additional Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation to eligible airline and related workers displaced after September 11, 2001, for specified causes.…
Pilot measure of UI claimants' reemployment rate
ETA invited four state unemployment agencies to pilot a measure of how often claimants returned to work after a first benefit payment. The method matched claimant records with wage records for the…
Construction safety alliance outside ERISA benefit-plan coverage
A labor-management construction safety alliance asked whether its training and safety activities made it an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the described organization would not be covered after…
Storage of water reactive and flammable chemicals
A distribution center asked how OSHA rules apply to stored water reactive chemicals, flammable liquids, and other products. OSHA said the water-reactive solids could not be stored in the same room…
Worker access to toilet facilities
A law professor asked about OSHA's guidance requiring reasonable access to toilet facilities, its effect, and whether employers may charge workers or make bathroom time unpaid. OSHA said the…
HAZWOPER training for hospital decontamination teams
A hospital decontamination supervisor asked whether HAZWOPER training could be tailored to employees' anticipated duties and whether a proposed competency list was sufficient. OSHA said training may…
FY 2003 WIA adult and dislocated worker fund reductions
ETA told states how to apply the 0.65 percent FY 2003 discretionary funding reduction to adult and dislocated worker formula allotments. It specified limits for local, statewide and rapid response…
Advance health coverage tax credit reporting for TAA recipients
ETA instructed state workforce agencies to identify Trade Adjustment Assistance recipients eligible for advance Health Coverage Tax Credit payments and send records to the IRS contractor through the…
Volunteer firefighters and public-agency employment
A requester asked when public employees and other volunteers could provide fire or ambulance services without becoming FLSA employees. WHD applied the rules on separate public agencies, same type of…
Employer receipt of post-termination insurer demutualization award
An employer asked whether it could retain shares awarded on an insurer’s demutualization after a pension plan had terminated through an annuity purchase. EBSA said ERISA Title I did not require…
Stricter company fall protection rules in steel erection
A steel erector asked whether a company policy requiring workers to tie off below the heights specified in the steel erection standard was allowed. OSHA said the standard sets minimum requirements…
PY 2002 dislocated worker fund reallotment
ETA recaptured $2,867,639 in PY 2002 dislocated worker funds from four states and reallotted the money to other states. It directed states to adjust financial reports and attached revised state…
PY 2003 WIA, Wagner-Peyser and reemployment allotments
ETA announced FY 2003 rescissions and PY 2003 allotments for WIA youth, adult and dislocated worker programs, Wagner-Peyser employment services, reemployment services and FY 2003 tax credit…
Improving unemployment benefit payment accuracy and integrity
ETA analyzed why unemployment benefits had been overpaid and recommended that state agencies use their own data to assess prevention and recovery methods. It pointed to employer interviews before…
Acceptable use of antiseptic-hand cleansers for bloodborne pathogen decontamination and as an appropriate handwashing practice.
A healthcare association asked whether alcohol-based hand rubs were consistent with OSHA’s bloodborne-pathogens standard. OSHA said hands must be washed with soap and running water after…
Extension of ETA-9000 internal fraud report clearance
ETA told state workforce agencies that OMB had extended approval for the annual ETA-9000 report on internal fraud in unemployment insurance operations. It gave the approval number, estimated…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for April through June 2003
ETA provided state workforce agencies with a table of minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared April 1 through June 30, 2003. It asked agencies to use the…
2002 cost of living increases in Social Security and federal civilian pensions
ETA announced the December 2002 cost of living increases in Social Security annuities and federal civilian pensions. It told states whose laws reduce unemployment benefits for retirement income to…
Retiree life insurance moved from welfare to pension plan
An insurer asked about an employer’s decision to end certain retiree life insurance under a welfare plan and add similar benefits under a pension plan. EBSA said the plan-design decision was a…
WIA performance goals for program years 2003 and 2004
ETA instructed states to negotiate Workforce Investment Act performance and customer satisfaction levels for program years 2003 and 2004, then submit plan modifications for regional approval. Its…
Static coefficients of friction for walking/working surfaces.
A laboratory manager asked why a static coefficient of friction of 0.5 is often attributed to OSHA. OSHA said no standard mandates a particular coefficient or requires employers to measure one; 0.5…
Reed Act distribution questions and answers
ETA answered five state questions about the Reed Act funds discussed in TEGL 18-01. It said administrative spending needs a specific state legislative appropriation made before expenses are…
Batteries in powered industrial trucks must be secured horizontally and/or vertically
A material-handling company asked how batteries reinstalled in powered industrial trucks must be secured. OSHA said the method must restrain the battery horizontally and/or vertically as the…
Automobile finance and insurance salesperson commission exemption
A dealership asked whether its finance and insurance salesperson qualified for the FLSA section 7(i) overtime exemption. WHD said the described dealership was a retail or service establishment and…
Access to needlestick and contaminated sharps injury records
A union asked whether workers and their representatives can see records of needlestick and contaminated sharps injuries. OSHA said they can access OSHA 300 entries, subject to privacy protections,…
OSHA enforcement policy of the PSM standard distilleries and related facilities in SIC 2085.
Kentucky’s Labor Cabinet asked whether federal OSHA’s 1997 process-safety-management enforcement policies for distilleries and atmospheric storage were still in effect. OSHA said the policies…
Facial hair and tight-fitting respirators
A senator asked about a constituent who was denied a sewage plant job because of his beard. OSHA said employers need not advise applicants of OSHA rules, but once employed, workers cannot wear…
Employee and employee representative access to MSDS; accompanying CSHOs on inspections.
A union asked about access to material safety data sheets and whether it could accompany an OSHA inspection at a workplace where it was not the bargaining agent. OSHA said employees must have…
WHD handling of FMLA complaints subject to arbitration
A requester challenged how WHD handled FMLA complaints involving binding arbitration. WHD said its district offices could defer an investigation when arbitration covered the same claim and could…
Release of 2002 unemployment benefit accuracy data
ETA set the procedures and deadlines for checking and releasing states' 2002 Benefit Accuracy Measurement data. It described which paid and denied claims count, how states should reconcile results…
National Emergency Grant financial reporting
ETA required National Emergency Grant recipients to report financial data by project and funding source in its Enterprise Information Management System. The letter set transition steps and attached…
National Emergency Grants for trade worker health coverage
ETA explained how states could use National Emergency Grants to help eligible trade-affected workers and certain pension recipients pay for qualified health coverage before advance tax credits…
FLSA notice at a multi-employer worksite
An insurance adjusting company asked whether every employer at a multi-employer worksite had to post an FLSA notice. WHD said an additional notice was not required when its employees worked in…
HAZWOPER emergency response and hazardous materials technician training
An Alaska transportation agency asked whether using absorbent pads for a nonemergency aircraft fuel spill requires HAZWOPER emergency response training, and whether cleanup training qualifies a…
Workplace exposure limits for ultra-violet radiation
An ultraviolet-industry association asked whether OSHA had workplace exposure limits for ultraviolet radiation. OSHA said its cited radiation standards did not cover ultraviolet light and therefore…
Ventilation fan location and reversible airflow in underground construction
A tunnel contractor asked whether a main ventilation fan may sit near the tunnel face and connect to flexible ducting. OSHA said the rule does not require the fan at the surface, but the duct must…
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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.