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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Retesting of reassembled lifting accessories if original manufacturing controls are ensured; retesting requirement if repair/replacement of parts due to breakage, damage, or evidence of diminished capacity.
An equipment manufacturer asked whether a custom lifting accessory, tested at the factory and then disassembled for shipping, must be retested after reassembly at a construction site. OSHA said a…
Reiteration of Existing OSHA Policy on Indoor Air Quality: Office Temperature/Humidity and Environmental Tobacco Smoke
OSHA sent regional administrators a memo explaining its position on office temperature, humidity, and environmental tobacco smoke after withdrawing a proposed indoor-air-quality rule. The memo said…
2003 federal military remuneration schedule for UCX claims
ETA directed state agencies to use its revised federal military remuneration schedule when determining wages for new UCX claims filed from the first applicable week on or after April 6, 2003. The…
Law firm administrative assistant exemption
A law firm asked whether an administrative assistant with advanced education and varied support duties qualified for the FLSA administrative exemption. WHD said the employee did not appear to…
State insurance regulation of a marketed health program
A company marketing and administering health programs asked whether ERISA shielded it and a selected reinsurer from state insurance laws. EBSA said neither entity was itself an ERISA plan or trust,…
Clarification of PSM applicability to processes that are based partly or solely on quantities in connected atmospheric storage tanks.
A law firm asked whether a research facility had to comply with process safety management requirements when its flammable-liquid quantity above the threshold was held in connected atmospheric tanks.…
Sanctions for missing WIA performance levels
ETA set a policy for performance improvement plans and possible financial sanctions when a state repeatedly fell below negotiated Workforce Investment Act performance levels. It supplied sanction…
Bank overdraft protection for ERISA plan accounts
Bankers asked whether routine overdraft protection for plan securities and financial transactions was prohibited. EBSA said the described incidental service and related credit could be exempt under…
Employee pension contributions and unemployment benefit reductions
ETA explained that a state may disregard up to the full amount of a pension when the worker made some direct contribution to the plan; the reduction need not match the contribution share. It said…
Deemed IRAs in Kentucky governmental retirement plan
Kentucky asked whether adding deemed IRAs for eligible public employees to its 401(k) deferred compensation plan would create ERISA-covered pension plans. EBSA said neither the plan nor those…
Enforcement policy for respiratory hazards without OSHA exposure limits
OSHA instructed its regional administrators on citing respiratory hazards where no permissible exposure limit applies. The memo said exceeding a recommended exposure level alone is not a violation;…
Use of occupational exposure levels (OELs) for substances not covered by an OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL).
A congressional committee chair asked whether OSHA enforced exposure levels recommended by nongovernmental groups as if they were binding limits. OSHA said it did not treat those levels as…
Use of an extensible boom forklift to place steel joists
A steel erection contractor asked if an extensible boom forklift could bring joists near their attachment points for workers to place by hand. OSHA said the method is allowed, applicable…
Scaffold frame access and rung spacing
A scaffold maker challenged OSHA’s finding that its base and extension frames did not meet access requirements. OSHA maintained that several rungs lacked adequate tread width or alignment and that…
Shear connectors on beams during bridge repair
A state transportation agency asked how steel-erection shear-connector rules apply when repairing a bridge. OSHA said the cited installation rule does not apply when removing an existing beam or…
Evaluation of sutureless catheter securement devices to prevent needlestick hazards.
A member of Congress asked whether sutureless catheter securement devices could reduce needlestick hazards for healthcare workers. OSHA said employers must evaluate available safer devices with…
Fiscal year 2003 unemployment insurance performance goals
ETA reported fiscal year 2002 results and set fiscal year 2003 unemployment insurance performance goals. It targeted timely first benefit payments, prompt employer tax account determinations, and…
Engineer approval for manufactured trench protection systems deeper than 20 feet
An excavation contractor asked whether it needs separate engineer approval to use a manufactured trench shield deeper than 20 feet. OSHA said a contractor can use the manufacturer’s engineered…
Protection against an excavator swing radius
A safety consultant asked whether the swing radius of an excavator must be barricaded. OSHA said employers must use effective precautions against the recognized hazard, such as barricades or warning…
Acceptable uses of flexible temporary cords/cables on construction sites.
An electrical contractor asked whether temporary flexible cords may run through walls, ceilings, or floors on a construction site. OSHA said the construction electrical rule permits that routing…
Compliance of Purlin Glide to OSHA steel erection standards.
A manufacturer asked whether its revised sheeting system met OSHA’s steel erection fall protection requirements during metal roof installation. OSHA said the submitted test data indicated the system…
Requirements for developing sufficiently-detailed written procedures for all machinery/equipment lockout/tagout.
A company asked whether it needed a separate lockout procedure for each of thousands of valves and other pieces of equipment. OSHA said one procedure may cover similar machines with the same energy…
Rescue equipment and standby personnel for IDLH atmospheres
A municipal facility asked what training and equipment standby personnel need when a worker enters an immediately dangerous atmosphere. OSHA described respiratory training, suitable rescue…
Compliance of Master Plank scaffold planking with OSHA plank strength requirements.
A scaffold-plank manufacturer asked whether its laminated wood planks met OSHA’s strength and deflection rules. OSHA said the submitted test data indicated compliance when the planks are used within…
Extension of Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation into 2003
ETA explained the 2003 extension of Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation. New TEUC claims could begin only through the week ending May 31, 2003; people with balances at that date could draw…
Use of TEUC administrative funds in state unemployment budgets
ETA said states could charge Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation funds for a fair share of facilities, computers, support staff, and other overhead used by that temporary program. It…
PY 2002 workforce information grant planning
ETA directed states to submit grant plans for PY 2002 workforce information funds and described the allocation formula, required core products, customer satisfaction assessment and annual reporting.…
Online WOTC and welfare-to-work tax credit reporting
ETA directed state workforce agencies to file quarterly Work Opportunity and Welfare-to-Work tax credit reports through an online reporting system. It described accounts, certification by PIN and…
Military service documents for ex-service member unemployment claims
ETA reminded state agencies to seek a DD Form 214 when deciding unemployment compensation claims by former service members. It said military orders could be used only after the agency showed…
Automated secondary verification of immigration status for unemployment claims
ETA told state unemployment agencies about an automated secondary process for checking a claimant's immigration status through the federal SAVE system. It said touch-tone and point-of-sale access…
Revised state unemployment tax rate manipulation guidance
ETA's revised letter warned states about unemployment tax rate manipulation in industries with high staff turnover and unemployment costs, including temporary help, construction, and hospitality. It…
Use of double-walled tanks as the only form of protection from collision damage.
A safety-management company asked whether a double-walled fuel tank alone met the construction rule for protecting dispensing units from collision damage. OSHA said it usually would not; even…
Mortar strength testing and controlling contractor duties in steel erection
A contractor asked how to meet a steel-erection mortar strength test requirement when no suitable ASTM method existed, and whether it could delegate its other duties. OSHA said it would defer…
Plasma-derived products are considered "blood" within the meaning of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard.
A plasma-products company asked OSHA to exempt fully processed, market-ready plasma derivatives from the bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA declined because the standard defines blood to include…
Occupational exposure limits, access restrictions, and posting requirements for airborne radioactive materials.
The Army Corps of Engineers asked how OSHA’s ionizing radiation standard applies to radon in buildings it controls. OSHA said the standard applies when employee exposure reaches its hazardous…
Corrected Tables A and B for 1926 Subpart R, the Steel Erection Standard.
A steel joist industry group identified errors in the steel erection standard’s erection-bridging tables. OSHA agreed that several spans and the meaning of “NM” were wrong and published corrected…
Annuity provider selection for defined contribution plans
A requester asked how EBSA’s annuity selection bulletin applies to defined contribution plans. EBSA said fiduciaries may consider participant costs and benefits, but a lower price cannot justify an…
Fiscal year 2003 unemployment insurance data validation requirements
ETA told state unemployment agencies to complete data validation for 19 benefit and tax populations by July 31, 2003, and send results by September 30. It specified report periods, pass criteria, a…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for January through March 2003
ETA supplied state workforce agencies with a table of minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared January 1 through March 31, 2003. It asked agencies to use…
Incentive compensation programs outside ERISA pension coverage
An employer asked whether two incentive compensation programs were ERISA pension plans. EBSA said neither program by its terms provided retirement income or systematically deferred payments to…
2002 cost of living increases in federal military retired pay
ETA gave state workforce agencies the military retired pay cost of living increases effective December 1, 2002. It told states whose laws reduce weekly unemployment benefits for pensions to review…
The 1,250-hour test during intermittent FMLA leave
WHD addressed employees who needed more intermittent leave than their medical certifications initially predicted. It said an employer may request recertification when circumstances change…
Participant life policy transferred to a plan for no payment
A profit-sharing plan asked whether a participant could transfer a life insurance policy into a rollover account under prohibited transaction exemption 92-5. EBSA said a policy with zero cash…
Draft notice about the 2002 TAA health insurance tax credit
ETA alerted state workforce agencies to a draft notice for people who might qualify for the health insurance tax credit created by the 2002 trade law. The draft explained eligibility, qualifying…
Sharps injury logs are intended to track departments, devices, and/or procedures causing injuries, not injured employees.
A healthcare association asked whether employee names may appear on a sharps injury log. OSHA said a facility may keep names on its internal log, although the log is intended to track injury causes…
HAZWOPER training and respiratory protection for hospital decontamination
A state emergency management official asked what respirators and training hospital workers need to decontaminate patients after a large hazardous release. OSHA said its Level B rule for responders…
Applicability of the confined-space standard to dock-leveler pits.
A materials-handling company asked whether dock-leveler pits are confined spaces and whether entry permits are required. OSHA said a pit could be a confined space and could require a permit if it…
Typographical error in internet text of 1926.800(r)(13)(ii).
An engineer pointed out that OSHA’s online tunneling standard said “on percent” where the printed regulation said “one.” OSHA confirmed the online text contained a typo and said it would correct the…
Review of UI PERFORMS
ETA began a review of UI PERFORMS, the federal and state system for improving unemployment insurance operations, and asked states to identify issues with its measures, criteria, planning, and…
Notice to trade adjustment assistance recipients about the health insurance tax credit
ETA asked state workforce agencies to mail an attached notice about the health insurance tax credit to people potentially eligible through Trade Adjustment Assistance. It told agencies to use lists…
Transition to revised ETA 9002 and VETS 200 reports
ETA clarified the 2002 transition to revised labor exchange and veterans' reports, including which first-quarter reports would contain services rather than outcomes. It told states to keep filing…
Alternative fall protection procedures for residential construction.
An OSHA regional administrator asked whether a height limit in an interim residential construction fall protection directive applied to all activities under the directive. OSHA said the 48-foot…
Insurance claims adjusters and the administrative exemption
An insurer asked whether salaried claims adjusters who investigated claims and negotiated settlements met the FLSA administrative exemption’s duties test. WHD said the described adjusters exercised…
Concrete sampling frequency before steel erection
A contractor asked how many concrete samples are needed before steel erection starts. OSHA said the standard sets no fixed count; samples must support a reasonably accurate strength assessment,…
Clarification on determining if an injury or illness is work-related and the recordability of the administration of oxygen.
An employer lawyer challenged answers given during OSHA recordkeeping training about a muscle injury at work and oxygen given by ambulance staff. OSHA said an injury is work related only when a…
Compliance requirements for relocatable power taps or "power strips"
A safety engineer asked for OSHA’s current interpretation of power strip use after an older 1993 letter was removed. OSHA said listed power strips must be used according to their listing and…
How states should complete Form ETA 581 tax operations reports
ETA identified common errors in states' quarterly Form ETA 581 unemployment tax operations reports. It explained which employer reports and overdue amounts belong in particular fields and said…
Revised WIASRD and WIA annual report submission procedures
ETA updated state procedures for submitting Program Year 2001 Workforce Investment Act annual reports and standardized participant records. It directed states to enter report tables online, send…
Applicability of the steel erection standard to repair and installation of metal roofing and roofing accessories.
A safety adviser asked when steel erection rules govern metal roof deck repair, associated flashing, and fall protection. OSHA said removal and replacement of deteriorated metal decking are covered,…
Clarifications to WIA financial reporting instructions
ETA clarified how states and local recipients were to report outlays, unpaid obligations and authorized funds on Workforce Investment Act financial reports. It addressed statewide activities, rapid…
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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.