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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Scaffold-to-wall distance for synthetic stucco work
A construction consultant asked whether synthetic stucco installation counts as plastering and lathing for the scaffold-to-wall distance rule. OSHA said yes: despite different materials, the…
Job Service registration in UI benefit accuracy reviews
ETA told state benefit accuracy reviewers to code Job Service registration according to their state's written law and procedures. The attached answers explain when a missing registration makes a…
Linking the workforce help line with America's Service Locator
ETA told states how to keep their workforce service locations current in America's Service Locator and make that information available through a national toll-free help line. The letter and…
Plan expenses for termination and tax qualification
A requester sought clarification of EBSA’s earlier opinion on plan termination expenses. EBSA said creating a tax-qualified plan and choosing among sponsor amendment options are settlor activities…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits, January–March 2001
ETA gave state agencies minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from January through March 2001. The attached table lists each jurisdiction's average…
Roof elevation changes and safety monitoring on low-slope roofs
A roofing safety group asked whether a parapet or roof elevation change must have a minimum height to divide low-slope roof areas. OSHA said no for measuring area widths under the monitoring…
Testing laboratories for suspension-scaffold hoists
A trade association asked whether OSHA audits labs that test suspension-scaffold hoists and requires UL 1323 testing. OSHA said it does not routinely audit them, and the rule does not require a…
Information needed to decide unemployment eligibility
ETA reminded state unemployment agencies to make reasonable efforts to get the facts needed for eligibility decisions, including contacting employers or other sources when information is missing or…
Treatment of Indian tribes under federal unemployment compensation law
ETA explained 2001 federal amendments requiring states to cover most employment by federally recognized Indian tribes and offer tribes the option to reimburse benefit payments instead of paying…
Chemical labels and needlestick controls in clinical laboratories
A laboratory accreditor asked about reagent and secondary-container labels and whether a lab with no needlesticks could avoid safer devices. OSHA said labeling depends on the rule covering the…
Fall protection for vendors delivering roofing materials
A roofing-material supplier asked whether delivery workers must tie off on a roof. OSHA said workers must have fall-protection equipment and use it when suitable anchors are already available,…
Outsourcing unemployment compensation administration
ETA explained which state unemployment insurance tasks must be done by government merit staff and which tasks may be contracted out. It treated eligibility decisions, first-level appeals, employer…
Petition about the former ergonomics standard grandfather clause
An employer group asked OSHA to delay the effective date and grandfather-clause milestones of its 2000 ergonomics standard. OSHA explained how existing programs could qualify and declined the…
America's Workforce Network logo on grantee materials
ETA told state unemployment insurance agencies that grants would require the America's Workforce Network logo on public materials. Agencies could use materials already in stock, then add the logo to…
Safer biopsy needles under the bloodborne-pathogens rule
A medical-device maker asked whether biopsy needles are subject to needlestick protections when a safety design could impair sample quality. OSHA said feasible engineering controls must be used when…
State UI preparations for NAICS industry coding
ETA told state unemployment insurance programs how to prepare employer records, tax files, and forms for North American Industry Classification System codes. The letter described 2000–2002…
MAPP gas used to heat and lubricate glass molds under PSM
A gas supplier provided more facts about MAPP gas used to heat glass molds. OSHA concluded the described process qualified for the hydrocarbon-fuel exemption when gas was consumed onsite as fuel,…
Repeat ice treatment and injury recording on OSHA Log 200
An occupational-health provider asked whether lifting injuries treated with ice and exercises should appear on the former OSHA Log 200. OSHA treated the described employer-provided, continuing plan…
Denied claims accuracy reviews and interstate claims in BAM samples
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies to prepare accuracy reviews of claims denied for monetary, separation, and other nonmonetary reasons. It also described adding interstate paid claims to…
Electric utility tagout accountability and system-operator control
A utility association asked whether its group tagout process met the electric-power rule. OSHA said each authorized worker must take a distinct sign-on and sign-off step, though this need not happen…
Race and ethnicity coding in UI benefit accuracy reviews
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies to collect ethnicity and race separately in their Benefit Accuracy Measurement reviews, using a two-character code and allowing claimants to report…
Employee-owned IRAs and insurance-agent exemption
An insurer asked whether employees’ purchase of its individual retirement annuities was barred from prohibited transaction exemption 84-24 by an employer relationship. EBSA said the cited employer…
Confined spaces and fall-arrest rigging in construction
A requester asked whether a general-industry confined-space advisor applied to construction and whether rigging slings and shackles could be part of fall arrest. OSHA said the advisor did not cover…
Hepatitis B vaccine timing for collateral-duty AED responders
A federal medical director asked when volunteer AED responders must be offered hepatitis B vaccine. OSHA said its enforcement exception can allow vaccination after a blood-involving incident for…
Approval of distance training under the Trade Act of 1974
ETA told state agencies that distance training could qualify as classroom training for Trade Adjustment Assistance if it was interactive and met four stated conditions, including tests and in-person…
Payment and timely decisions during continued UI claims
ETA told state unemployment agencies to keep paying weeks for which no eligibility issue exists, even when an earlier week is under review. For determinations during a continued claim series, the…
Alabama hospital authority retirement plans as governmental
An Alabama health authority asked whether its two employee retirement plans were governmental. EBSA cited county creation and control, public powers, tax support, and authority sponsorship to…
Verifying group lockout without a representative from every crew
A requester asked whether each work group must send someone to verify group lockout. OSHA said the rule did not require that if a primary authorized employee coordinated and verified isolation…
Revised interstate liable-agent data transfer record format
ETA revised the record format that states use to transfer interstate unemployment claims data. It separated race from ethnicity and specified where to enter NAICS industry and SOC occupation codes.…
UI data validation implementation plan in 2000
ETA told state unemployment agencies how it expected to replace the old workload-validation system with a broader UI data-validation program. The letter invited states to start early, described a…
Disaster unemployment assistance weekly minimums for late 2000
ETA gave state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from October 1 through December 31, 2000. The attachment lists each…
Mechanical roofing equipment near warning lines and safety monitors
A requester asked OSHA to classify roofing tools under its mechanical-equipment rule. OSHA said motor- or human-propelled wheeled equipment used for roofing is covered, except wheelbarrows and mop…
Excavation slopes, sheet piles, and benching during pile driving
A construction company asked how slope and sheet-pile requirements apply when driving piles in an excavated pit. OSHA said soil-class slopes under the excavation subpart govern, no general rule sets…
Recording injuries of temporary nurses and needlestick incidents
A long-term-care association asked who records injuries of temporary pool nurses and how needlesticks are recorded. OSHA emphasized actual day-to-day supervision rather than payroll or insurance…
Union job-loss benefit program as ERISA welfare plan
A transportation union asked whether its job benefit and income security program was outside ERISA as a strike fund. EBSA found benefits were paid for disciplinary suspension or discharge rather…
Using new-hire reports to detect UI overpayments
ETA urged state unemployment agencies to use employer new-hire reports to identify claimants who had returned to work while still receiving benefits. The letter explains that new-hire data can flag…
Annuity contracts after sponsor reorganization
An insurer asked whether cloning or amending group annuity contracts at policyholders’ request after corporate reorganizations defeated transition-policy treatment. EBSA said the described contracts…
Cleaning shared first-responder medical equipment after hospital use
An infection-control consultant asked who must clean first responders’ equipment after a hospital uses it. OSHA said both employers must protect their own workers. A hospital could decontaminate the…
Compressed-air cleaning and temporary electrical wiring in construction
A safety consultant asked about the compressed-air cleaning exception and temporary electrical wiring. OSHA explained the exception’s rulemaking origin and answered questions about…
Employer payment for hearing protectors and replacements
A union asked who pays for hearing protectors under the noise standard. OSHA said employers must provide suitable protection at no cost to covered workers, offer a choice of types, ensure fitting…
Depositing federal income tax withheld from unemployment benefits
ETA warned state unemployment agencies that late deposits of federal income tax withheld from benefits had led to IRS penalties. It recommended daily tracking of tax liability, reporting penalty…
Rollover protection for a construction dumper
An equipment company asked if its wheeled dumper needed a rollover protective structure. OSHA said the described vehicle was similar to a tractor under the construction earthmoving rule and…
Bloodborne-pathogen guidance for public-school athletic staff
A Texas school athletic trainer asked how bloodborne-pathogen rules apply to school trainers, student aides, and coaches handling soiled items. OSHA said federal OSHA did not cover that public…
New York firefighters supplemental fund as governmental
A firefighters supplemental benefit fund asked whether it was excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA found statutory creation, city trustee participation, asset transfers from a city pension fund, and a…
Customer satisfaction surveys under WIA Title I
ETA gave states survey rules for measuring how WIA participants and employers rated workforce services. It specified whom to survey, when and how to interview them, response targets, statewide ACSI…
Safety training for temporary-agency workers at host worksites
A safety trainer asked which employer trains temporary-agency workers. OSHA said host employers ordinarily deliver job-specific instruction, but the staffing agency remains responsible for ensuring…
Methane fuel systems at wastewater treatment plants under PSM
A county sanitation district asked whether methane from interconnected digesters used solely as onsite fuel triggered process safety management. OSHA said the fuel exception could apply if the…
Integrating Trade Act services with the Workforce Investment Act
ETA urged state and local workforce officials to serve workers affected by trade through the Workforce Investment Act's One-Stop centers. The letter and attachments explain coordination among trade…
Fitness-for-duty certification and return-to-work notice
WHD answered questions about an employer’s return-to-work medical certification and examination requirements after FMLA leave. It said valid collective bargaining terms could govern the…
Intermittent FMLA leave and 1,250 hours of service
An employer asked whether a part-time worker using intermittent FMLA leave for one condition remained eligible after her recent hours fell below 1,250. WHD said eligibility established for that…
FMLA duties of professional employer organizations
WHD considered whether a professional employer organization and its client were covered employers under the FMLA. On the described facts, it said they appeared to be joint employers and the PEO…
Attendance bonuses during unpaid FMLA leave
WHD reviewed a monthly bonus tied to compensated attendance. It said unpaid FMLA leave could not make an otherwise eligible employee lose an attendance-based bonus, though the amount could be…
Earlier battery-restraint interpretation revised in 2003
A truck-equipment company asked how reinstalled forklift batteries must be secured. OSHA’s 2000 answer said batteries must be restrained both horizontally and vertically. OSHA revised that answer in…
Whether a lock is a lockout device
A product safety engineer asked whether a lock counts as a lockout device. OSHA answered yes, citing the rule’s definition of a device that uses a keyed or combination lock to hold an energy…
Seniority and other benefits during FMLA leave
WHD answered whether seniority accrues during paid or unpaid FMLA leave. It said the FMLA does not itself require accrual during leave; the employer’s established policies for comparable paid or…
Welfare-to-Work eligibility and grant spending guidance
ETA told Welfare-to-Work grantees how the 1999 amendments affected participant eligibility and use of federal formula funds during July–September 2000. It allowed documented transfers of eligible…
Preliminary estimates of 2000 employer UI contribution rates
ETA sent state unemployment agencies preliminary employer contribution rates for calendar year 2000, with actual rates for 1998 and 1999. Its attachments show rates as a share of taxable wages and…
Fall protection on concrete formwork platforms
An OSHA regional office asked which construction fall rules applied as workers assembled an elevated concrete formwork floor. OSHA said Subpart M fall protection applies at six feet whether formwork…
Wire-rope guardrails and tie-off during hoisting
An insurer asked how many rope clips a perimeter guardrail needs and when workers must tie off as rails are removed for hoisting. OSHA said the rule sets performance requirements rather than a fixed…
WIA Transition Summer Report instructions, Change 1
ETA revised the report state workforce agencies used for youth summer employment during the 2000 transition from JTPA to the Workforce Investment Act. The instructions set one April–September…
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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.