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 stairs used as access to multistory buildings
A safety consultant challenged OSHA’s position on scaffold stair towers serving building levels. OSHA said a tower meeting the scaffold subpart, even if it differed from stairway requirements, could…
Multiple-lift rigging of precast concrete joists
A precast contractor asked whether it could lift several reinforced joists at once using proposed steel-erection procedures. OSHA said workers must be kept clear of suspended loads unless the…
Retention time for employee noise exposure measurements
A state safety adviser asked whether noise exposure measurements must be kept for two years or thirty. OSHA said the noise standard’s specific two-year period overrides the general exposure-record…
Fall protection for shallow stepped platforms during construction
A contractor asked whether a series of fourteen-inch-high indoor steps formed holes or unprotected edges under construction fall rules. OSHA said the platforms were not holes and the fourteen-inch…
Trench shield height above a vertical excavation wall
A trench-equipment maker asked how high a shield must extend when an excavation is sloped above a vertical lower wall. OSHA said the relevant appendix drawings permit the shield top below grade, but…
Former residential fall-protection directive and construction materials
A residential safety consultant asked whether OSHA had changed the definition of residential construction in its rewritten fall-protection directive. OSHA said it had not and explained that isolated…
Alloy steel chain grades for construction material lifts
A rigging supplier asked whether a sling below Grade 80 could lift material if the load never passed over workers. OSHA said the construction standard requires alloy-steel chain meeting its…
Scissor lifts with extendable platforms under scaffold rules
A construction safety officer asked which rules cover scissor lifts with platforms extending beyond the wheelbase. OSHA said those lifts are not in the aerial-lift types incorporated by its rule and…
Warning lines for other trades working on low-slope roofs
An employer asked whether electricians and mechanical trades may work behind a roof warning line without tying off. OSHA said the special roofing-work exception does not generally apply to these…
Recording suspected hydrofluoric-acid exposure treated with calcium gluconate
A consultant asked whether preventive calcium-gluconate treatment after suspected hydrofluoric-acid contact must be recorded. OSHA said exposure and preventive care without injury were not…
IRA investment in partnership with owner and relatives
An IRA owner asked whether the IRA could invest in a partnership alongside the owner and relatives. EBSA said the described purchase itself did not violate the cited sale rule, but declined to…
Program year 2000 Occupational Employment Statistics grants
ETA instructed state employment agencies on program year 2000 grants for the Occupational Employment Statistics survey. Of $10 million, it allocated $9,690,600 to states and territories and withheld…
Minimum disaster unemployment assistance amounts for summer 2000
ETA supplied state agencies with minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July 1 through September 30, 2000. Its attachment lists each jurisdiction's…
Load-indicating device exception for a PACECO container crane
A lawyer asked whether a particular PACECO crane had to carry a load-indicating device under the marine-terminal rule. OSHA said the described crane qualified as a trolley-equipped bridge crane and…
Questions on prevailing conditions of work
ETA answered state questions about the prevailing conditions of work test in UIPL 41-98. It clarified that a change in a current job or temporary assignment must be material to count as new work,…
Air-purifying respirators for diisocyanates with poor warning properties
A respirator manufacturer asked if air-purifying respirators could protect against diisocyanates whose vapors offer poor sensory warning. OSHA said poor warning properties alone do not bar their use…
Former spouse assigned a pension survivor benefit
A pension plan rejected an order preserving a former spouse’s right to a company-paid survivor benefit after divorce. EBSA said the former spouse had been an eligible and designated beneficiary…
Roof access hatches, fixed ladders, and exposed openings
A hatch manufacturer asked whether fixed roof-access ladders needed grab bars and whether open hatches needed guarding. OSHA said the cited ladder rule did not require grab bars for the described…
Home-office inspections and injury recording for teleworkers
A legal foundation asked OSHA to submit its home-worksite inspection directive to rulemaking and exempt home offices from injury records. OSHA said the internal directive required no…
Program year 2000 One-Stop labor market information grants
ETA gave state employment agencies planning estimates and instructions for $27 million in program year 2000 One-Stop labor market information grants, including a 2.4 percent postage reserve. States…
Workforce Investment Act administrative cost classification
ETA previewed how Workforce Investment Act Title I programs should classify administrative costs under a proposed final rule, including the functions subject to the local 10 percent cap. The letter…
Corrected effective date for July 2000 UCX military remuneration schedule
ETA reissued its military remuneration schedule for ex-servicemember unemployment claims because UIPL 30-00 misstated when the schedule applied. This change directed state agencies to use the…
Appeals guides for trade readjustment allowances under TAA and NAFTA-TAA
ETA sent state appeals staff two technical assistance guides for trade readjustment allowance cases under the regular Trade Adjustment Assistance and NAFTA transitional programs. The guides…
Approval of electrical covers and circuit-breaker lockouts
An OSHA regional administrator asked about flexible plastic covers for live electrical parts and generic breaker-panel lockouts. OSHA said covers must meet the cited electrical-cover requirements…
Military remuneration schedule for UCX claims, July 2000 revision
ETA supplied state agencies with monthly, weekly, and daily military remuneration rates for deciding ex-servicemember unemployment claims. The original letter instructed use of the new schedule for…
Charging federal employers for UCFE and UCX unemployment benefits
ETA clarified that state unemployment agencies may charge a federal employer for former federal employee or servicemember benefits only in proportion to federal wages in the claimant's base period.…
Injury-recording questions for a Colombian worksite
A company operating in Colombia asked how OSHA would classify injuries during off-duty periods, breaks, delayed reports, restricted work, contractor visits, and travel. OSHA explained how its former…
Recording lost-workday injuries without a physician report
An employer proposed waiting for an injured installer’s medical report before entering the case on its injury log. OSHA said a known work-related injury causing days away must be logged even if the…
Workforce Investment Act financial reporting requirements
ETA instructed states on financial reports for six Workforce Investment Act funding categories, including youth, adult, dislocated worker, local administration, statewide activities, and rapid…
Sun exposure and protective equipment for outdoor workers
A municipal parks department asked what OSHA requires for sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, and clothing. OSHA said its standards do not specifically address worker exposure to solar radiation, while the…
Fiscal year 2001 unemployment insurance State Quality Service Plan instructions
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to prepare their fiscal 2001 State Quality Service Plans, including performance priorities, funding periods, and regional submission deadlines. The letter…
Contingency planning for WIA state plans in 2000
ETA explained how states could obtain approval of Workforce Investment Act plans when they could not fully implement the law by July 1, 2000. Every plan needed five core elements, including public…
WIA Transition Summer Report instructions
ETA instructed states to submit a one-time report on summer 2000 youth employment during the shift from JTPA to the Workforce Investment Act. The report covered participation, participant…
Former public employees in Puerto Rico retirement system
A requester asked whether continued participation by employees who moved to a private employer would affect the Puerto Rico retirement system's governmental-plan status. EBSA said their number was…
Obsolete soda-acid and inverting-foam fire extinguishers
A requester noticed that OSHA’s construction fire-extinguisher table listed soda-acid models. OSHA explained that inverting soda-acid and foam extinguishers had been delisted, and none was approved…
Grounding, approval, and connectors for construction power tools
A tool maker asked about grounding versus double insulation, approvals, and connector requirements for construction power tools. OSHA explained the limits on double-insulated tools, when equipment…
Independent crew clearances for electric utility work
An electric utility asked whether several crews working together under one foreman each needed an independent clearance. OSHA said the answer depends on whether each crew operates independently and…
Employer addresses on quarterly wage and new hire reports
ETA told state unemployment agencies that an agent's address on a quarterly wage report may delay child support enforcement, and encouraged them to work with child support agencies to correct it.…
Model state legislation for birth and adoption unemployment compensation
ETA gave states an optional model law and a detailed question-and-answer commentary for an experiment paying unemployment compensation to parents who left work or took leave after a birth or…
Use of TANF, Job Access and Reverse Commute, and Welfare-to-Work funds for transportation
ETA transmitted joint guidance from Labor, Health and Human Services, and Transportation on using TANF, Welfare-to-Work, and Job Access and Reverse Commute funds to help people reach jobs. The…
Scaffold toprail height for equipment placed in service around 2000
A scaffold user asked how OSHA’s January 2000 toprail change applies to older scaffolds and replacement parts. OSHA said “placed in service” means first sold or leased by the manufacturer, and…
Former residential-construction fall-protection enforcement policy
An OSHA regional office asked how the former residential fall-protection directive applied to apartments, materials, slide guards, and truss work. OSHA answered under the directive then in effect,…
Recording workdays missed before an occupational illness diagnosis
An operations manager asked whether workdays missed before a later occupational-illness diagnosis counted on the injury and illness log. OSHA said yes under its former Log 200 guidance, using the…
Lost workday counting between construction assignments
A contractor asked whether days between separate construction jobs should count as lost workdays after an injury. OSHA said its former guidelines excluded days the employee would not have worked…
Second medical visits and recordable hot or cold treatment
A union and employer asked whether a hot or cold compress given on a second medical visit made an injury recordable even when the first visit involved no such treatment. OSHA said it did under the…
Daily disposal of combustible waste and EPA hazardous-waste rules
A lawyer asked whether EPA hazardous-waste storage rules displaced OSHA’s daily combustible-waste disposal rule. OSHA said the two regimes could operate together and that daily disposal could occur…
Ticket to Work Act changes to unemployment wage reporting and educational assistance
ETA explained that states may let certain domestic service employers report wages annually instead of quarterly, subject to safeguards and uniform experience rating. The letter also described a…
Scaffold guardrail height for manufacturer sales through distributors
A scaffold manufacturer asked whether older equipment sold by a distributor after January 1, 2000 needed a 38-inch toprail. OSHA said the result depends on when the manufacturer first sold or leased…
Final PY 2000 Wagner-Peyser Act basic labor exchange allotments
ETA announced final program year 2000 state allotments for Wagner-Peyser Act basic labor exchange services. It explained the statutory formula, a $22,312,050 setaside to support states that lost…
Ohio public employee welfare trust as governmental plan
An Ohio public employee welfare trust asked whether collectively bargained sponsorship changed its governmental status. EBSA cited state funding, state trustee participation and administration, and…
New York police association benefit funds as governmental
New York police association funds asked whether their annuity and welfare arrangements were excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA found the public-employer sponsorship and coverage supported…
Western New York Catholic health system church plans
A Catholic health system asked whether its benefit arrangements were church plans excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA agreed to the extent the IRS private rulings accurately described current…
NAICS and SOC/O*NET coding for unemployment insurance benefit accuracy measurement
ETA instructed state unemployment insurance agencies to switch the industry and occupation codes used in Benefit Accuracy Measurement cases to NAICS and SOC/O*NET. State units were to apply the new…
Joint guidance on Welfare-to-Work referrals and services with TANF and child support agencies
ETA and the Department of Health and Human Services gave state and local agencies ways to coordinate Welfare-to-Work referrals, eligibility checks, and services with TANF and child support programs.…
Pre-shift forklift inspection and written checklists
A warehouse employer asked whether it could require a written forklift safety checklist before each shift. OSHA said its powered-truck rule requires an examination before the truck is used, though…
X-ray fluorescence paint readings and construction lead exposure
An instrument maker asked OSHA to clarify use of X-ray fluorescence readings for lead in paint. OSHA said methods acceptable for housing or environmental clearance do not by themselves predict…
Former injury-recording treatment criteria for three workplace cases
A California employer asked whether three injuries treated with skin closures, medication, or an elastic wrap were recordable. OSHA answered under federal rules while noting California’s state plan…
Postal worker signatures for safety training and OSHA inspections
A postal workers’ union asked whether OSHA required signatures at every safety talk and whether Postal Service inspection procedures matched the OSH Act. OSHA said it does not require employee…
Sharps protection for home healthcare workers treating diabetic patients
A home-health provider asked if it must buy safer syringes when a diabetic patient supplies the equipment used in the patient’s home. OSHA said the cited home-health enforcement policy did not hold…
Hepatitis B antibody testing for public safety workers
An aviation medical officer asked whether police, firefighters, and accident investigators need antibody tests after hepatitis B vaccination. OSHA said the testing recommendation applies when…
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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.