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.
No Federal documents match your search
Try different keywords or clear a filter.
Trustee bidding on training-facility construction
A training trust asked whether firms associated with trustees could bid to expand its facility. EBSA said a trustee can avoid the specified fiduciary self-dealing transaction only by withdrawing…
Utility company reserve trust outside welfare plan assets
A utility asked whether money placed in a special trust to meet corporate obligations became assets of its retiree welfare plan. EBSA said the plan had no beneficial interest: the company retained…
Restoring power after a ground-fault alarm
An aluminum plant asked when it could restore power after a phase-to-ground alarm in a high-impedance grounded system. OSHA said the orderly shutdown must proceed without unnecessary delay; an…
Transferred workers in Milwaukee governmental retirement system
Milwaukee asked whether continued benefit accrual for former public employees transferred to a private contractor would affect the city system's governmental-plan status. EBSA said their de minimis…
Asbestos duties in leased retail facilities
A retail employer asked whether silence from a landlord meant older building materials could be treated as asbestos-free and when monitoring or training was needed. OSHA said the employer must…
Portable toilets as a substitute for water closets
A regional office asked whether a workplace could add portable toilets instead of plumbed water closets during a busy shift. OSHA said it would treat the substitution as de minimis only where…
Asbestos risk at the permissible exposure limit
A lawyer asked whether OSHA considered exposure at the asbestos permissible exposure limit risk-free, citing a conflicting 1995 letter. OSHA said the earlier description was imprecise: significant…
Aerial-lift coverage and fall protection
An engineering company asked how OSHA's vehicle-mounted aerial-lift rule applied to self-propelled boom lifts. OSHA said the rule covered them and described a de minimis approach when employers met…
Respirator selection for crystalline silica dust
A safety equipment specialist asked what respiratory protection is needed for workers exposed to crystalline silica. OSHA said employers must assess exposure and use respirators when engineering…
Unemployment claims process for temporary 2000 census workers
ETA assigned federal identification code 910 for unemployment claims by temporary workers hired for the 2000 census and told state agencies to charge those benefits to that code. It deactivated code…
Process safety coverage for hydroxylamine solution
A regional office asked whether a 50 percent hydroxylamine solution met OSHA's process safety management chemical listing. OSHA said 50 percent was the maximum commercial grade then available, so a…
Machine restart protection and emergency-stop controls
An equipment consultant asked whether metalworking machines need undervoltage protection and which emergency-stop controls OSHA accepts. OSHA said an automatic restart after power loss can be a…
Fall protection for standing-seam metal roof installation
A metal-roofing contractor asked whether installing roofing, insulation and thermal blocks counted as steel erection. OSHA said the integrated work did, and described the fall rules for tiered and…
Electrical safety training for line-clearance tree trimmers
A regional office asked which electrical safety rules applied to line-clearance tree trimmers working near energized conductors. OSHA said workers who enter minimum approach distances must be…
NAFTA assistance for workers at secondary firms
ETA explained how State agencies should identify workers at firms indirectly affected by NAFTA and connect them with JTPA Title III services. It described the petition investigation, outreach,…
Electronic access to material safety data sheets
A distributor asked whether advertising a toll-free fax number was enough to provide material safety data sheets. OSHA said a supplier must take positive steps to confirm customers can receive the…
Storing propane and ether cylinders with flammables
A consultant asked whether small propane and ether cylinders could be kept inside flammable-material storage cabinets with other flammables. OSHA said the incorporated Compressed Gas Association…
Incumbent Worker System Building Demonstration
ETA offered a second chance for states to apply for grants to plan incumbent worker training systems. Proposals had to include a state strategy, a budget of no more than $50,000 per state, and plans…
Earlier Hanford tank retrieval wage determination
WHD initially directed the Department of Energy to apply Service Contract Act wages to six tank-farm activities within a Hanford project while treating other work as Davis-Bacon construction. Its…
Social Security numbers in asbestos exposure records
A consultant asked whether the Privacy Act conflicted with an asbestos rule requiring employee Social Security numbers in exposure records. OSHA said the federal privacy provision did not remove the…
Disposal and transfer of old employee medical records
A laboratory employer asked whether medical records could be discarded after the required retention period. OSHA said some standards require transfer to NIOSH; otherwise, the employer must give…
Approved respirators for abrasive blasting
A respirator manufacturer asked why OSHA removed the continuous-flow-airline phrase from its abrasive-blasting respirator definition. OSHA said the older wording excluded other NIOSH-approved…
Minimum weekly disaster unemployment assistance amounts, April–June 1999
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use the attached state-by-state minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April through June 1999. The…
Optional offsets of unemployment benefits for food stamp overissuances
ETA corrected its 1996 guidance on recovering food stamp overpayments from unemployment benefits. It said the Agriculture Department left each state food stamp agency to decide whether this…
Tuberculosis respirator fit-test frequency
A healthcare employer asked how often respirators used solely for tuberculosis protection had to be fit tested. OSHA said the then-current rule required initial and change-triggered testing, while…
Electronic quarterly billing for combined-wage unemployment claims
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to send quarterly bills for interstate combined-wage claims electronically through ICON by May 15, 1999. It explained that electronic communication was the…
Pipeline safety rules and respiratory protection
A gas association asked whether Department of Transportation pipeline rules displaced OSHA's respiratory protection rule. OSHA said the overlap prevented federal OSHA from enforcing that rule…
Final 1999 Wagner-Peyser labor exchange allotments
ETA announced the final program year 1999 allotments for state labor exchange services under the Wagner-Peyser Act. The letter explains the statutory formula, a 3 percent reserve to protect certain…
Kentucky county officials association employees in public pension
A Kentucky county magistrates and commissioners association asked whether its employees’ proposed participation would affect the retirement system’s ERISA governmental-plan status. EBSA found the…
Forklift training for warehouse visitors and lumpers
A warehouse asked who must train delivery drivers, independent owner-operators and unloading workers using forklifts on its premises. OSHA said it must train workers it employs or controls,…
Retaining nondetect and low-level exposure measurements
A law firm asked whether nondetectable or below-limit exposure monitoring results had to be kept for 30 years. OSHA said both were employee exposure records under the cited rule: a nondetect can…
Release procedures for 1998 Benefit Accuracy Measurement data
ETA told state unemployment agencies how it would publish their 1998 Benefit Accuracy Measurement results and set dates for database sign-off, review, comments, and optional state narratives. It…
Title III performance standards and follow-up reporting clarifications
ETA clarified which Title III programs must meet entered-employment standards and required follow-up reporting for all Title III terminees, including workers recalled or retained by their original…
No additional 1999 Welfare-to-Work reallocation funds
ETA told states there were no additional fiscal 1998 Welfare-to-Work funds available for a second fiscal 1999 formula allocation. It removed the section of TEGL 3-98 that had explained how to…
Flammable-vapor tests in permit-required tanks
A chemical facility asked if it had to test nonflammable chemical tanks for flammable vapor before confined-space entry. OSHA said testing should address hazards that could potentially be present,…
Bonding plastic containers for flammable-liquid transfer
A manufacturer asked how to bond or ground plastic containers while transferring Class I flammable liquids. OSHA described grounded metallic pumps or faucets and referred to container-size…
Guidance for 1999 summer youth employment programs
ETA gave states and local service areas instructions for the 1999 summer youth employment and training program during the transition from JTPA to the Workforce Investment Act. It addressed youth…
FMLA leave alongside a more generous employer plan
WHD addressed an employer plan allowing up to 52 weeks of medical leave. The letter said qualifying FMLA leave could run within that longer period and that the FMLA itself would not require another…
Vacation accrual during unpaid FMLA leave
A union asked whether a 156-workday threshold for next-year vacation unfairly penalized employees who took FMLA leave. WHD said the FMLA protects benefits already accrued before leave but does not…
Corrected 1999 military remuneration schedule for UCX claims
ETA reissued its 1999 military pay schedule for ex-servicemember unemployment claims because the W-5 weekly amount in the original attachment was wrong. States were to use the corrected schedule for…
Hepatitis C under the bloodborne pathogens rule
A state safety office asked whether hepatitis C counted under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule and how to cite violations. OSHA said HCV was covered by the general pathogen definition and…
Workforce Investment Act effects on unemployment insurance
ETA explained how the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 affected state unemployment insurance agencies. It said they had to participate in One-Stop service systems, provide claim-filing information…
Reallotment of JTPA Title III formula funds
ETA sent state workforce agencies a Federal Register notice reallocating unspent JTPA Title III funds. The notice explains which states would have funds recaptured, how eligible states would receive…
Program Year 1999 Wagner-Peyser state planning instructions
ETA revised its state planning instructions for Program Year 1999 Wagner-Peyser Act employment services. It explained three plan submission options, waiver procedures and deadlines, and the…
Microbe protections in research laboratories
A foreign labor authority asked what OSHA required for protection from microbes. OSHA said its bloodborne pathogens rule contained specific research-laboratory provisions for HIV and HBV, reproduced…
Planned automation of UCFE and UCX claims
ETA described plans to automate parts of unemployment claims involving federal employees and former service members. State agencies would request wage and separation data electronically, use a…
One-Stop grant carry-in policy for third-year funding
ETA clarified that every state entering its third year of One-Stop implementation funding could carry forward at most 15 percent of unobligated first- and second-year operating funds. Its third-year…
Extended deadline for 1999 Welfare-to-Work state plans
ETA extended the deadline for states to submit their fiscal 1999 Welfare-to-Work annual plans from March 31 to June 30, 1999. It said the other instructions in TEGL 3-98 still applied. The change…
Firefighter two-in two-out staffing and state plans
A member of Congress asked whether the two-in two-out respiratory rule forced fire departments to staff six firefighters on duty. OSHA said it governed the number on scene before an interior attack,…
Hazardous-materials training for emergency departments
A hospital asked whether emergency staff needed hazardous-materials response training when chemically contaminated patients were expected to arrive mostly decontaminated. OSHA said training depends…
Fall protection while building rebar assemblies
A construction safety manager asked when workers on reinforcing-steel assemblies needed fall protection. OSHA described a then-allowed climbing exception for workers building rebar assemblies, but…
Motor carrier injury logs versus DOT accident registers
A trucking association asked whether DOT accident registers replaced OSHA injury and illness logs. OSHA said the two systems tracked different events and that DOT safety jurisdiction did not…
Stair-rail height under construction and general industry rules
A contractor asked about different stair-rail heights in construction and general industry rules. OSHA distinguished handrails from stair rails and said the described 36-inch prefabricated rail…
Medical evaluation for escape-only respirator users
An employer asked whether workers whose only respirator use was a short-duration emergency escape device needed medical evaluations. OSHA said its then-current policy did not require one for an…
FAA jurisdiction over aircraft crew health conditions
A correspondent raised tuberculosis risk for crews on long flights. OSHA said a 1975 FAA policy statement asserted authority over aircraft crew working conditions, preventing OSHA enforcement in the…
Medical clearance before respirator fit testing
A mobile screening provider asked whether blood-pressure and pulmonary tests allowed immediate respirator fit testing before a medical director reviewed the worker's questionnaire. OSHA said a…
OSHA coverage of student hospital volunteers
A hospital asked whether unpaid student volunteers and job-shadowers were covered as employees under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said the described students were not hospital employees…
Lead paint concentration and construction exposure assessment
A contractor asked whether lead paint must exceed a fixed concentration before the lead-in-construction rule applies. OSHA said it applies at any detectable lead concentration and requires an…
OSHA consultation help for small employers
A small-business consultant asked how owners without in-house safety staff could get OSHA compliance help. OSHA described its state-delivered, federally funded on-site consultation program and the…
Postal accident report as an OSHA injury report substitute
The Postal Service asked whether its accident report could substitute for the former OSHA 101 injury report. OSHA said the form lacked the employee's home-address field and could qualify if that was…
Browse Federal guidance by topic
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.