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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Toilet access in temporary labor camps
A state health official asked whether a temporary labor camp restroom was inaccessible if residents walked through a mobile home's living room where someone slept. OSHA said the rule addresses…
Electrical insulation and plastic cable sheathing in construction
An engineer asked whether a cable's outer plastic sheath counted as insulation against electric shock. OSHA said the sheath normally packages and protects the conductors, while the individual…
Revised Welfare-to-Work formula grant report and instructions
ETA revised states' quarterly Welfare-to-Work grant report to track additional spending and participant outcomes for its performance bonus criteria. The change adds fields for intake and case…
Farmer Mac mortgage certificates under plan-assets rule
Farmer Mac asked whether plans buying its guaranteed mortgage-backed certificates would own the underlying loans under ERISA’s plan-assets regulation. EBSA said the certificates qualified for the…
Glass capillary tube breakage and bloodborne risk
An OSHA memorandum circulated a joint FDA, NIOSH and OSHA advisory on glass capillary tubes. It warned that broken tubes can puncture workers and expose them to bloodborne pathogens, recommended…
Electronic access to material safety data sheets during outages
A senator asked how employers using electronic material safety data sheets should handle outages and other emergencies. OSHA said telephone hazard information could temporarily back up a failed…
Fall arrest anchors on construction aerial lifts
A construction worker asked whether fall-arrest forces could tip an aerial lift. OSHA said workers may use restraint or fall arrest, but arrest equipment may be attached to the lift only if the lift…
1999 JTPA state allotments and Wagner-Peyser estimates
ETA gave states their 1999 JTPA adult, youth and dislocated-worker allotments, plus preliminary Wagner-Peyser employment-service estimates. It told states moving to the Workforce Investment Act to…
Disposing of exposure and medical records when a practice closes
A retiring physician asked what to do with employee OSHA records when no one took over the practice. OSHA said the cited rule required transfer to NIOSH or written notice at least three months…
Recording instantaneous friction blisters
An employer asked whether an instantaneous work-related friction blister had to be recorded if it needed no medical treatment or work restriction. OSHA treated the instantaneous event as an injury…
1999 federal remuneration schedule for ex-servicemember unemployment claims
ETA directed state agencies to use a revised schedule of military wages when determining eligibility for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers first claims filed after April 3, 1999. It…
Plastic coupling guards as a de minimis alternative
A guard manufacturer asked whether a nonmetal coupling guard met OSHA's mechanical power-transmission rule. OSHA said it did not approve products, but suitable substantial nonmetal guards were…
Breathing-air certificates for purchased cylinders
An air supplier asked whether an annual generic analysis certificate was enough for breathing-air cylinders. OSHA said the rule required assurance for purchased cylinders and would accept one…
Working owners as participants in multiemployer plans
A multiemployer plan asked whether people who own businesses and personally perform services may participate. EBSA said working owners can be participants under ERISA where coverage follows plan…
Air sampling position during welding with respirators
An industrial hygienist asked where to put an air-sampling cassette for welders wearing supplied-air equipment. OSHA said sampling should represent potential exposure in the breathing zone outside…
Guardrail height across two concrete work levels
A concrete contractor asked whether a guardrail on a lower work surface could protect workers on an adjacent higher surface. OSHA said the proposed method could leave the top rail below a falling…
Unapproved combinations of abrasive-blasting respirators
A consultant asked why workers could not wear a half-mask respirator under an air-supplied blasting helmet. OSHA said the combination had not been approved by NIOSH and the devices might interfere…
OSHA authority over a customer child at a hardware store
A member of Congress forwarded a concern that a young child could activate a machine in a hardware store. OSHA said its authority generally depended on an employer-employee relationship and did not…
Plan purchase of securities serviced by manager affiliate
An investment manager asked whether plans it managed could buy mortgage certificates on the secondary market when an affiliate sub-serviced the trusts. EBSA said the purchases did not violate the…
North Carolina medical center benefit plans as governmental
A regional medical center asked whether its pension, 403(b), and employee benefit plans were governmental. EBSA found both the hospital authority and its operating medical center governmental…
Job rotation and cumulative trauma injury recording
An employer group asked when rotating a worker with musculoskeletal discomfort made a case recordable. OSHA said a preventive transfer of someone fully able to do normal work was not recordable…
Minimum weekly disaster unemployment assistance amounts, January–March 1999
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use its attached state-by-state minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from January through March 1999. The…
Pre-employment circumstances in unemployment tax ratings
ETA told states that they cannot base an employer's unemployment tax experience rating on a worker's public assistance status or other circumstances before employment. In its view, excluding…
Attendance reporting for intermittent FMLA leave
WHD addressed whether an employer could assess attendance points when employees on intermittent FMLA leave missed a one-hour call-in rule. It said a stricter company rule could not penalize notice…
HAZWOPER and fire-brigade medical exams versus respirator screening
An energy employer asked whether the respirator medical questionnaire could replace later HAZWOPER or fire-brigade examinations. OSHA said no: those programs assess broader fitness and, for…
Interactive trainer access during online bloodborne-pathogen courses
A training company asked whether a bloodborne-pathogen trainer must sit in the room during an online course. OSHA said a hotline could provide direct access, and email could work only if a qualified…
Qualitative and quantitative respirator fit tests
A consultant asked when qualitative versus quantitative respirator fit testing was allowed. OSHA said qualitative testing was limited for negative-pressure air-purifying respirators used below ten…
Sprinkler-system maintenance citation policy
A regional office asked whether failure to maintain a sprinkler system was a violation if no OSHA standard required the system. OSHA said generally no, absent a new hazard, but welding or cutting in…
University voluntary separation program as ERISA pension plan
A departing university worker asked whether a voluntary separation program was an ERISA pension plan and whether tax withholding was preempted. EBSA said age 60 and 20 years of service made benefits…
FMLA leave for siblings caring for a parent
WHD answered whether two sisters who work for the same employer must share one FMLA leave allotment to care for their seriously ill mother. It said the statute’s combined-leave rule applies to…
FMLA leave and attendance-point removal
WHD addressed a no-fault attendance policy that removed points after 90 incident-free days. It said unpaid FMLA leave could not count toward termination points, but need not count as incident-free…
Scannable respirator medical questionnaires
An industrial hygienist asked whether an employer could modify OSHA's respirator medical questionnaire for optical scanning. OSHA said some format and basic identifying questions could change, but…
Abrasive-blasting dust sampling outside the hood
A company asked to put an abrasive-blasting air sampler inside workers' respirator hoods. OSHA said that would sample diluted air from the hood and underestimate potential exposure; the cassette…
The grimace step in quantitative respirator fit tests
An equipment association asked whether the grimace exercise in a quantitative respirator fit test could be skipped or moved. OSHA said no, because it tests whether the face seal reseats; the wearer…
Licensing of clinicians conducting respirator evaluations
A requester asked whether a physician without a state license could conduct respirator medical evaluations at a federal hospital. OSHA said the evaluator must be legally permitted to conduct the…
When construction gas cylinders count as stored
An elevator contractor asked when intermittently used welding cylinders had to be separated as stored cylinders. OSHA said a cylinder counts as in storage if gas is not reasonably expected to be…
Western-style hard hats on construction sites
A regional official asked if western-style hard hats complied with construction head-protection rules. OSHA said a hat meeting the cited ANSI impact standard could protect against falling and flying…
Construction cooperation trust and nominal training incentives
A construction cooperation and education trust asked whether paying incentives worth no more than $25 for outside training made it an ERISA benefit plan. EBSA said its current activities and those…
Joint guidance on using TANF, Welfare-to-Work and Job Access funds for transportation
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Transportation explained how 1998 TANF, Welfare-to-Work, and Job Access funds could support transportation to work. The attached paper…
Light-curtain safeguarding on a mechanical power press
A press-guard installer asked if its light curtains protected workers who might enter the bed unseen, and whether a second curtain could be muted through most of the stroke. OSHA said the described…
Employer costs and timing of respirator fit testing
A respirator support firm asked who pays for fit testing and medical evaluations, what annual means, and how seal checks should work. OSHA said required respirator elements are employer-paid, while…
Methylene chloride respirator-rule misprint in 1998 CFR
A national OSHA memorandum warned regional administrators that the 1998 CFR printed two respiratory-protection sections for the methylene chloride standard. It identified the first as correct and…
Medical evaluations under OSHA's respirator standard
An airline physician asked about medical evaluation duties under the revised respirator standard. OSHA said employees using required tight-fitting respirators needed a complete questionnaire or…
Slide locks instead of die blocks on power presses
A manufacturer asked whether slide locks could replace die blocks on mechanical presses. OSHA said the locks could fail through gear or pin misalignment and did not grant a blanket exception; a…
Fiscal year 1999 Reed Act distribution and limits on use
ETA announced a $15.9 million transfer from federal unemployment trust fund accounts to state accounts and explained the limits on spending the money. States could use it for unemployment…
Permanent authorization of Self-Employment Assistance
ETA told states that Congress had made the federal Self-Employment Assistance program authorization permanent, removing its planned December 1998 end date. It rescinded an earlier phase-out notice…
Welfare-to-Work eligibility clarification for custodial caretaker relatives
ETA clarified how amended Welfare-to-Work eligibility rules applied when a TANF recipient was a custodial caretaker relative rather than a custodial parent. It said the same noncustodial parent…
Welfare-to-Work eligibility of custodial caretaker relatives
ETA clarified that custodial caretaker relatives receiving TANF may qualify for Welfare-to-Work services under the same participation and time limit rules as other TANF recipients. It also explained…
Electrical tape on damaged construction extension cords
A construction safety specialist asked whether electrical tape could cover minor cuts in an extension cord jacket. OSHA said superficial damage that did not affect flexibility or expose inner parts…
Two-in two-out firefighting and volunteer coverage
A senator asked whether small communities could waive the two-in two-out interior firefighting rule. OSHA said there was no waiver but the rule did not apply to incipient fires, outside attack, or…
Extension of the Incumbent Worker System Building Demonstration application deadline
ETA gave states more time to apply for 1998 Incumbent Worker System Building Demonstration grants. The change moved the application deadline from December 15 to December 31, 1998, and repeated the…
Extension of incumbent worker demonstration application deadline
ETA extended states’ deadline for incumbent worker system building demonstration grant applications from December 15 to December 31, 1998. It repeated the grant limits and specified the application…
Ethylene oxide emergency alerts near sterilizers
A medical products firm asked whether ethylene oxide sensors were required by sterilizers and storage areas. OSHA said the rule requires a prompt way to alert and evacuate affected workers, but…
Life-saving equipment for bridge work over water
A regional official asked whether bridge workers with guardrails or fall arrest still needed water-rescue equipment. OSHA said ring buoys and a lifesaving skiff were required regardless, while life…
Grounding a suspended scaffold during welding
A construction company asked OSHA to remove the rule requiring suspended scaffolds to be grounded during welding. OSHA said grounding diverts fault current away from workers if insulation or…
Pipeline jurisdiction over LNG process safety
A consultant asked whether DOT pipeline regulation prevented OSHA from enforcing process safety management at LNG transmission and distribution facilities. OSHA said it was precluded for the fire…
Interim respirator protection factor for 3M abrasive-blast helmet
An OSHA memo set interim enforcement treatment for a particular 3M abrasive-blasting helmet under the lead-in-construction rule. It allowed a higher protection factor for that model only if used…
Gas masks at anhydrous-ammonia storage sites
An agricultural cooperative asked whether a full-face respirator with ammonia cartridges counted as the gas masks required at stationary anhydrous-ammonia storage. OSHA said no: the cited NIOSH…
Updated JTPA transfers between program titles
ETA updated its instructions for moving Job Training Partnership Act funds among adult training, youth, and dislocated-worker programs. With a governor's approval, local areas could transfer up to…
Technical amendment to Welfare-to-Work formula-fund obligations
ETA explained a 1998 amendment to the rules for obligating Welfare-to-Work formula grants. States still had to promptly allocate formula funds to service delivery areas, but the letter said the…
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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.