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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Separate injury logs, splints and heart-attack recordability
A lawyer posed six injury-recording scenarios involving nearby worksites, a separate printing site, splints and a heart attack at work. OSHA said adjacent related facilities could share a log while…
Retail food items under the hazard communication rule
A requester asked whether ordinary grocery foods needed material safety data sheets. OSHA said food and alcoholic beverages sold, used or prepared in retail establishments were exempt from the cited…
Latex gloves in food preparation
A congressional staff member asked whether OSHA required food-service workers to wear latex gloves. OSHA said it had no such rule; food handling glove requirements came from FDA's Food Code. The…
Prompt access to workplace toilets and citation review
OSHA told regional offices that employers must make toilet facilities available when workers need them and may not impose unreasonable delays. It said access restrictions should be evaluated case by…
Back belts, lifting hazards and worker safety complaints
A worker proposed a back-belt safety campaign and described adverse reactions to safety complaints. OSHA said it preferred engineering and work-design controls for lifting hazards and had not found…
Computerized OSHA 101 supplementary injury records
An employer group asked whether supplementary OSHA 101 injury forms could be kept in a computer system or at a central office. OSHA said yes under three conditions covering timely entry, complete…
Electronic brakes on bakery equipment
A safety consultant asked whether an electronic brake for a bun slicer could satisfy OSHA's older bakery-equipment rule. OSHA said employers remained responsible for compliance but that a newer…
1997 unemployment insurance benefit accuracy data release
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to prepare and review 1997 Benefit Accuracy Measurement data, including the April 30, 1998 database cutoff and formats for the annual and supplemental…
Professional athletes' between seasons unemployment compensation
ETA explained its view that states must deny unemployment compensation between sports seasons when substantially all base period services were athletic and there is reasonable assurance of athletic…
Final 1998 Wagner-Peyser labor exchange allotments
ETA announced each state's final program year 1998 basic labor exchange allotment under the Wagner-Peyser Act. The letter explains the statutory formula, a 3 percent reserve used to hold certain…
Fire-retardant clothing and workplace PPE assessments
A safety engineer asked whether OSHA generally mandated fire-retardant clothing outside fire brigades and electrical distribution, and how to evaluate it. OSHA said no broad directive applied, but…
OSHA's 1998 silicosis emphasis program
A member of Congress asked about OSHA's silicosis Special Emphasis Program. OSHA said the program began in 1996, combined outreach and enforcement, and targeted industries with silica hazards. The…
Protective clothing for formaldehyde exposure in embalming
A requester asked how OSHA's formaldehyde standard affected funeral-home embalming. OSHA said the standard applied and described full-body protection conditions: air concentrations above 100 ppm or…
Enforcement of the OSHA workplace poster requirement
A compliance specialist asked how often OSHA cited employers for failing to post its workplace notice. OSHA reported citation counts for fiscal years 1996 and 1997 and said inspectors then gave…
Scaffold rules for shoring frames used as work platforms
A carpenters' training group asked whether shoring frames supporting temporary decks or work platforms were covered by scaffold rules. OSHA said both described uses created scaffolds, including…
Roll-over protection and hazardous-energy control in construction
A labor safety fund asked OSHA to address roller-compactor rollovers and uncontrolled energy during construction maintenance. OSHA said rollovers and unexpected energization were recognized hazards…
Rollover protection for compactors and skid-steer equipment
A safety consultant asked whether a pneumatic compactor needed rollover structures, seat belts or other safeguards. OSHA said it had no equipment-specific rule then, but regarded rollovers as a…
Identifying the worker who applies a lockout device
A manufacturer asked whether lockout devices needed permanent engraved identification or could carry an attached name tag. OSHA said the identity requirement was performance-based and either…
OSHA's formaldehyde exposure-limit rulemaking
A physician disputed OSHA's formaldehyde standard. OSHA responded with the rulemaking history, explaining that it reduced the eight-hour permissible exposure limit to 0.75 ppm after a court…
1998 citation policy for OSHA injury survey nonresponders
OSHA set an enforcement policy for employers that did not return injury and illness data in its 1998 collection. It said first-time survey participants would not be cited merely for nonresponse,…
OSHA inspections at tribal workplaces
A member of Congress asked whether OSHA could inspect a casino operated by a tribal enterprise after an employee complaint. OSHA said the OSH Act generally applied to workplaces on tribal land and…
Safety net stanchion compliance and proposed general industry rules
A requester asked OSHA to approve a patented safety net stanchion. OSHA said it would assess a complete fall protection system during an inspection, rather than approve this component by letter. It…
Welder electrical training and transmission and distribution definitions
An employer asked whether welders whose equipment generally operates below 50 volts could be exempt from electrical safety training. OSHA answered no, citing the welding standards' training…
Calendar year 1998 summer youth employment program guidance and allotments
ETA instructed states on running the 1998 summer youth jobs and training program, including education, work experience, funding transfers, and job safety. It said the lower federal youth opportunity…
JTPA allotments and Wagner-Peyser planning estimates for 1998
ETA provided states with 1998 JTPA training allotments and preliminary Wagner-Peyser employment service planning estimates. It explained the data and formulas used, when funding notices would issue,…
Roth IRAs within prohibited transaction exemption 97-11
A requester asked whether Roth IRAs counted as IRAs under prohibited transaction exemption 97-11. EBSA said a Roth IRA meeting the statutory individual retirement plan definition was within the…
Medical group incentive plan as bonus or pension plan
A medical group asked whether its key employee incentives were an excluded bonus program or a pension plan, and whether any pension plan was a top-hat plan. EBSA said the terms did not establish a…
Waist straps in full body fall arrest harnesses
A manufacturer asked whether a full body harness could include a waist strap and how to address misuse. OSHA said a waist or chest strap is permitted when the harness distributes fall forces as…
PSM pressure vessels built under earlier ASME editions
An engineer asked how OSHA's process safety management rule applies to pressure vessels built under earlier ASME code editions. OSHA said employers must document differences from current codes and…
Federal and state plan injury recordkeeping authority
An employer asked who interprets OSHA injury recordkeeping rules, whether state plans use the same definitions, and how to classify an employee's restricted work after a 1997 injury. OSHA identified…
Logging standard and commercial tree trimming
OSHA told an arborist association that the logging operations standard applied to commercial tree trimming and cutting. OSHA expressly withdrew this response on June 22, 1998, while it reconsidered…
Trailer restraint and chocking at loading docks
A physician asked about workers injured when trailers move away from loading docks during forklift operations. OSHA discussed trailer restraint, chocking and safe work practices. OSHA later struck…
FMLA leave to attend a parent's care conference
WHD considered whether an employee could use FMLA leave to attend a care conference about her mother's serious health condition. It said such a meeting with health care providers is part of…
Radiation exposure records for NRC licensee contractors
A contractor asked whether it had to duplicate radiation exposure records kept by an NRC licensee. OSHA said the licensee's compliance with the cited NRC monitoring and recordkeeping rules satisfied…
Interrupted hepatitis B vaccine series under the bloodborne pathogens rule
A nursing agency asked whether an employee who missed a scheduled hepatitis B vaccine dose had to restart the entire series. OSHA said the series should continue according to then-current public…
Proof load testing of longshoring cargo gear and shore equipment
A crane certifier asked whether new longshoring testing requirements changed its proof load testing cycle. OSHA said the change applied to gear on ocean going cargo vessels, while the four year…
Fitness leave benefit during intermittent FMLA leave
WHD considered an employee taking intermittent FMLA leave who was denied discretionary paid time for physical fitness activities. It said discretionary leave is still an employment benefit, and an…
Methylene chloride stay and use as a medical-device bonding solvent
A medical device manufacturer asked whether its use of methylene chloride as a bonding solvent qualified for a 1997 compliance-date stay covering product formulation. OSHA's regional office answered…
Restricted workdays, prescriptions and braces in injury records
An employer asked how to count restricted work after an ankle injury and whether prescriptions or a wrist brace made other injuries recordable. OSHA counted the two worked days with restrictions,…
Restricted work and wound closures in injury records
A medical consultant asked when restricted duty and wound treatment made an injury recordable under OSHA's then-current rules. OSHA said restrictions extending beyond the injury day could create a…
Implementing electronic benefit statements for combined wage claims
ETA directed states to install electronic processing for quarterly combined wage claim benefit statements by the first 1999 billing cycle. During the transition, a paying state already using…
Explosives research and testing under process safety management
An industry group asked whether research and testing involving explosives fell under OSHA's process safety management rule. OSHA said explosives manufacturing is covered at any quantity, while…
Bloodborne pathogen controls and medical device purchasing
A member of Congress relayed concerns that purchasing agreements hindered sales of a safer medical device. OSHA said employers must evaluate engineering controls that reduce bloodborne pathogen…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for January–March 1998
ETA supplied a state-by-state table of average weekly unemployment benefits, calculated 50 percent amounts, and rounded minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits. The figures applied to…
Revised military remuneration schedule for UCX benefits
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies to use a revised military pay schedule to determine federal wages for new ex-servicemember claims beginning after April 4, 1998. Claims filed earlier…
1998 phase-out of the Self-Employment Assistance program
ETA reminded states that the then-current federal authorization for Self-Employment Assistance was set to expire December 8, 1998. It said states could pay allowances after that date only for…
Hearing impaired forklift operators and workplace safety duties
An employer asked whether a hearing impaired worker could operate a forklift under OSHA and ANSI requirements. OSHA said its then-current truck rule did not set physical qualifications, and it…
Maximum guard openings on mechanical power presses
A safety consultant asked how to read the vertical and horizontal dimensions in OSHA's mechanical power press guard opening table. OSHA said the table limits the opening dimension that lets a worker…
Pipeline cooperation fund grant to outside training program
A pipeline labor-management fund asked whether a grant to a separate training fund would make it an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the described grant alone did not change its status, but declined to…
Needle incineration devices and bloodborne pathogen compliance
A requester asked OSHA to confirm that a needle incineration device complied with the bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said the rule did not prohibit incineration, but the agency does not endorse…
Exact wording of hepatitis B vaccine declination form
An employer asked whether the hepatitis B vaccine declination form had to copy the exact wording in OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA answered yes, citing its then-current instruction…
Grounding lead for arc welding from a suspended scaffold
A contractor asked how to apply the suspended scaffold grounding rule when welding inside a boiler, where a ground lead could add weight or create other hazards. OSHA suggested ways to manage the…
State personnel actions affecting unemployment insurance administration
ETA told states that broad hiring freezes, furloughs, and staffing cuts must account for the needs of their unemployment insurance programs. A state must show how it will handle the UI workload…
Unemployment benefits require a loss of work
ETA told state unemployment agencies that a person must actually lose work for a period before receiving unemployment compensation for it. A drop in earnings alone is insufficient if the person's…
Safety disconnect system as a lockout energy isolating device
A manufacturer asked whether its safety disconnect system could serve as an energy isolating device under OSHA's lockout rule. OSHA said the system described could perform that function if included…
Work relationship of lightning injury for OSHA records
An employer asked whether a lightning injury to a worker inside its facility was work related for OSHA injury records. OSHA said the on-premises incident was work related under its then-current…
Electronic access to material safety data sheets
A senator asked OSHA to set a format for electronic material safety data sheets. OSHA declined a single format and described conditions for electronic delivery and workplace access, including…
Utility fall protection on transformers and loading docks
An electric utility asked when fall protection was required for employees working on transformers, loading docks and other elevated equipment. OSHA discussed platform use, applicable general…
Electrical conductor identification at power plants
An OSHA regional office asked whether power plant building services were exempt from electrical installation rules and whether wiring diagrams could identify grounded conductors. OSHA said those…
Utility lineworkers climbing poles and using aerial lifts
A safety consultant asked about fall protection for qualified lineworkers leaving aerial lifts and moving between connected poles. OSHA said the applicable duties depend on the work and conditions,…
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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.