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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Hazardous-material patient care and hospital responder training
A hospital engineers’ group asked what training medical staff needed when treating patients contaminated in a hazardous-material emergency. OSHA said staff who did not run decontamination but might…
Asbestos-containing paint during renovation and demolition
A consultant asked whether asbestos-containing paint had to be removed before interior work or whole-building demolition. OSHA said the standard did not generally require advance removal, but the…
Automating combined wage claim reimbursement forms
ETA told state unemployment agencies it was testing model code to automate Form IB-6 billing and reimbursement for combined wage claims involving more than one state. It planned to distribute the…
Verifying immigration status with the I-766 work card
ETA told state unemployment agencies that claimants could present the new I-766 employment authorization card during claims intake. It instructed agencies to treat the I-766 the same as the older…
Liable/Agent data format for interstate unemployment claims
ETA told state unemployment agencies to use the Liable/Agent Data Transfer format for sending and receiving interstate claims data. It said support for the older By-pass format would end with data…
Procedures for release of 1996 unemployment insurance benefit accuracy data
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to reconcile and report calendar-year 1996 Benefit Accuracy Measurement data. States could choose whether to release their own data publicly, but still had…
Catholic school pension as church plan
A school run by Dominican Sisters asked whether its employee pension plan was excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA agreed with an IRS private ruling if the plan still operated substantially as…
OSHA inspections of small dental offices
A dental worker raised concerns about patient care and asked why OSHA could not inspect small dental offices at random. OSHA said patient-care quality belonged to state licensing authorities, while…
Lockout and pressure-vessel rules for forging presses
An OSHA region asked whether hydraulic forging presses could be cited under the general lockout rule as well as the press-specific rule. OSHA said both could apply. It also said the air-receiver…
Employer outplacement training under ERISA welfare-plan rules
A telecommunications employer asked whether its outplacement assistance program was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA distinguished ordinary payroll and employer-funded education practices from covered…
Asbestos work with material containing less than one percent asbestos
A scientist asked how OSHA's construction asbestos rule applies after a treatment reduces fireproofing's asbestos content below one percent. OSHA said such material is no longer asbestos-containing…
Protective clothing for hot tar and asphalt construction work
OSHA told its regional administrators how to assess protective clothing during hot tar and asphalt construction. Employers must protect workers exposed to skin burns, but inspectors should consider…
Bloodborne pathogens rule for companion-sitters in private homes
A home care provider asked whether its companion-sitters are covered by OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said employees designated to give first aid are covered, but it treats failure to offer…
Fall protection while cutting a roof opening
A mechanical contractor asked whether its plan for cutting a roof opening meets OSHA's fall protection requirements. OSHA said the described practice is acceptable for workers exposed to falling…
Electrical protective equipment near energized lines
A contractor asked what protective equipment is suitable when mechanical equipment works near energized lines. OSHA said insulating items such as rubber gloves, blankets, and live-line tools must…
Emergency services exclusion from unemployment coverage
ETA interprets a federal unemployment coverage exception for temporary government employees hired to deal directly with an emergency or its urgent effects. It says disaster-related work is not…
Transferring state UI resources for IT support services
ETA described two ways state unemployment agencies could obtain services from the UI Information Technology Support Center: contract directly with its lead consortium member or seek approval to…
Approval of modifications to powered industrial trucks
An employer asked who may approve changes to forklifts when a manufacturer has closed or refuses approval. OSHA said the user must seek the manufacturer's written approval, or ask a purchasing…
Disclosure of third-party administrator contracts
A requester asked whether a participant may obtain the plan’s contract with a third-party administrator under ERISA section 104(b)(4). EBSA said disclosure is required if the contract or part of it…
Ventilation rate for aircraft spray painting areas
The Navy asked what ventilation rate applies to aircraft corrosion-control hangars used for spray painting. OSHA said the cited standards set no single flow rate for spray areas; ventilation must…
Electrical wiring in warehouses storing hazardous materials
The Defense Logistics Agency asked what wiring classification applies in warehouses that store hazardous materials in sealed or closed containers. OSHA pointed to the electrical provisions of its…
United Church of Christ retirement center benefit plans
A United Church of Christ retirement center asked whether its pension and group health plans were excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA agreed with a submitted IRS private ruling if both plans and the…
Worker chemical-exposure complaints and hazard communication
A member of Congress asked how government handles reports of workplace chemical exposure on behalf of a constituent. OSHA described how complaints can lead to inspections and said employers must…
1997 Work-Flex state demonstration applications
ETA invited states to apply for the 1997 Work-Flex demonstration, which could give up to six states authority to waive specified local Job Training Partnership Act rules and Wagner-Peyser state-plan…
Protective clothing for aircraft firefighting
OSHA corrected a Navy memo that claimed it had approved structural firefighting gear for aircraft crash response. OSHA said its earlier decision not to cite such use was tied to the absence of a…
First rung spacing on fixed ladders and battery-room protective equipment
An employer asked about the first rung of a fixed ladder and protective equipment in a battery changing area. OSHA said its cited ladder standard set no first-rung spacing limit, though an ANSI…
1997 JTPA and Wagner-Peyser waiver requests
ETA told states how to request waivers of certain Job Training Partnership Act and Wagner-Peyser Act rules for the 1997 program year. The letter listed provisions that could not be waived, required…
Disinfectants labeled effective against hepatitis B and HIV
A disinfectant maker asked whether products with EPA claims against hepatitis B could satisfy OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule without a tuberculosis claim. OSHA said EPA-registered products labeled…
Interim respirator enforcement policy for lead abrasive blasting
OSHA set an interim enforcement policy for two named CLEMCO abrasive-blast respirators used in construction lead work. It said inspectors would treat those models as having a protection factor of…
Training on nonmonetary determination quality measures
ETA announced three 1997 seminars for state staff responsible for evaluating the quality of nonmonetary unemployment determinations. It gave states nomination deadlines and said federal funds would…
Crane swing-radius barrier mounted on mobile equipment
A manufacturer asked whether a barrier attached to mobile equipment would satisfy OSHA's crane swing-radius rule. OSHA said the proposed device did not fully block the swing radius and might strike…
Phone-based question period for bloodborne pathogen training
A state hospital asked whether employees viewing a bloodborne pathogen training video at several locations could ask trainers questions by telephone. OSHA said a phone question period can work…
Disposal of syringes after a device destroys the needle
A device maker asked how to dispose of syringes after its machine destroys the needle. OSHA said the remaining syringe and hub no longer need a sharps container solely because of the destroyed…
1997 National One-Stop Career Center conference
ETA announced a May 1997 conference for workforce development staff about implementing the One-Stop Career Center system. It urged state agencies to circulate conference information to unemployment…
Minimum platform width for pump jack scaffolds
A scaffold company asked what platform width OSHA required for pump jack scaffolds. OSHA said the construction scaffold rule requires a platform at least 12 inches wide and that the 1996 requirement…
Enclosed work platform and water rescue skiff
An engineering firm asked whether an enclosed platform could replace personal fall arrest systems over water and whether it still needed a rescue skiff. OSHA said the platform could serve as fall…
Union drug testing trust outside ERISA welfare coverage
A pipefitters union trust asked whether annual drug testing required for covered work was an ERISA welfare benefit. EBSA said payment for tests alone, without care or counseling, was a method of…
Inspection decisions after workplace violence fatalities
A union official asked why OSHA did not automatically inspect every workplace violence death. OSHA said fatality investigations rank high in inspection priority, but area directors may make…
Ridge hook-supported ladders for roof work
A construction publication asked when workers may use ridge hook-supported ladders for staging access and roof repairs. OSHA said the applicable scaffold or ladder rules must be met and that no…
Updating the OSHA injury and illness log summary
An attorney asked whether employers had to update the summary section of an OSHA injury and illness log. OSHA said two parts of its then-current guidelines conflicted, so it interpreted the rules as…
EPA-registered disinfectants for HIV and hepatitis B
OSHA revised its November 1996 disinfectant policy for contaminated work surfaces. It said EPA-registered products labeled effective against both HIV and hepatitis B could be used when the…
Determining the boundaries of a process under process safety management
OSHA answered a regional question about whether downstream equipment belongs within a covered chemical process. It said employers should first define connected and nearby equipment, then check the…
Catholic hospital pension and health plans as church plans
A Catholic hospital asked whether its pension, health, and dental plans were church plans. EBSA saw no reason to disagree with an IRS private ruling if the hospital and plans were structured and…
Request for comments on the UI Performs proposed system
ETA sent state unemployment agencies an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for the UI Performs performance system and asked them to comment by March 17, 1997. The attached notice sought views on…
Online distribution of material safety data sheets
A manufacturer asked whether it could provide material safety data sheets to customers through a website. OSHA said the proposed consent, notice, and alternative delivery process appeared to meet…
PY 1997 Wagner-Peyser state planning guidance
ETA gave states instructions for their 1997 Wagner-Peyser employment-service plans, including labor exchange services, unemployment claimants, veterans, and migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Its…
Tagout at remote electric power generation sites
A utility asked whether workers at remote facilities could use individual tagout to service equipment. OSHA said an employer may use a compliant lockout or tagout program, with a special rule when a…
Work-related travel and other injury-log questions
An employer asked how older OSHA recordkeeping guidelines treated travel between home and home-care assignments, logs at multiple sites, and an employee's tuberculosis diagnosis. OSHA said trips…
Restricted work activity in injury and illness logs
A state labor official asked how older OSHA recordkeeping guidelines treated an employee's restriction from operating a machine. OSHA said a restriction counted if it prevented a task the employee…
Recording back and arm conditions on an injury log
An occupational health nurse asked whether repetitive-work back discomfort should be logged as an injury or illness and how to log a combined back and arm condition. OSHA said back cases were…
Recording burns and delayed blisters on an injury log
An employer asked whether a work-related burn became recordable when a blister appeared days later. OSHA said blistering identified a second-degree burn even if delayed, and that a second-degree…
Rescue, training, and protective equipment for electric utility work
A utility worker asked numerous questions under OSHA's electric power generation and distribution rule. OSHA explained when crews need pole-top or manhole rescue capability, which workers must be…
Minimum benefits in grandfathered floor-offset plans
An employer asked whether raising minimum benefits in two defined benefit plans would end a floor-offset arrangement established in 1987 before the statutory cutoff date. EBSA said it would not if…
Minnesota nonprofit annuity plan outside governmental exclusion
A nonprofit youth program asked whether its employee tax-sheltered annuity was a governmental plan. EBSA said the nonprofit, rather than a governmental body, established and maintained it; voluntary…
Technical corrections to four unemployment insurance letters
ETA told state unemployment agencies to make specific wording corrections in four earlier program letters, covering federal unemployment tax provisions, income tax withholding, coverage, and food…
JTPA 1997 allotments, Employment Service estimates and program emphasis
ETA gave states their 1997 JTPA adult, summer youth, youth and dislocated worker allotments and preliminary Wagner-Peyser Employment Service estimates. The letter also set annual goals and planning…
Indiana Catholic hospital benefit plans as church plans
An Indiana Catholic health provider asked whether its medical and dental plan and retirement plan were church plans. EBSA agreed with IRS rulings if the organizations and plans still operated…
Asbestos bulk sampling of composite building materials
An OSHA regional office asked how its asbestos construction rule treats presumed asbestos material and composite wallboard samples. OSHA said the presumption covers thermal insulation and sprayed or…
Hazard communication duties for dental devices
A dental-products company asked whether OSHA would continue to require material safety data sheets for FDA-regulated dental devices. OSHA said the enforcement stay had ended and sheets were required…
Safe access to construction scaffolds after rule revision
A construction company asked whether an older OSHA interpretation about equivalent safe scaffold access still applied after the scaffold rule was revised. OSHA said the new rule no longer used that…
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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.