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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Outside consultants conducting lockout inspections
A consultant asked whether OSHA's requirement for periodic lockout inspections by an authorized employee excludes outside consultants. OSHA said an authorized person for this purpose can be a…
Mixed radioactive and blood-contaminated syringe waste
A nuclear pharmacy asked which agency regulates syringes contaminated by both radioactive medicine and blood. OSHA said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission governs disposal of mixed waste and that…
Minimum teams for commercial scuba and surface-supplied dives
A diving contractors' association asked for minimum team sizes for scuba and surface-supplied air dives. OSHA said each described setup required at least three people, with the roles and tending…
Discarding unneeded safety data sheets and using fax access
A feed industry association asked whether plants could discard sheets for nonhazardous products and rely on fax transmission for sheets at multiple locations. OSHA said the rule did not require…
FMLA leave for a newly placed foster child
A postal employee asked whether she could take FMLA leave when a licensed foster agency placed a newborn child with her. WHD said the described placement qualified, assuming she met the employee…
Toilet facility counts for telecommunications employers
A telecommunications union asked whether employers still had to follow the toilet-facility counts in Table J-1 of OSHA's sanitation rule. OSHA said the table remained part of the rule and covered…
Potable water for beauty salon workers
A member of Congress asked what potable-water rule applies to beauty salons. OSHA said water used for drinking, washing, and personal service rooms must meet the rule's drinking-water definition or…
Plan-asset look-through for mortgage pool interests
A mortgage company asked whether plans buying interests in a trust would hold only their certificates or also underlying mortgages. EBSA said the certificates were equity interests in a trust and,…
Voluntary workplace violence guidance for late-night retail
A member of Congress questioned whether OSHA's draft late-night retail violence guidelines would create binding duties. OSHA said the guidelines were advisory recommendations, not enforceable…
1997 appropriations limits on OSHA enforcement
OSHA told regional administrators that the fiscal-year 1997 appropriations law continued the same restrictions on enforcement actions. It directed them to keep using its existing directive and the…
Safety data sheets at manufacturer-owned retail and wholesale outlets
A lawyer asked how safety data sheet delivery works when a chemical manufacturer also operates retail and wholesale stores. OSHA said the stores can use the rule's retail or over-the-counter…
Fall protection enforcement on railcars and other rolling stock
OSHA told inspectors how to address falls from the tops of railcars and similar rolling stock. It said the then-current general-industry walking-surface rule should not be cited for those falls,…
Kentucky counties association staff in public retirement system
A requester asked whether including employees of the Kentucky Association of Counties would affect the county retirement system's governmental-plan status. EBSA found the association a governmental…
Union representative access to the OSHA 200 injury log
A union representative asked whether designated employee representatives could inspect an employer's OSHA 200 injury and illness log. OSHA said they had the same access rights as current and former…
Recordkeeping when a worker has a one-day restriction
An employer asked how older OSHA log rules treated a restriction lasting only the day of injury, followed by a doctor's clearance. OSHA said a case with a work restriction on the injury day must be…
Beards and tight-fitting respirator face seals
A hospital worker asked whether beard growth can be allowed with a tight-fitting respirator if a worker passes a fit test. OSHA said facial hair between the mask seal and skin is not permitted even…
Lockout duties during federal food safety inspections
The USDA food inspection service asked OSHA to review its proposed lockout training materials. OSHA said the agency, as employer, could not shift responsibility for inspectors' safety to the host…
Aurora public-employee health fund as governmental
An Aurora employee health fund asked whether it was outside ERISA Title I. EBSA found city and related public-entity funding, city trustee appointments, and coverage limited to their current and…
Denver fire and police health fund as governmental
A Denver fire and police health fund asked whether it was excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA cited governmental sponsorship, about 83 percent public contributions, and participation limited to the…
Texas Catholic health ministry benefit plans
A Texas Sisters of Charity health ministry asked whether its employee benefit plans were church plans. EBSA said workers of the church-controlled or associated tax-exempt organizations were church…
Interstate and commuter claims data exchange for remote claimtaking
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to exchange interstate and commuter claims data as they began taking claims remotely. Liable states were to send initial-claim and weekly-claim data through…
1996 welfare reform changes to state unemployment programs
ETA explained how the 1996 welfare reform law affected state unemployment agencies. It addressed new-hire directories, quarterly wage and claim data for the national child-support directory,…
General provisions in 1994–1996 DOL appropriations laws
ETA told state JTPA and Wagner-Peyser grantees which general provisions in the 1994–1996 DOL appropriations laws affected their grants. It highlighted notices about buying American-made products,…
Maryland Mennonite health center benefit plans
A Maryland psychiatric center controlled by Mennonite church organizations asked whether its pension and welfare plans were church plans. EBSA agreed with an IRS private ruling if the center and…
Disinfectants labeled effective against HIV and hepatitis B
A disinfectant maker asked whether EPA-registered products effective against HIV and hepatitis B could be used for contaminated work surfaces. OSHA initially limited their use to situations where…
Chiropractic treatments under older injury-log rules
A state labor official asked whether one chiropractic visit made a worker's case recordable under older OSHA log guidance. OSHA said the number of treatments mattered more than visits: a single…
Recording needlestick injuries on the OSHA 200 log
A medical center asked when a work-related needlestick injury had to appear on the OSHA 200 log. OSHA said the older rule required recording when the event involved restricted work, job transfer,…
Voluntary flu-shot reactions under older injury-log policy
An employer asked OSHA to reconsider logging illnesses from voluntary flu shots offered at work. OSHA said it was revising its interpretation immediately: cases caused solely by a voluntary flu-shot…
Mercy Providence hospital benefit plans as church plans
A hospital asked whether its retirement and health plans were church plans. EBSA agreed with a favorable IRS private ruling to the extent that each plan’s current structure and operation matched the…
OSHA access to employer voluntary safety audits
An employer association asked OSHA to promise it would not seek voluntary safety-audit documents during inspections. OSHA declined, saying audit information can be necessary to assess hazards and…
Emergency stop button labels and red coloring
OSHA found no general-industry rule requiring “push” on emergency stop button labels. It cited 29 CFR 1910.144(a)(1)(iii), which requires emergency stop bars, buttons, and switches for hazardous…
Storage of corrugated and plastic packaging in a stamping plant
OSHA found no federal standard limiting quantities of corrugated or returnable plastic packaging for fire protection in the described plant. It identified 29 CFR 1910.176(b) for secure storage,…
Work-related stress and employer knowledge under older recordkeeping guidance
Under the recordkeeping guidance then in effect, OSHA classified stress from a non-instantaneous exposure as illness and described recording work-related cases. Information received by a…
Eight questions on asbestos presumptions and building-owner duties
OSHA explains that its pre-1981 presumption applies to the part of a building built before 1981; defines presumed asbestos material; discusses feasibility and building-owner duties; and says three…
Belt-mounted filtration device and supplied-air respirator approval
OSHA supported NIOSH concerns about backflow, contamination, pressure loss, and airflow regulation in a device inserted into the respirable air stream. It said new respirator devices and associated…
Asbestos training responsibility for a contract cleaning firm
The owner of a contract cleaning firm must provide and pay for employees’ asbestos training. Construction asbestos rules govern cleaning contaminated areas after asbestos work, while routine…
Flammable atmosphere and monitoring in permit-required confined spaces
OSHA said the permit-space rule did not prohibit entry above 10% of the lower flammable limit if all requirements were met. Employers must evaluate hazards, select safe entry practices, and…
1996 federal tax amendments affecting unemployment compensation
ETA described six federal tax changes affecting unemployment programs, including fishing crews, newspaper distributors, H-2A workers, educational assistance, SIMPLE retirement plans, and medical…
Inorganic mercury exposure limit as eight-hour average
OSHA says Table Z-2 incorrectly listed the inorganic mercury limit as a ceiling. It instructs compliance staff to cite mercury overexposure using the eight-hour time-weighted average documented in…
Particulate respirators certified under 42 CFR Part 84
OSHA accepts NIOSH-certified Type 95, 99, and 100 particulate respirators for appropriate workplace use. It identifies N100, R100, and P100 as HEPA-efficiency classes, explains oil resistance, and…
Voluntary workplace violence guidelines and the General Duty Clause
Responding to senators’ concerns, OSHA said draft late-night retail violence guidelines were advisory and would not be enforced as standards. OSHA said the guidelines created no duties, could not be…
Crystalline silica exposure limit and agency rulemaking plans
OSHA said it recognized silicosis hazards, planned to review NIOSH’s recommended limit through rulemaking, and had begun a crystalline-silica special emphasis program across affected industries.…
Needle-Eater sharps device and bloodborne pathogens standard
OSHA concluded the reusable transfer container for the Needle-Eater device required opening to add and dump used sharps, while jams could require manual clearing. It said these features fail the…
Video training under the bloodborne pathogens standard
A film or video alone does not satisfy the bloodborne pathogens training requirement, OSHA says. Training must allow interactive questions and answers with a person conducting the session and cover…
Bloodborne pathogen and tuberculosis training in 1996
OSHA said its bloodborne pathogens standard had not changed since 1991 and recommended using its February 1996 tuberculosis enforcement directive for training while a proposed tuberculosis standard…
Insurer's employee disability income plan under ERISA
An insurer asked whether its own unfunded employee disability income program was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said benefits could continue after a recipient ceased being an employee, and later…
Asbestos-containing paint removal work classes
OSHA says removal of asbestos-containing paint of ordinary film thickness is Class II asbestos work. Thick, textured paint that resembles troweled or sprayed surfacing material is Class I work.
Corrosive materials and eyewash station proximity
OSHA defined corrosive materials by their destructive effect on living tissue and cited hazard communication sheets for emergency information. In this archived letter it interpreted “within the work…
Correction to general-industry standards applicable to construction
OSHA instructed staff not to cite specified electrical safety work-practice paragraphs recodified from 29 CFR 1910.333 and .334 for construction, pointing instead to other construction electrical…
Questions and answers on unemployment benefit time lapse and quality measures
ETA answered state agency questions about putting new unemployment benefit timeliness and quality measures into operation. Its attached 47-question document covers how to classify first payments,…
Federal income tax withholding from unemployment benefits: procedural Q&A
ETA sent state unemployment agencies procedural answers on withholding federal income tax from benefits at a claimant's request. The answers address elections, refunds, deposits, reporting,…
Electrical devices and flammable atmospheres in sewers
OSHA explains when non-explosion-proof equipment can be used in sewer permit spaces, including documented atmospheres below 10% of the lower flammable limit. It distinguishes alternate ventilation…
Separate establishment injury logs under older rules
Under the recordkeeping system then in force, OSHA required one log per establishment, allowed departmental subdivisions that together counted as one log, and rejected regional consolidation across…
Distinguishing work-relief from work-training for unemployment coverage
ETA explained when services in publicly assisted work-relief and work-training programs may be excluded from state unemployment coverage. Both types must meet criteria about the purpose and nature…
FMLA designation, comp time, and family leave questions
WHD gave brief answers to questions about FMLA designation, public-sector compensatory time, eligible family relationships, and leave shared by spouses. It said employers designate qualifying leave,…
Trust company collective funds with outside adviser
A trust company asked whether its collective funds qualified for ERISA section 408(b)(8) and PTE 91-38 after appointing an investment adviser. EBSA said the company counted as a bank or trust…
Pole-top rescue training for a second utility worker
OSHA says a second worker need not be a qualified climber or trained in pole-top rescue if the work does not call for that rescue. The ground worker still must know how to obtain timely rescue help…
Safeguards and costs for the 1996 federal new-hire matching pilot
ETA encouraged state unemployment agencies that collected new-hire reports to join a voluntary 1996 federal child-support matching pilot. It said data-sharing arrangements needed confidentiality…
JTPA intertitle transfers of funds
ETA explained when local job training areas could transfer 1996 funds among JTPA programs for adults, youth and dislocated workers. The letter required Governor approval, set limits on eligible…
FMLA protections alongside disability rights
WHD responded to concerns about an employee's medical leave and the interaction of FMLA with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It said the two laws can apply at the same time and that an employer…
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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.