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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Insulated tools and rubber gloves for energized electrical work
OSHA said its standards did not categorically require rubber insulating gloves whenever insulated hand tools were used. Qualified workers had to choose electrical protection suited to the task, and…
Proposed recordkeeping rule and de minimis citation policy
OSHA instructed field staff not to treat compliance with a proposed 1996 recordkeeping rule as a de minimis substitute for then-current requirements. Employers were to continue using the existing…
Compressed air pressure testing of gas lines
A pipefitters' association asked whether OSHA has a rule on using compressed air to check gas lines for leaks. OSHA said no federal rule specifically addresses that test, but cited requirements for…
Silver exposure variance request and control methods
An employer sought a permanent variance from the silver metal exposure limit. OSHA declined to consider the request and explained that employers must use feasible engineering or administrative…
Safety oversight of hazardous-waste burning at cement kilns
An industry association asked whether OSHA should regulate hazardous-waste incineration at cement plants because MSHA lacked comparable standards. OSHA said MSHA remained the agency best suited to…
NFPA 33 compliance and OSHA spray-finishing citations
A product maker asked whether following the 1995 NFPA 33 spray-finishing standard offered equal or greater protection and would avoid an OSHA citation. OSHA said NFPA 33 offered at least equal…
Fire plans and extinguishers at power facilities
OSHA answered field questions about fire extinguishers and emergency plans at a power facility. The memo distinguished employers who train all employees to fight incipient fires from those who…
Bloodborne-pathogen coverage at a school
A school asked whether every employee needed hepatitis B vaccination and other measures under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said the standard covers employees whose duties reasonably…
Bloodborne-pathogen rules for a medical practice
A medical practice asked how OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard applied to eating areas, handwashing, training and patients. OSHA said the eating and personal-item restrictions apply where…
JTPA Title II and III performance standards for PY 1996 and 1997
ETA set national performance levels for adult, youth, older worker, and dislocated worker programs under the Job Training Partnership Act for program years 1996 and 1997. It directed governors to…
Federal grant management requirements for state unemployment programs
ETA explained which federal grant rules applied to state unemployment agencies in 1996. It highlighted rules on financial systems, allowable costs, procurement, program income, audits, property,…
Training, PPE and injury records for temporary workers
OSHA answered questions about how a staffing agency and host employer share safety duties for temporary workers. It said host employers generally handle site-specific training, monitoring and…
Safety programs and inspection access for temporary workers
OSHA addressed a staffing agency's questions about safety programs, incentive plans, inspections and employer status for temporary workers. It said a general safety program was not required for most…
Coordination with EPA during joint workplace investigations
OSHA told regional administrators how to coordinate joint investigations with EPA while formal protocols were pending. It directed staff to keep EPA informed of enforcement case progress and agree…
Power-feed devices on self-feed circular ripsaws
A saw maker requested a variance from OSHA's anti-kickback-finger rule for self-feed circular ripsaws. OSHA said a variance was unnecessary because a properly used power-feed device could provide…
1995 benefit accuracy data release and report procedures
ETA set the timetable and format for reviewing calendar 1995 unemployment Benefit Accuracy Measurement reports. It described the error-rate calculations, optional state narratives, comment period,…
Probationary teachers returning from FMLA leave
WHD considered a teacher in the second year of a probationary period who took unpaid FMLA leave. It said the school could not restart the teacher in year one, because that would erase service…
Minimum weekly disaster unemployment assistance for April–June 1996 disasters
ETA gave state agencies minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from April 1 through June 30, 1996. It explained that the usual minimum was 50 percent of…
TB exposure inspection and respirator policy at a hospital
A hospital questioned an OSHA inspection and the cost of its TB respiratory protection measures. OSHA explained why the complaint led to an inspection and described which workers its then-current TB…
Conveyor crossover stile and fixed-ladder step distance
A conveyor equipment maker asked OSHA to exempt a crossover stile after a customer was cited. OSHA said it could not grant an exemption by letter and pointed to the variance process. It rejected the…
HAZWOPER refresher training documentation
A training provider asked whether a refresher course instructor must see proof that workers completed initial HAZWOPER training. OSHA said employers must ensure training and retain certification…
Injury logs for business travel and call-back trips
OSHA answered 1996 questions about logging injuries during business trips, trips between buildings and extra trips back to work. It treated the described business travel and call-back trips as work…
Injury logging on sidewalks, parking lots and work premises
OSHA answered detailed 1996 questions about which injuries on sidewalks, parking lots and employer premises belonged on its injury log. The answers distinguished normal commutes from travel for work…
Logging off-premises and on-call worker injuries
A telephone industry group asked when off-premises and on-call injuries counted as work related for OSHA logs. OSHA said the worker's activity, rather than pay status, mattered and distinguished…
Correcting entries on the OSHA 200 injury log
An employer asked whether it could delete an injury-log entry that proved inaccurate or nonrecordable. OSHA said the entry could be removed with a computer program, correction fluid, an eraser or…
Work-related injury and illness logging definitions
A worker asked how OSHA defined work-related injuries and illnesses for its former injury logs. OSHA described the then-current presumption for events on employer premises, the role of contributing…
Permanent installation of a Bullard free-air pump
An engineering firm asked whether a Bullard breathing-air pump had to remain portable. OSHA said permanently installing it should not itself create a safety or health hazard, while four compliance…
Surgical smoke and OSHA's general duty clause
A perioperative nurse asked whether OSHA required evacuation of smoke from electrosurgery. OSHA said it had no standard specifically covering surgical-smoke inhalation, while the general duty clause…
Beards, respirator fit and religious accommodation
A worker with a religious beard asked whether OSHA allowed it when respiratory protection was required. OSHA explained that tight-fitting respirators need an effective face seal, while the employer…
Gloves for routine contact lens fittings
An optometry group asked whether doctors must wear gloves while fitting contact lenses. OSHA said routine care without reasonably anticipated exposure to blood or other potentially infectious…
Urine specimens under the bloodborne pathogens standard
A correspondent asked whether handling urine samples created a bloodborne pathogen risk under OSHA's rule. OSHA said urine without visible or reasonably anticipated blood was outside that rule's…
Cleaning solvent flashpoint for electrostatic spray equipment
A manufacturer requested a variance to clean electrostatic spray equipment with n-butyl acetate. OSHA said no variance was needed because that solvent's stated flashpoint exceeded the lower…
Experience rating of Indian tribes
ETA told state unemployment agencies that tribes liable for the federal unemployment tax must be experience rated for a reduced contribution rate and cannot use the reimbursement option reserved for…
Program guidance and allocations for the 1996 Summer Youth Employment and Training Program
ETA announced $625 million in fiscal year 1996 summer youth funding and told states how to run the program, transfer funds, and report spending. It emphasized work experience combined with learning…
Pittsburgh Federal Home Loan Bank employee plans as governmental plans
The Pittsburgh Federal Home Loan Bank asked whether its employee benefit plans were excluded from ERISA Title I as governmental plans. EBSA said the bank was a federal instrumentality because of…
Concrete slab and floor-load posting requirements
A correspondent asked whether a ground-supported concrete slab counted as a floor and what a floor-load sign meant. OSHA said a slab inside a building was a floor, then explained a proposed revision…
Federal OSHA coverage of volunteer firefighters
A fire association asked whether unpaid reserve or apprentice firefighters were covered by OSHA. OSHA said federal OSHA generally did not cover public employees and that coverage in states with…
Asbestos competent-person training for roofing work
A state health official asked whether a competent person on Class II asbestos roofing jobs always needed a five-day supervisor course. OSHA said an approved comprehensive roofing course could…
Exposed electrical motor connection splices
An employer asked whether electrical tape alone could cover exposed motor wiring splice points. OSHA said the described connections violated its electrical standard because splices needed approved…
Portable ladders, fixed ladders and fall protection
A safety consultant asked when portable, stacked and scaffold ladders required fall protection. OSHA distinguished fixed from portable ladders under general industry and construction definitions and…
Asbestos wallboard and joint compound as Class II work
A contractor asked whether removal of wallboard and asbestos-containing joint compound was Class I or Class II work under the construction asbestos standard. OSHA answered that the described removal…
When landowners are employers of logging workers
A logging association asked when a landowner counts as the employer of contracted loggers under the OSH Act. OSHA said the answer depends on each arrangement, focusing on control over cutting…
Multiemployer citation policy at temporary-worker sites
A correspondent asked how OSHA's multiemployer worksite policy applied to temporary workers. OSHA said its citation policy had expanded beyond employers directly exposing workers to include…
HAZWOPER training for unexploded-ordnance cleanup
The Army Corps asked whether workers clearing brush or surveying sites with unexploded ordnance needed HAZWOPER training. OSHA said the cleanup fell under HAZWOPER and the training had to address…
Preventilation of bakery ovens after shutdown
A bakery equipment consultant asked when an oven must be preventilated before reopening fuel valves. OSHA referred to the then-current NFPA oven standard as providing equal or greater protection and…
OSHA employer status for logging landowners
A member of Congress asked how OSHA decides whether landowners are employers of contracted loggers. OSHA said the decision depends on the facts, especially control over cutting work, equipment,…
California health plan enrollment bonuses and ERISA preemption
A hospital asked whether California could use its Knox-Keene rules to stop its employee health plan from offering bonuses for certain HMO choices. EBSA said ERISA preempted the law to the extent it…
Cranes near energized power lines
A senator asked about OSHA rules after a fatal crane and power-line accident. OSHA said boom guards and insulating links did not substitute for keeping cranes clear of energized lines or using a…
Asbestos exposure notices and training in hospitals
A hospital asked whether one centrally posted asbestos notice could serve a multistory building and whether clerical staff needed training. OSHA said a central notice could suffice if all…
P100, N100 and R100 filters in place of HEPA filters
A respirator maker asked how newer NIOSH filter ratings related to OSHA standards requiring HEPA filters. OSHA said an employer could use a P100, N100 or R100 filter certified under 42 CFR Part 84,…
Fire barriers and alternative precautions in tunnel work
An underground construction firm requested a variance from a one-hour fire barrier provision. OSHA said the standard itself allowed another barrier when additional precautions protected flammable…
NFPA 33 and spray-finishing filter enforcement
A filter manufacturer asked whether OSHA would enforce a newer NFPA spray-finishing standard before updating its own rule. OSHA said an employer clearly providing equal or greater protection under…
Recovery of UCFE overpayments after the 1995–96 federal shutdown
ETA told state unemployment agencies to review benefits paid to furloughed federal employees during the December 1995–January 1996 shutdown after Congress granted retroactive pay. States were to…
Revised military remuneration schedule for UCX benefits
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use an attached military remuneration schedule to determine federal wages for ex-servicemembers' new claims beginning after April 6, 1996. Earlier claims…
Power-feed device instead of ripsaw anti-kickback fingers
OSHA responded to a field office's question about a ripsaw power-feed device. It said the specified model gave protection equivalent to required anti-kickback fingers when installed, maintained and…
Lineman snaphooks and residential-roof fall protection
An electric cooperative asked about snaphooks on pole straps and fall protection while connecting power on residential roofs. OSHA distinguished work-positioning straps from fall-arrest systems and…
Grounding or double insulation for battery chargers
An attorney asked whether a battery charger for rechargeable tools always needed grounding or double insulation. OSHA identified conditions that triggered one of those protections, including…
Logging-standard coverage of incidental tree cutting
A regional office asked whether OSHA's logging standard applied to storm-damaged tree removal at a service station and utility line clearing. OSHA said the service-station cleanup was outside that…
Mid-Continent health trust remains a MEWA
The Mid-Continent health trust asked EBSA to reconsider an earlier finding that its health program was a multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said its joint and reinsurance accounts were part…
Seat belts and restraint systems on forklift trucks
A company asked whether forklift seat belts had to be installed, retrofitted and worn. OSHA said its rule did not specifically mandate belts, but recognized tip-over hazards and pointed to 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.