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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Fall protection on one-sided masonry scaffolds
A contractors' association asked which fall-protection rules applied to traditional one-sided masonry scaffolds. OSHA said scaffold provisions, rather than Subpart M, governed this work, and…
Testing scaffold tie-off points during erection and dismantling
A scaffold engineer asked OSHA to review proposed testing procedures for fall-arrest tie-off locations while crews erected or dismantled scaffolds. OSHA recommended removing references to ordinary…
Explosion-proof equipment for sewer camera inspections
A pipeline-inspection company asked whether camera equipment inside sewers and manholes needed explosion protection. OSHA said those spaces can contain flammable atmospheres, and employers must…
Physician assistants as FMLA health care providers
WHD answered a question about why physician assistants were not expressly named as FMLA health care providers. It said their treatment under a doctor's supervision may count, and a physician…
Tuberculosis exposure controls in a care facility
A congressional office asked whether new tuberculosis rules were imminent and what a care facility should do with suspected cases. OSHA described early identification, prompt transfer to a suitable…
Eyeglass holders under full-face respirators
A fire department asked whether an eyeglass holder could be worn under a full-face respirator or breathing apparatus. OSHA said it would not accept an attachment between the mask seal and the…
Annual lockout procedure inspections and employee reviews
A law firm asked whether annual lockout inspections had to cover every machine and every employee, and whether refresher training could replace review. OSHA said each energy-control procedure needed…
Radiation dosimetry under OSHA and NRC standards
A radiation-control group asked whether OSHA's monitoring rule would permit a proposed effective-dose calculation based on shielded and collar dosimeters. OSHA said its ionizing-radiation standard…
Tying off inside an aerial lift
A worker suggested tying an aerial-lift lanyard to an overhead structure instead of the lift's boom or basket. OSHA rejected that approach under the cited 1995 rule, saying a lift attachment reduced…
Hazard-communication coverage of animal-feed ingredients
An animal-feed association asked OSHA to exempt feed ingredients from hazard-communication requirements because FDA rules also covered them and data sheets were burdensome. OSHA said FDA's rules did…
Suspended-load variance analysis for spacecraft lifting
OSHA staff reviewed a proposed variance that would let employees work beneath a suspended spacecraft. The memo recommended denial because the proposed practices did not provide protection equivalent…
FMLA medical certification form and provider fees
WHD responded to a health care provider's concern that its optional FMLA certification form sought sensitive information and took time to complete. It said a provider need not complete the form,…
Bloodborne-pathogen duties for emergency responders and Ryan White Act
An infection-control consultant asked whether OSHA's bloodborne-pathogens rule displaced Ryan White Act procedures for emergency responders and who could determine an exposure incident. OSHA…
Steel erection and construction fall-protection plans
A steel erector asked OSHA to review a fall-protection plan under the general construction rule. OSHA said most described work fell under steel-erection provisions that did not then provide for such…
Faucet-mounted eyewash devices and flushing temperature
An eyewash maker asked OSHA to clarify acceptance of its faucet-mounted unit and the risk of hot flushing water. OSHA said the described unit met the consensus standard on the evidence supplied,…
Commercial-grade hydroxylamine under process safety rules
A manufacturer asked whether a 50% hydroxylamine solution was covered by process safety management requirements. OSHA said the listed chemical without a concentration limit was covered at…
Keeping injury logs at a central office
A company asked whether it could maintain injury logs centrally and fax them to individual sites when requested. OSHA said the then-current rule allowed an alternate log location if entries could be…
Whose log records a truck driver's injury offsite
A trucking association asked which employer recorded a driver's injury at another company's worksite. OSHA said the driver’s own employer kept the log when the other company did not supervise the…
Protective equipment during marine oil-spill response
A marine spill-response company asked whether OSHA's emergency-response rules forced workers to wear heavy respiratory gear when monitoring showed no inhalation hazard. OSHA said the employer could…
Refunding mistaken multiemployer plan withdrawal liability
A terminated multiemployer pension plan found computer errors that had overstated some employers’ withdrawal liability and asked whether it could refund payments without a formal challenge. EBSA…
House-foundation excavation policy and trench hazards
A construction engineer questioned OSHA's policy treating house-foundation excavations differently from utility trenches under stated conditions, including its lack of a depth limit. OSHA…
Former OSHA enforcement policy for tuberculosis exposure
OSHA issued field staff an enforcement policy for respiratory protection against tuberculosis using then-current CDC guidance. The agency later struck information that no longer reflected its policy…
Crane-suspended personnel platforms for tall stack erection
A contractor asked whether crane- or derrick-suspended personnel platforms could be used during stack and chimney erection. OSHA said the submitted arrangement met the intent of the cited rule for…
Awareness-level training for hazardous-release witnesses
An Air Force official asked which employees needed first-responder awareness training under the hazardous-release rule. OSHA said any employee expected to discover or witness an uncontrolled release…
Bloodborne-pathogen duties for child-care workers
A state health official asked whether child-care employees were covered by OSHA's bloodborne-pathogens rule and sought relief from hepatitis B vaccination duties. OSHA said coverage depended on…
Fall-protection criteria for power-distribution maintenance
A power-distribution employer asked whether revised construction fall-protection rules changed the general-industry rules for maintenance crews. OSHA said the maintenance duties remained the same;…
CSA marks on double-insulated electric tools
A power-tool company asked whether a Canadian Standards Association mark could show compliance for double-insulated portable electric tools. OSHA said CSA was a nationally recognized testing…
TRA qualification after a first TAA separation
ETA told state agencies that a trade-affected worker did not have to establish unemployment insurance entitlement during the TAA certification period to qualify for Trade Readjustment Allowances. It…
Contingent equity incentive program under ERISA
A securities company asked whether a ten-year contingent equity incentive program was an ERISA benefit plan. EBSA said the stated terms provided neither a welfare benefit nor retirement income or…
Needles and needleless systems for IV medication
A physician asked whether OSHA required needleless systems for intravenous drug administration. OSHA said the bloodborne-pathogens rule then in force did not ban sharps or mandate needleless…
Bloodborne-pathogen rules for diluted sewage and waste labels
A device maker asked when blood diluted into a sewer stopped being regulated waste and whether OSHA would approve its product label. OSHA said ordinary diluted sewage was generally outside the…
Frequency setting for fall-arrest equipment testing
A safety-equipment company questioned the 500 Hz frequency setting in OSHA's nonmandatory appendix for fall-arrest testing. OSHA agreed 100 Hz was more appropriate and said inspectors would not cite…
HAZWOPER training for emergency medical crews
An emergency-medical trainer asked what HAZWOPER training ambulance crews needed across several hazardous-material scenarios. OSHA said duties and the emergency plan determined the level: awareness…
Attendants, ventilation, and scissor-lift anchorage
A safety firm asked when a confined-space entry needed an attendant, whether a radio could replace one, and whether guarded scissor lifts needed lanyards. OSHA described two limited entry cases…
Common control and leased workers in a group health plan
A group of transport and leasing companies asked whether their shared health plan was a multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said the wholly owned companies formed one control group, so…
Kansas county hospital employee plans as governmental plans
A Kansas county hospital asked whether its health, insurance, and retirement arrangements were governmental plans. EBSA found the county-owned hospital was a government instrumentality because the…
Review of a proposed roofing guardrail system
A roofing-equipment company asked OSHA to review its guardrail system. OSHA said it did not endorse products generally, but the system appeared to comply with the fall-protection rules if used as…
Manufacturer approval and repair of damaged mobile cranes
A crane owner asked if a damaged boom could be repaired without the manufacturer's approval. OSHA's August 24, 1995 response said major repairs should be reviewed and approved by the manufacturer or…
Counting overtime toward FMLA hours of service
WHD addressed the 1,250-hour service test for FMLA eligibility. Overtime hours actually worked count the same as regular hours, without multiplying them for any overtime pay premium. Vacation, sick…
Grand Rapids transit pension as governmental plan
A transit pension plan asked whether it became a governmental plan after a public transit authority took over the former private operator’s employees and sponsorship. EBSA said the authority was a…
Testing deenergized power lines before grounding
A utility asked whether buzzing a power line was enough to verify it was deenergized before grounds were installed. OSHA said a high-voltage detector was preferred and buzzing was permitted only…
Recording disease exposures and vaccination boosters
A state labor agency asked whether possible disease exposure without injury belonged on OSHA's former injury log and whether a hepatitis booster changed the answer. OSHA said possible exposure alone…
Radio anti-two-block device on personnel cranes
A device maker asked whether a radio anti-two-block system met OSHA requirements for cranes suspending personnel platforms. OSHA said it did not approve products generally, but the described system…
Injuries during voluntary workplace blood drives
An employer asked for an exception from recording injuries that occurred when workers voluntarily donated blood at an onsite drive. OSHA declined a company-specific exception but changed its general…
Correcting injury logs and estimating lost workdays
A recordkeeping-system company asked how employers could correct entries, count lost workdays, and handle cases still continuing when logged. OSHA said the method of correction was flexible if…
Lockout duties of USDA meat and poultry inspectors
OSHA field offices asked whether USDA food-safety inspectors counted as authorized or affected employees under lockout and tagout rules. OSHA said the agency needed a lockout program and inspectors'…
PSM exception for storage and transfer of flammable liquids
A chemical-distribution consultant asked whether storage, transfer, and the described nonmechanical blending of flammable liquids triggered process safety management requirements. OSHA said the…
Rebar climbing policy limited to built-in-place assemblies
A steel firm asked OSHA to extend its fall-protection interpretation for climbing rebar to assemblies hoisted into place. OSHA said the then-current exception was limited to the work addressed in…
HAZWOPER and hazard labels at waste transfer facilities
A hazardous-materials transport group asked what OSHA training, emergency-response, and labeling duties applied at waste transfer facilities. OSHA said coverage depended on the facility's regulated…
Site PPE plans and annual HAZWOPER medical exams
An environmental consulting firm asked whether its signed site safety plans met PPE assessment duties and whether annual HAZWOPER medical exams had to occur on an exact anniversary. OSHA said…
Blood-product labels and variance request
A company asked OSHA for a variance from bloodborne-pathogens label rules on behalf of blood-product suppliers. OSHA said containers labeled with their contents and released for transfusion or other…
Reporting JTPA Title II-A and II-C performance status
ETA told states how to report each JTPA service delivery area's performance under Titles II-A and II-C. A state had to submit a technical assistance plan after a first failed program year and a…
Guarded walkways over narrow excavations
A utility contractor group asked when a crossing over an excavation needed a guarded walkway. OSHA said it treated crossings of trenches 30 inches wide or less as de minimis and required guarded…
Enforcing apparel protection for electrical utility workers
OSHA gave inspectors interim guidance on enforcing apparel requirements for employees near energized power equipment. It explained how to evaluate clothing that could ignite, melt, or worsen arc or…
Plan loans across collective bargaining units
An employer asked whether offering retirement plan loans only to bargaining units that had agreed to a loan feature violated ERISA’s reasonably equivalent access rule. EBSA said the phased approach…
Logging short-lived occupational illness symptoms
An employer asked when short-lived symptoms counted as a recordable occupational illness. OSHA said its then-current system logged an abnormal condition caused or contributed to by a…
Ethylene oxide medical surveillance examinations
A hospital asked what medical tests it had to provide for employees working with ethylene oxide. OSHA identified the required examination elements, including a complete blood count, and said the…
Paint spray booths and NFPA 33 editions
A paint spray booth supplier asked if equipment meeting NFPA 33-1989 complied with OSHA rules. OSHA said its rule had incorporated the 1969 edition and would treat compliance with the 1989 edition…
Heat and cold therapy in injury recordkeeping
An employer asked how to classify hot, cold or physical therapy for injury and illness logs. OSHA said treatment at the first health care visit counted as first aid under its then-current…
Master keys for personal lockout devices
An employer asked whether a master key could remove an employee’s personal lockout padlock. OSHA said master and duplicate keys were not acceptable; when the employee was unavailable, the 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.