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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Precast concrete fall protection safety plans
A steel erection company asked whether OSHA had approved the sample precast concrete fall protection plan for use at every site. OSHA said contractors had to check its fit to site hazards and…
Sampling lead welding fumes inside helmets
An OSHA regional office asked to change sampling policy for welding fumes. OSHA retained personal sampling inside the helmet and said sampling both inside and outside could be needed to assess…
Rebar cover use and impalement hazards
A product maker asked OSHA to review a protective rebar cover. OSHA said it does not approve products, but the supplied information indicated that the cover, used as described, would meet its…
Triazine study as formaldehyde objective data
A researcher asked how a triazine study could be used under OSHA’s formaldehyde standard. OSHA said manufacturers or importers remained responsible for evaluating potential releases and worker…
Requests for waivers of JTPA regulatory provisions
ETA told governors how to request waivers of certain Job Training Partnership Act regulations. Its attached guidelines set out the five qualifying goals, the information a request had to include,…
Thirty-day audiogram retest window
An employer asked when a hearing-loss log entry could be removed after a retest. OSHA said a nonrecordable retest within 30 calendar days could replace the initial result, while a later test could…
Logging cumulative trauma after work hardening
A law firm asked how to record cumulative trauma cases during work-hardening or ramp-in assignments. OSHA said restrictions tied only to company policy did not count as restricted work if the…
Tetanus shots and hernias on injury logs
An employer asked whether tetanus-diphtheria shots counted as medical treatment and how to assess hernias. OSHA treated the described single-dose shot as first aid and said work relationship for…
Vinyl chloride emergencies under HAZWOPER
A chemical industry group asked whether vinyl chloride limits prevented emergency entry to address dangerous leaks. OSHA said HAZWOPER’s emergency response provisions were more protective and…
Labeling recharged fire extinguishers
A fire extinguisher service company asked when it or a customer had to apply hazard labels. OSHA distinguished the service company’s distributor duties when it added hazardous contents from the site…
FMLA leave and voluntary light-duty work
WHD distinguished FMLA leave from light-duty work under disability or workers' compensation programs. It said an eligible employee could choose remaining FMLA leave instead of a light-duty…
Cloth face coverings and cotton dust respirators
A cotton yarn plant asked whether employees’ voluntary cloth face coverings counted as respirators. OSHA said they did not on the stated facts, but an employee request for a respirator would trigger…
Domestic worker unemployment tax collection under 1994 legislation
ETA explained a 1994 law that allowed the Treasury Secretary to make agreements to collect state unemployment contributions from domestic employers through federal income tax returns. It said states…
Unemployment coverage after H-2A agricultural exemption ended
ETA explained that a federal unemployment tax exemption for certain H-2A agricultural workers ended on January 1, 1995. It said states could still exclude these workers from unemployment coverage…
NAFTA Title III income-support eligibility clarifications
ETA clarified when a worker affected by NAFTA could receive income support from the JTPA Title III program. For that program, it used the worker's last layoff date after repeated layoffs and…
Proposed 36-inch guardrails at a stadium
An OSHA regional office asked whether proposed 36-inch stadium railings met a 42-inch guardrail rule. OSHA said they did not, but it would treat them as de minimis under a then-proposed rule. OSHA…
Fixed ski-lift ladders and public safety
A senator asked about ski-lift passengers catching equipment on ladders attached to support poles. OSHA cited its worker-safety rung width requirement but said the reported snagging concern appeared…
Providence Services pension as church plan
A Catholic health organization asked whether its pension arrangement for related Providence institutions was a church plan. EBSA said church control of the institutions and their plan committee…
Jeanes Hospital employee benefits as church plans
A Pennsylvania hospital connected to the Religious Society of Friends asked whether its benefit arrangements were church plans. EBSA said control and religious association through the Yearly Meeting…
Counting calendar days for injury recordkeeping under the former rule
An employer proposed counting calendar days rather than scheduled workdays for days away or restricted work. OSHA accepted that method under its then-current recordkeeping requirements, subject to…
Focused construction inspections at qualifying worksites
OSHA described a then-new policy limiting focused construction inspections at worksites with both a safety plan and a person responsible for implementing it; other worksites could receive…
Administrative stay of fall protection requirements for steel erection
An industry association asked about fall protection requirements for steel erection. OSHA said Subpart M was administratively stayed as applied to steel erection on nonbuilding structures and that…
Voluntary income-tax withholding from unemployment benefits
ETA explained the federal requirement for states to let claimants elect federal income-tax withholding from unemployment benefits paid starting January 1, 1997. It described the then-required 15…
1995 federal civilian salary tables for unemployment claims
ETA replaced the salary table attachments to its earlier UIPL 11-95 so state staff could complete federal civilian unemployment claim forms using 1995 pay rates. The new packet defines 27 locality…
Restricted work and medical treatment in former injury logs
OSHA explained that restricted work included inability to perform any normal duty expected during the year, even if an employee worked a full shift on other duties. It also distinguished…
Pension vesting during FMLA leave
WHD considered how FMLA leave affects a retirement plan. It said leave counts as continuous service for vesting and eligibility, so a returning employee is treated as working on a required date.…
Recording clinically diagnosed cumulative trauma disorders
OSHA said a clinically diagnosed, work-related cumulative trauma disorder had to be recorded on the then-current log even without treatment, restrictions, or days away. For a general diagnosis such…
Automated handling of reusable sharps containers
OSHA reminded regional officials that reusable sharps containers may be used if opening, emptying, and cleaning are fully automated and do not expose servicing employees to percutaneous injury.…
Emergency eyewash and showers near ethylene oxide sterilizers
OSHA said the need for emergency eyewash or showers near a health care facility's ethylene oxide sterilizer depends on the risk of contact with liquid ethylene oxide. It described when each facility…
Petroleum skin care products under latex protective gloves
Asked about skin care products under latex gloves under the bloodborne pathogens standard, OSHA cited evidence that petroleum-based lubricants deteriorate latex surgical gloves. It said employees…
Horsemen association health plan and ERISA status
A horsemen association asked whether its health plan for trainers and racetrack workers was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the association was neither an employee organization nor a demonstrated…
Fall distance and safety factor for horizontal lifelines
A manufacturer asked how fall distance and the safety factor apply to horizontal lifelines. OSHA said free fall was limited to six feet, deceleration to 42 inches, lifeline elongation was excluded…
Personnel hoisting and lifelines in drilled shafts
OSHA said following a foundation drilling association's procedures would satisfy the intent of its hoisting and fall protection requirements only if all stated recommendations were treated as…
HAZWOPER coverage for community emergency responders
A federal training project questioned whether community response personnel fell under HAZWOPER. Based on the supplied information and state emergency response planning requirements, OSHA disagreed…
Enforcement of toilet facilities on construction sites
A legislator asked whether OSHA enforces the construction toilet requirement. OSHA said it continued to cite violations of 29 CFR 1926.51(c), including other-than-serious hazards that were not…
Disaster unemployment benefit amounts for January–March 1995
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use the attached average weekly benefit amounts when calculating disaster unemployment assistance for disasters occurring January through March 1995. It…
Hazard information for photographic processing chemicals
A photo lab employee asked about possible health effects of color processing chemicals. OSHA said it lacked chemical-specific technical information but explained that the hazard communication…
Former OSHA 200 Log decisions for disputed injury cases
OSHA answered four fact-specific questions about recording cases on the former OSHA 200 Log, including uncertain work relation, counting restricted versus away days, the employer's disability…
Purpose and distribution of material safety data sheets
Responding to a constituent inquiry, OSHA described the hazard information that material safety data sheets convey and said the hazard communication standard requires them for hazardous chemicals.…
Hazard communication coverage of inert gases
An employer asked whether noncompressed inert gases are covered by the hazard communication standard. OSHA said argon, nitrogen, and helium are covered where their oxygen-displacing potential…
PPE assessments and training for laboratory and clinical staff
A medical college asked whether assessments and training under the laboratory and bloodborne pathogens standards could satisfy the general PPE standard. OSHA answered yes if those assessments and…
Material safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals
OSHA explained that material safety data sheets are required for hazardous chemicals and must be sent with an initial shipment and the first shipment after an update. Producers may also distribute…
Historical PPE payment policy for telecommunications workers
A union officer asked who must pay for PPE under the telecommunications standard. OSHA said employers generally had to provide and pay for required PPE, while payment for some personal equipment…
1995 GS salary tables for federal unemployment claims
ETA sent state unemployment agencies official 1995 General Schedule pay tables for completing claims by former federal civilian employees. Its initial packet included national and Washington-area…
Military pay schedule for unemployment claims by ex-servicemembers
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use its revised military pay schedule to determine federal military wages for UCX claims first filed from the first day of the first week beginning after…
Reinstated eligibility rules for extended and trade benefits
ETA told state unemployment agencies that two suspended eligibility requirements again applied to extended benefits and trade readjustment allowances for weeks beginning January 1, 1995. States had…
Intermittent FMLA leave to care for a newborn
WHD considered separate requests for leave to care for a newborn after an employee had returned to work. It said intermittent birth-and-care leave required employer agreement, so the employer did…
Disability payments and paid leave during FMLA absence
WHD considered whether paid vacation or sick leave could be required while an employee received temporary disability payments during an FMLA-qualifying absence. It said neither employer nor employee…
Fleet fuel accounts under hazard communication rules
A fuel distributor asked if employers using fleet fueling accounts were commercial account holders. OSHA said the described accounts appeared to meet the rule's definition, requiring the distributor…
HAZWOPER training for oil spill response and cleanup
A training provider asked OSHA to review an oil spill manual. OSHA said petroleum spill response and cleanup workers are covered by HAZWOPER, with training requirements depending on emergency…
Historical fall protection while moving on rebar assemblies
A reinforcing steel association asked about workers climbing or moving on rebar assemblies. OSHA said fall protection was generally not required during movement below 24 feet because handholds and…
Adjustments to 1994 JTPA Title III allotments
ETA sent states the Federal Register notice adjusting their 1994 Job Training Partnership Act Title III allotments for dislocated-worker programs. The notice explains how amounts equal to all…
Termination medical examinations under HAZWOPER
An employer asked how to provide HAZWOPER medical exams when workers leave without notice or return later. OSHA treated 30 days before or after termination as reasonable, described good-faith…
Machine guarding performance standard and variance requests
An employer sought a variance because commercial guards did not fit its process. OSHA said 29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1) is a performance standard allowing an effective custom guard, so a variance was…
Lead control when welding or cutting painted construction surfaces
OSHA said the lead in construction standard governs work with occupational lead exposure and takes precedence over related welding provisions. Employers must use feasible controls to reduce…
Unemployment tax treatment of Q-visa workers
ETA explained that a 1994 federal law exempted services performed by Q-visa cultural exchange workers from federal unemployment tax beginning October 1, 1994. It said states could exclude those…
Approval and certification of workplace equipment
A manufacturer asked about certifying workplace products. OSHA explained that some standards require equipment approval, including acceptance by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, while…
Time-delay relays on gas-fired bakery ovens
A bakery equipment operator asked if an oven's interlocked fuel-safety system could use a time-delay relay. OSHA said the standard did not permit a delay in the power control line: failure of…
OSHA standards and inspections at abortion clinics
Responding to a legislator, OSHA said abortion clinics, like other health care facilities, must comply with applicable safety and health standards. It described its inspection priorities and the…
Labelling regulated bloodborne-pathogen waste
OSHA answered a regional question about regulated waste under the bloodborne pathogens standard. It said the federal rule required workplace waste labels except for specified exceptions, and that a…
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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.