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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Enron floor-offset ESOP grandfather treatment
Enron asked whether phasing out an older pension and ESOP floor-offset arrangement would make it lose a statutory grandfather rule. EBSA said the proposed five-year wind-down would not do so while…
Alternative gloves for employees with latex allergy
A correspondent asked OSHA to make latex allergy a higher priority. OSHA pointed to the bloodborne pathogens standard's requirement to provide hypoallergenic gloves, liners, powderless gloves, or…
Texas unclaimed property law and missing plan benefits
A retirement plan asked whether Texas could take custody of unclaimed benefits it still held for missing participants. EBSA said applying the state law to those plan accounts would reduce plan…
Employer-funded hourly sick leave as payroll practice
An employer asked whether paying eligible hourly workers part of their normal wages during illness was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the payments came from the employer’s general assets and did…
Former cumulative trauma disorder case protocol
OSHA reviewed an employer's proposed criteria for new, recordable, and closed work-related cumulative trauma disorder cases and said applying them would comply with then-current injury recordkeeping…
Bloodborne pathogen rules, pharmacy choice, and exam time
Asked about pharmacy restrictions and paid time for medical appointments, OSHA said the bloodborne pathogens standard imposed no such pharmacy restriction and that compensation for post-injury…
Military separation reasons and ex-servicemember unemployment claims
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to decide whether a former service member's military service qualifies for UCX benefits, including when the person left before completing a first full term.…
Bloodborne pathogens coverage in abortion clinics
A correspondent asked whether abortion clinics are covered by the bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said coverage depends on reasonably anticipated worker contact with blood or other potentially…
Recording occupational asthma on the former OSHA 200 Log
An employer asked how to record occupational asthma on the former OSHA 200 Log. OSHA said the case belonged in the column for respiratory conditions due to toxic agents and that contrary guidance in…
Revised 1994 worker-profiling grant request and award dates
ETA extended the deadline for designated first-wave states to request supplemental JTPA Title III funds for worker profiling to December 30, 1994. It also moved the planned award date to February…
Residential construction fall protection and hazard communication
A legislator forwarded a home builder's concerns about residential fall protection and material safety data sheets. OSHA pointed to newly issued fall protection rules, described planned compliance…
FMLA leave to care for an adult child
WHD addressed when a parent may use FMLA leave to care for a child age 18 or older. It said the adult child must be incapable of self-care because of a qualifying disability, regardless of when that…
Residual assets of the described pension plan cannot revert to employers
A building-industry pension plan asked whether it could give six contributing employers residual assets after paying all plan liabilities. Assuming the plan was a defined benefit plan covered by…
Alabama gas district employee plans as governmental plans
An Alabama municipal gas district asked whether five benefit programs for its employees were governmental plans. EBSA said the district was an instrumentality created and controlled by its member…
WHD corrections to an FMLA overview
WHD reviewed a paper about the FMLA and corrected several points. It distinguished the 50-employee employer coverage threshold from the 75-mile employee eligibility rule, and clarified restoration…
Bloodborne pathogen coverage for news media workers
OSHA said bloodborne pathogen coverage for news media employees depends on reasonably anticipated contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials, not job title. Media employers…
Former recordkeeping exemption for a retail warehouse
OSHA said a warehouse serving an exempt apparel retail enterprise was classified with its parent industry and therefore was exempt from routine injury log requirements under then-current rules. It…
Computer-based HAZWOPER safety training
An employer asked whether computer-based training alone could satisfy HAZWOPER training requirements. OSHA said it can be part of an effective program, but trainees need access to a qualified…
Cytotoxic drug waste and bloodborne pathogen labeling
A hospital asked how to handle cytotoxic drug waste and sharps. OSHA said hazard communication does not govern hazardous waste disposal, while blood-contaminated sharps and protective clothing must…
HAZWOPER responder training for small gasoline releases
A state safety agency asked whether operations-level responders could plug or patch small gasoline leaks. OSHA said operations training alone supports defensive action, while offensive action…
Thickness of asbestos waste disposal bags
A supplier asked whether OSHA required six-mil bags for asbestos removal. OSHA said neither the former construction asbestos rule nor its revised 1994 rule specified that thickness; containers had…
Glovebag use under the revised asbestos construction rule
A consultant asked whether asbestos removal with glovebags had a quantity ceiling. OSHA said the revised construction rule allowed increased glovebag use without a quantity limit, but the work class…
Shipment labels for treated wood with leachable chemicals
An industry group asked whether treated lumber qualified for a solid-material label exception. OSHA said the described lumber was not fully cured and treatment chemicals could leach out, so each…
Safety data sheets for automobile replacement parts
A correspondent asked whether coated auto parts sanded or cut in body shops needed material safety data sheets. OSHA said manufacturers and importers must evaluate whether parts meet the hazard…
Medical clearance before respirator fit testing for responders
A consultant asked whether workers could waive medical clearance before respirator fitting. OSHA said blanket waivers do not meet the intent of HAZWOPER medical surveillance; the employer must…
JTPA Title III grants for worker profiling and reemployment services
ETA described how state unemployment offices should identify claimants likely to exhaust benefits and refer them promptly to JTPA Title III or Wagner-Peyser reemployment services. It offered…
Union Pacific health association as ERISA welfare plan
A railroad health association asked whether changes in membership and governance made it an ERISA welfare plan after an earlier contrary opinion. EBSA said the related railroad employers and five…
St. Anne’s Maternity Home pension as church plan
A Catholic maternity home asked whether its employee retirement plan was a church plan. EBSA said the Franciscan order’s control of the home and associated plan committee met the church plan…
Disposal of contaminated needleless injector syringes
A device maker asked how to dispose of a needleless injector. OSHA said it did not regulate uncontaminated sterile instruments under the bloodborne pathogen rule, but a syringe tip contaminated with…
HAZWOPER operations responders and incident command
A facility asked how to staff emergency response with operations-level responders. OSHA said those responders may take defensive action but cannot enter the danger area to stop a release; an…
Historical retail exemption under process safety management
A farm supply business asked whether ammonia and fuel sites qualified for the process safety management retail exemption. OSHA described a then-used test based on more than half of site income from…
Fund disclosure alternative under prohibited transaction exemption
An investment adviser asked whether a plan could receive Form N-1A information and additional fund disclosures instead of a prospectus for an affiliated fund investment. EBSA said the package could…
St. Francis College benefit arrangements as church plans
A Catholic college asked whether its employee benefit arrangements were church plans. EBSA said the Franciscan order’s control of the college and its associated plan committee met the definition on…
Former small-employer injury log exemption and contract workers
A small employer asked about injury log duties. OSHA said the former ten-worker exemption counted employees across the whole firm and that contract workers supervised day to day by the firm counted…
Disaster unemployment benefit amounts for October–December 1994
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use the attached average weekly benefit amounts when calculating disaster unemployment assistance for disasters occurring October through December 1994.…
Paid leave substitution and FMLA designation
WHD's 1994 letter addressed substitution of accrued paid leave and an employer's designation of qualifying absences as FMLA leave. It said an employee could not waive FMLA rights and described the…
Second medical opinions by employer physicians
WHD considered a university's request to use regularly employed faculty physicians for second FMLA medical opinions. It said the statute barred a second opinion from a provider regularly employed by…
Cadmium medical surveillance after an employee retires
A company asked whether it had to recall former cadmium-exposed employees after retirement for further testing. OSHA said medical surveillance duties ended with employment except for the required…
Radial saw cutterhead return under woodworking rules
A manufacturer asked whether a radial saw complying with a newer ANSI rule could omit OSHA's cutterhead return feature. OSHA said 29 CFR 1910.213(h)(4) still required the cutting head to return…
Historical employer payment policy for protective equipment
OSHA instructed field offices that employers generally had to pay for PPE required for safe work, while payment for some personal equipment usable off the job could be negotiated. It listed examples…
Restoration when an employee cannot perform the old job
WHD considered an employee unable to perform the essential functions of the former job after 12 weeks of FMLA leave, although another equivalent position was occupied. It said FMLA did not require…
Former injury logs without days away from work
An employer asked whether a case needed days away or restricted duty to be entered on the former OSHA 200 Log. OSHA said work-related deaths and illnesses, and injuries meeting medical treatment or…
FMLA hours of service for school employees
WHD said paid or unpaid leave, sick days, and sabbaticals do not count as hours worked toward FMLA's 1,250-hour service test. The rule applies to school employees too, while full-time teachers…
FMLA leave after multiple births
WHD answered whether the birth of more than one child increases an employee's FMLA leave. It said an eligible employee had one total 12-workweek entitlement in the applicable 12-month period for…
Needleless syringe device use in home health care
A product maker asked whether a home-use needleless device was subject to the bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said the rule applies to occupational use, including by home health workers, and the…
Funding interstate disaster unemployment claims administration
ETA established how an agent state would be reimbursed for taking disaster unemployment assistance claims for a state with a declared disaster. It required the agent state to report its workload…
ANSI flammable-liquid labels under hazard communication rules
An industry association asked if the proposed ANSI definition of flammable liquid could be used for OSHA labels. OSHA said labeling a 101-degree flashpoint liquid as flammable under that proposal…
Computer-based HAZWOPER refresher training
A contractor asked if a self-paced computer program could satisfy annual HAZWOPER refresher training. OSHA said it could in some cases if material matched workers' duties, trainees could question a…
Cadmium-coated fasteners under hazard communication rules
An employer asked when cadmium-coated fasteners require hazard labels, material safety data sheets, and training. OSHA said hazard communication duties can apply despite low measured exposure unless…
UCX eligibility for former Army and Air Force members
ETA warned state unemployment agencies that Army enlistments did not all last three years and directed them to use the discharge form when deciding whether a former Army or Air Force member…
Emergency eyewash and shower selection under 1910.151
A disposal company asked what OSHA considered when evaluating eyewash and showers. OSHA said corrosive exposure triggers suitable quick drenching or flushing facilities and discussed severity,…
Crude oil tank batteries and historical PSM exceptions
An oil company asked if crude-oil tank batteries were excluded from process safety management. OSHA said the described collection and separation activities went beyond atmospheric tank storage, so…
Ozone exposure limits and hazard communication
A correspondent asked about OSHA's ozone requirements. OSHA cited its then-listed eight-hour exposure limit, the preference for feasible engineering or administrative controls, and employers' hazard…
Retailer safety data sheet duties for commercial accounts
A legislator forwarded questions about retailers' material safety data sheet duties. OSHA said retail distributors selling hazardous chemicals to employers with commercial accounts must inform them…
Maintaining material safety data sheets at a workplace
A legislator asked about hazard communication paperwork for a business. OSHA said employers had to maintain material safety data sheets for hazardous workplace chemicals, while the rule allowed…
Elevator pits under permit-required confined space rules
An elevator industry consultant asked about permit-required confined space rules. OSHA said elevator pits generally meet the confined-space definition, while permit status depends on hazards at the…
Plumbing-industry cooperation trust outside ERISA plan status
A labor-management trust asked EBSA to reassess its ERISA status after removing activities that had included training benefits. EBSA said the amended trust’s cooperation activities did not provide…
Former recordkeeping treatment of workplace violence and business travel
OSHA told field offices to assess violence-related injuries under the same former work-relatedness and severity criteria as other cases, and gave examples of reportable fatalities. Its attached…
Paying for a block of leave instead of intermittent FMLA leave
WHD considered an employer that wanted to encourage a paid block of leave when an employee needed intermittent FMLA leave. It said the employer could encourage that arrangement, but could count only…
Employer retiree medical trust as ERISA plan assets
An employer asked whether a trust it proposed to establish for retiree medical costs belonged to the ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said treating the trust assets as an offset to promised benefits in…
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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.