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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Light-duty work instead of FMLA leave
An employer asked whether it could require an eligible employee with a serious health condition to accept a modified job instead of FMLA leave. WHD said the employee could take leave despite an…
Fraudulently obtained FMLA leave
WHD responded to employer concerns about fraudulent FMLA leave. It pointed to a regulation removing job-restoration and health-benefit protection for leave obtained fraudulently, and to second and…
Lifting workers on forklift-mounted platforms
A consultant asked which OSHA rules applied when a forklift lifted workers on a secured platform. OSHA said the cited aerial-lift provisions did not govern forklifts and directed employers to the…
Exit-route doorway width at electrical enclosures
An employer asked about 27 5/8-inch doorways into electrical equipment enclosures. OSHA said its cited exit-route width rule did not apply to the described situation and that, even if it did, the…
UCFE coverage of six additional agricultural promotion boards
ETA ruled that employees, but not members, of six additional agricultural promotion boards perform federal service for UCFE unemployment benefits. It said the boards were federal instrumentalities…
Hard hats while working on scaffolds
A lawyer asked whether a worker on the top scaffold level needed a hard hat when no objects could fall from above. OSHA said the need depended on actual site hazards, including work and travel…
Employer-provided lodging during FMLA leave
A requester asked whether a resident manager could be required to leave employer-provided lodging while on FMLA leave. WHD said doing so would interfere with the eligible employee’s exercise of FMLA…
Mutagenic ingredients in hazard communication mixtures
A testing laboratory asked how to evaluate mixtures containing potentially mutagenic ingredients under OSHA's hazard communication rule. OSHA said in-vitro evidence alone did not establish a health…
Multi-employer health plan after a winter layoff
WHD considered a construction employer that closed a site and laid off all workers while one worker was on FMLA leave. It said contributions to a multi-employer health plan could stop if the…
Deferred cash instead of health coverage during FMLA leave
WHD considered a plan letting workers choose full medical coverage or deferred compensation equal to part of its cost. It said an employer could not offer an FMLA-leave option that failed to…
Designation and notice of FMLA leave
A requester asked whether an employer could designate maternity or sick leave as FMLA leave near the employee’s return. WHD said the then-current rules required timely notice and barred retroactive…
Work contact and insurance premiums during FMLA leave
WHD responded to an employer with an employee who left urgently for FMLA leave while important projects were unfinished. It said the rules did not specifically forbid contacting the employee to ask…
Crane workers and observers near overhead power lines
A lawyer asked who was responsible when a crane operated near energized power lines and whether an oiler could serve as the observer. OSHA said the employer had to maintain clearance or deenergize…
Crane-mounted personnel platforms and upper controls
A contractor asked whether a crane-mounted work platform met OSHA requirements. OSHA declined to approve the product from an advertisement but explained that upper controls were required for…
Slower work pace and restricted-work logs
An employer asked whether an employee doing every normal task at a slower pace had restricted work for OSHA log purposes. OSHA said that situation did not meet its then-current restricted-work…
Acupuncture and massage on injury logs
A safety professional asked whether back cumulative trauma was an illness or injury and when acupuncture or massage made a case recordable. OSHA classified back cases as injuries, treated…
Remote sales worksite and New Jersey family leave
WHD considered sales representatives without fixed worksites who reported to New Jersey headquarters. It said that headquarters was their FMLA worksite for the 50-employees-within-75-miles…
Tremont Nail self-funded health plan under ERISA
A claims administrator asked about a self-funded health plan covering only Tremont Nail employees. EBSA found an ERISA single-employer welfare plan, not a multiple employer welfare arrangement, so…
Illnesses contracted outside OSHA's geographic reach
An employer asked how to record illnesses contracted while workers were outside the United States. OSHA said log duties did not cover employees outside the Act's geographic scope and that symptoms…
Backup alarms on construction forklifts
A lawyer asked whether construction forklifts needed backup warning signals. OSHA said backup alarms were not required for forklifts used in construction and noted it did not compile the requested…
Teachers and bloodborne-pathogen vaccine duties
A congressman asked whether teachers had to be offered hepatitis B vaccination under OSHA's bloodborne-pathogens rule. OSHA said coverage depended on reasonably anticipated work-related blood…
FMLA coverage of employees working overseas
WHD considered employees stationed full time in Russia under one- or two-year contracts. It said the Department administered FMLA for employees working in the United States, the District of…
Temporary staffing firms as joint FMLA employers
WHD explained how temporary-help and leasing companies can be joint employers with client businesses under FMLA. Both count jointly employed workers for coverage and eligibility; the primary…
Employee leasing health program as a MEWA
A requester asked whether the ERM employee leasing program was a MEWA. EBSA found that at least one client actually exercised employer control over participating workers; absent an indication that…
Capital Metro retirement savings plan as governmental
A Texas transit authority asked whether its retirement and savings plan was a governmental plan. EBSA found the authority was a public instrumentality under its statutory powers and…
Toyota disability salary payments as payroll practices
An employer asked whether two short-term disability and salary continuation programs were ERISA welfare plans. EBSA said payments from its general assets during medical absences, at normal pay or a…
Approval of battery-powered cleaners in hazardous locations
A federal procurement official asked which OSHA approval rules governed battery-powered sweepers and scrubbers. OSHA said they were not powered industrial trucks under the cited rule; in hazardous…
Volunteers and the FMLA employee count
WHD considered whether volunteers counted toward FMLA employee thresholds at a nonprofit organization. It said volunteers were not employees for this purpose and should not be counted. On the stated…
General-industry confined-space rules at construction sites
A construction association asked how the new general-industry permit-space rule affected construction contractors. OSHA said it would use applicable construction standards or the general duty clause…
Defective stainless steel piping stub ends
OSHA reviewed tests of defective stainless steel pipe stub ends installed in workplace piping. It said poor weld penetration could cause early fatigue failure and that manufacturers' certifications…
Employer safety responsibilities for work at home
A correspondent asked how home-based work affected OSHA's role. OSHA said employer-directed materials, equipment, and methods still carried safety responsibilities, while it reserved judgment about…
Disability insurance benefits during FMLA leave
WHD answered whether an employer had to keep paying disability-insurance premiums during FMLA leave. It said disability insurance was outside the group health coverage that must be maintained,…
Life safety codes and OSHA exit requirements
An employer asked whether complying with NFPA 101 or a state building code satisfies OSHA exit rules. OSHA said NFPA 101 compliance meets its Subpart E requirements when the revised consensus…
Scheduling process hazard analyses by risk
A manufacturer asked whether it could analyze the most hazardous subunits first under the process safety management rule. OSHA accepted the proposed schedule if its priorities reflected the required…
Changes to leave benefits before FMLA took effect
WHD considered an employer that reduced paid disability leave before the FMLA took effect in August 1993. It said the new federal Act did not freeze preexisting benefit plans and allowed changes…
Hazard warnings for chemical labels and mixtures
A chemical company asked how specific label warnings must be and whether trace carcinogens must be disclosed in mixtures. OSHA said the warning must convey the actual hazard, including target organ…
Evaluating a suction system under the bloodborne pathogens rule
A device maker asked OSHA to endorse a suction system for use in medical offices under the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA declined to approve the product, explaining that compliance depends on…
Bloodborne pathogen coverage at pregnancy test centers
Pregnancy test centers asked whether the bloodborne pathogens rule applied to their staff. OSHA said it covers employees, based on reasonably anticipated exposure in their duties, including handling…
Confined-space enforcement at construction sites
A builders' association asked whether OSHA's new general-industry permit-space rule changed confined-space enforcement at construction sites. OSHA said it would cite applicable construction rules…
Documenting the flammable-liquid process safety exception
An employer asked what records support the process safety rule’s exception for flammable liquids stored in atmospheric tanks. OSHA said the exception is limited to storage and transfer equipment…
Recording bloodborne pathogen exposure incidents
An employer asked when bloodborne pathogen incidents had to be entered on the former OSHA 200 Log. OSHA distinguished incidents with no defined exposure from actual exposure incidents and explained…
Lost workday counts for temporary employees
A lawyer asked how to count lost workdays for an injured temporary worker whose assignment ends. OSHA said the count should reflect the lesser of the days the injury actually incapacitated the…
Employer duties for protective footwear and its cost
An employer asked whether the personal protective equipment standard required it to supply protective footwear without charging employees. OSHA said the employer had to assess foot hazards and…
Microwave treatment of regulated medical waste
An OSHA regional office asked whether a microwave system could turn regulated medical waste into regular waste. OSHA deferred the disposal decision to state and local authorities while federal…
Limits on OSHA approval of needle recapping devices
A medical device maker sought OSHA approval for a needle recapper, citing an earlier letter about another device. OSHA said it had not approved the earlier product either; it had only found that…
Liability and interest for reimbursing unemployment employers
ETA explained how states may make employers that reimburse unemployment benefits share unrecovered benefit costs, including through collective liability. It also described advance payments and…
Plan fiduciary earnings on benefit-check float
A requester asked whether a trust company could keep interest earned while benefit checks remained uncashed. EBSA said a fiduciary exercising discretion over plan assets would engage in prohibited…
Responsible party identified on material safety data sheets
A distributor asked whose contact details must appear on a material safety data sheet when it sells a manufacturer’s product under its own name. OSHA said the named responsible party must be able to…
Hazard communication for medications in medical offices
A medical office asked whether it needed safety data sheets for oral and injectable medications. OSHA said hazardous drugs can fall under the hazard communication rule, then described exemptions for…
Formaldehyde labels on medical waste containers
A medical waste handler asked whether outer cardboard boxes containing sealed bags of formalin-treated tissue need formaldehyde hazard labels. OSHA said its label rule applies to the container…
Keeping injury and illness logs at another location
An employer asked whether it could prepare and maintain the former OSHA 200 injury log away from the worksite. OSHA said the remote location needed information for timely entries and an updated copy…
Condominium managers as joint FMLA employers
WHD considered condominium associations with unpaid boards and a managing agent handling employee administration. It said a managing agent employing enough workers across associations could be a…
Equivalent job restoration after maternity leave
WHD answered a worker concerned about her job after maternity leave. It said an eligible employee returning from FMLA leave is entitled to the same or an equivalent position with equivalent pay,…
Mutual fund exemption for IRA investments
A bank asked whether an exemption for fiduciary-affiliated mutual fund investments could apply to IRAs it managed. EBSA said PTE 77-4 covers IRAs and other Code-covered accounts even when they are…
Tagout procedures at hydroelectric powerhouses
A federal power project asked whether its tag-only clearance procedure could continue under OSHA energy-control rules. OSHA said it could not decide without an on-site review and explained the…
Process safety coverage for flammable gas and liquid operations
A lawyer asked nine questions about process safety management coverage at flammable gas and liquid facilities. OSHA explained how quantities, nearby vessels, connected equipment, storage exemptions,…
Technical considerations for tandem crane loads in steel erection
An OSHA regional office asked about lifting several steel members on one crane line, often called Christmas treeing. OSHA’s construction office discussed the technical risks, rigging practices, and…
Electrical safety training for qualified workers
A union asked what training workers need before servicing or testing electrical equipment. OSHA distinguished qualified and unqualified workers and said only qualified people may work on certain…
Moving oxygen-fuel cylinders with regulators attached
A consultant asked whether oxygen-fuel cylinders with regulators installed could be moved on a special cart. OSHA treated those cylinders as connected for use and said the cart must hold them…
Separate buildings under the employee alarm rule
An employer asked whether three structurally separate buildings connected by a corridor counted as one workplace under an employee alarm provision. OSHA said each building, with its own exits, was 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.