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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Process safety coverage during hydrogen peroxide delivery
A manufacturer asked whether a tank-truck delivery of concentrated hydrogen peroxide brought its receiving process under OSHA's process safety rule. OSHA corrected an earlier answer, explained the…
Attendant position during LPG transfer
An employer asked what “close” means for an attendant monitoring an LPG transfer. OSHA said the attendant must be near enough to see problems and respond at the connection point until the transfer…
Safety standards for aerial work platforms
A foreign equipment supplier asked which U.S. safety rules applied to its aerial work platforms. OSHA said it had no platform-specific requirement for the models described, but cited consensus…
Training when new chemical hazards enter the workplace
An employer asked whether comprehensive initial hazard communication training eliminates later retraining. OSHA said employers must review new chemical information and train affected employees when…
Dependent care reimbursements outside ERISA welfare-plan coverage
An employer asked whether its salary-reduction dependent care account was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA distinguished reimbursement for care services chosen by each worker from an employer-provided…
ERISA plan duties when Medicare seeks repayment
A requester asked how health plans should handle Medicare requests to recover payments Medicare made first. EBSA said fiduciaries must account for the federal Secondary Payer rules even when a…
Generator grounding, extension cords, and trench shields
A safety consultant asked about extension cords and portable generators, fall protection, and using street plates with trench shields. OSHA explained the electrical and trench-shield requirements.…
Secondary wire ropes on suspended scaffolds
A scaffold association asked whether a secondary wire rope could attach to its own anchorage and to an outrigger, and whether a proposed trolley line was acceptable. OSHA said the rope setup could…
Lifting two empty shipping containers together
A marine operator proposed lifting two empty containers together using twist locks. OSHA said the operation could comply if it met eight conditions, including inspection, verified lock capacity,…
First-aid response proximity at worksites
An association asked what “near proximity” means for first-aid readiness. OSHA said first aid should begin within three to four minutes where life-threatening injuries are foreseeable, while a…
Insert earphones in occupational hearing tests
An equipment maker asked about using insert earphones for required occupational hearing tests. OSHA revised the conditions under which their use would be treated as a de minimis violation,…
Recording treatment complications after workplace injuries
A requester asked whether complications from treatment of workplace injuries changed the OSHA 200 Log. OSHA said additional lost days from physical therapy complications counted toward the original…
Multiple injury logs and job descriptions for floating workers
An employer asked whether it could keep multiple injury-log sets and how to list workers who move among departments. OSHA said extra sets were permissible if the current records were available to…
Hazard communication for sealed chemical sensors
A safety consultant asked whether small sensors containing corrosive chemicals were exempt as articles from hazard communication duties. OSHA said the exemption applies when normal use does not…
Ventilation rates for welding enclosures and hoods
A federal facility asked about minimum airflow rates for welding ventilation. OSHA said its enforcement approach at the time focused on whether ventilation kept harmful exposures below allowable…
Disposal and recapping of used radiopharmacy syringes
A radiopharmacy asked how the bloodborne pathogens rule applied to used unit-dose syringes returned from hospitals. OSHA said the used needles were contaminated sharps and regulated waste,…
Reporting pension separate-account assets on Form 5500
A pension plan asked how to report investments held in an insurance company separate account. EBSA said the plan must include each underlying asset in the matching Form 5500 asset category, report…
Petroleum-based hand creams and latex gloves
A health product company asked whether workers using latex gloves could use petroleum-based hand creams. OSHA said hand cream was permitted in exposure areas, but petroleum-based products could…
Recording injuries from fights on employer premises
An employer asked whether an injury from a fight on company premises counted as work related for the former OSHA injury log. OSHA said on-premises injuries were presumed work related, with limited…
When massage treatment made an injury recordable
An employer asked whether use of a hand-held massager made a case recordable on the former OSHA 200 Log. OSHA said preventive use without symptoms did not, while massage for a symptomatic worker…
Selecting the date of injury or illness for records
An employer asked which date belonged in an occupational injury or illness record. OSHA said to use the accident date for injuries and the initial diagnosis date for illnesses, or the earlier…
Attendance awards, vacation accrual, and bonuses on FMLA leave
WHD answered questions about attendance plans, vacation accrual and bonus pay during FMLA leave. It said protected leave cannot count against a no-fault attendance policy, but unpaid leave does not…
Safety Rail System under construction guardrail rules
An inventor asked whether a proposed rail system met OSHA construction rules. OSHA said it did not approve products, then listed the rule's requirements for height, strength, intermediate…
Drug safety data sheets in medical offices
A physician asked whether a medical office needed material safety data sheets for drugs. OSHA said FDA-regulated drugs can be covered, while solid final-form drugs for direct patient administration…
Extension cord indicators and grounding continuity tests
An OSHA region asked whether a light built into an extension cord proved grounding continuity. OSHA said the light showed only that the cord was energized; a proper continuity tester and the…
Formaldehyde pesticide labels and federal jurisdiction
Pesticide manufacturers asked whether OSHA formaldehyde labels were required for registered pesticide products. OSHA said federal pesticide law controlled labeling of those products and also limited…
JTPA dislocated-worker training as approved unemployment training
ETA told state unemployment agencies to treat qualifying dislocated workers who actually participate in Title III JTPA training, other than on-the-job training, as attending approved training for…
Warning stickers on stump grinders
A lawyer asked whether OSHA required stump grinders to display a warning against use by people below a stated weight. OSHA said it had no regulation requiring that particular sticker and suggested…
Construction manager duties at multi-employer worksites
A lawyer asked about a construction manager’s duties on a site with several employers. OSHA said the manager could be cited when its own workers were exposed, when its direction created a hazard, or…
Post-emergency cleanup training and medical surveillance
An oil-production employer asked how HAZWOPER applied to crews who clean up after an emergency and whether all responders need medical surveillance. OSHA distinguished emergency and post-emergency…
Updated fax contacts for Title XII advance requests
This change to UIPL 3-91 replaced the fax contact details used when state agencies sent advance notice of Title XII loan or interest-payment requests. It also directed them to make an immediate…
Securities brokers and the ERISA limited-scope audit rule
A requester asked whether a securities broker could provide certified statements that an ERISA plan auditor may leave outside the audit opinion. EBSA said the cited exception requires a regulated…
Orthopedic devices and recordable injuries
An employer asked when a wrist splint or other orthopedic aid made symptoms recordable on the former OSHA log. OSHA said immobilizing casts or splints generally counted as medical treatment, while…
Restricted work after an employee lifting limit
An employer asked whether a driver’s lifting limit counted as restricted work when the driver sometimes had to lift heavier bags. OSHA said normal duties include tasks expected during the calendar…
Lost workday counts after employment termination
An employer asked whether firing an injured worker stopped lost workday counting. OSHA said an unrelated termination may stop the day count but does not erase a recordable case; when the reason for…
Communicating with welders inside confined spaces
A lawyer asked whether a confined-space welding rule required direct visual observation despite another OSHA example allowing tank-wall tapping. OSHA said tapping could provide adequate…
HAZWOPER coverage at contaminated groundwater treatment plants
A water treatment facility asked whether HAZWOPER covered its work on groundwater from a hazardous waste cleanup site. OSHA said monitoring could support an absence of significant worker exposure…
Facial hair and powered air-purifying respirators
An employer asked whether a powered air-purifying respirator could protect workers with beards. OSHA said hair under the visor’s sealing edge would prevent a proper seal under the cited respiratory…
Classifying potentially gassy underground worksites
An OSHA region asked when underground construction must be classified as potentially gassy. OSHA distinguished a full 24-hour monitoring period at or above ten percent of the lower explosive limit…
Hepatitis B vaccine consent forms and liability waivers
A care employer asked whether staff could sign a hepatitis B vaccination consent form that also waived employer liability. OSHA said the waiver imposed a cost contrary to the free-vaccine…
Disaster unemployment benefit amounts for July–September 1993
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use the attached average weekly benefit amounts when calculating disaster unemployment assistance for disasters occurring July through September 1993.…
Coca-Cola short-term disability pay as payroll practice
An employer asked whether its short-term disability income program for nonexempt workers was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said payments from the employer’s general assets, made only during medical…
Excavation protection and an error in OSHA safety materials
A construction safety administrator pointed out an error in an OSHA accident-prevention sheet. OSHA agreed that its excavation rule did not require a trench to reach a minimum length before…
Keeping injury logs for long-term off-site employees
An employer asked where to keep injury records for employees working at another site. OSHA said an assignment expected to last over a year could make that site a fixed establishment, and explained…
Positioning hook for concrete formwork under proposed rule
A contractor asked if a positioning hook for concrete forms met OSHA construction standards. OSHA said no then-current construction rule applied to positioning devices and described a proposed,…
Head protection on fishing vessels and variance requests
A fishing company asked to use a different helmet instead of the head protection described by OSHA’s rule. OSHA said no variance was needed where there was no falling or flying object hazard; where…
Reverse signal alarms on construction vehicles
A manufacturer asked whether a radar backup alarm met OSHA’s construction vehicle rule. OSHA declined to approve the product but said an alarm that activates when the vehicle is shifted into reverse…
Custom safety footwear and hazard control priority
A custom shoe maker asked about using its footwear where industrial safety shoes were required. OSHA said workplace hazards should first be addressed through engineering controls, then…
Bloodborne pathogen coverage for lifeguards
An OSHA region asked whether lifeguards fell under the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said their emergency response duties generally made blood exposure reasonably anticipated, so covered…
American Fidelity Trust as a multiple employer welfare arrangement
Virginia regulators asked whether an association health trust was a multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said its coverage of workers from several unrelated employers made it a MEWA, so ERISA…
Needle blunting and recapping before disposal
An inventor asked whether a device that blunted and recapped needles before disposal complied with OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA declined product approval and said blunting that leaves a…
Further questions on EUC elections, eligibility and interstate claims
ETA explained how to determine emergency unemployment compensation entitlement when a claimant postpones a new regular benefit year or defers rights to regular benefits. Its questions and answers…
Seven confined-space permit and rescue questions
A utility contractors association asked seven questions about permit-required confined spaces. OSHA distinguished ventilated permit-space procedures from reclassification and explained…
Exclusive control of a plug during equipment servicing
An employer asked what exclusive control of a plug means while servicing cord-connected equipment. OSHA said the worker must be able to prevent re-energization, such as by holding the plug, keeping…
Worker safety at crane-based bungee jumping operations
An industry association asked about OSHA’s role in bungee jumping from cranes. OSHA said it covered employees at those operations, while spectator and non-employee jumper safety belonged to other…
Controlled descent devices in emergency escape plans
A maker sought OSHA confirmation that its controlled descent device met emergency escape requirements. OSHA declined to endorse it, saying employers must assess their own hazards and escape routes…
Disinfectant claims for bloodborne pathogen protection
A university project asked OSHA to confirm which disinfectant labels were acceptable under the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA agreed with the described tuberculocidal approach and said an HIV-only…
Blood exposure for recycling sorters and needle-removal supervisors
A recycling operator asked whether occasionally finding needles gave its manual sorters occupational blood exposure. OSHA said the described stop-and-notify process could avoid reasonably…
Approval and grounding of construction generators
A generator manufacturer asked whether portable and vehicle-mounted generators used at construction sites had to be approved and how grounding terms applied. OSHA said generators counted as…
Employer duties under the hazard communication rule
A correspondent questioned the employer’s and federal government’s responsibilities for chemical safety information. OSHA explained that the hazard communication rule requires suppliers to transmit…
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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.