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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Recording bloodborne pathogen exposure incidents
A nurse asked when workplace exposures to hepatitis B or HIV were recordable on the former OSHA 200 log. OSHA said exposure incidents were evaluated as injuries and recorded if they led to listed…
Cumulative trauma and injury recordkeeping examples
An employer asked how to record cumulative trauma disorders and several other work related conditions under OSHA's former recordkeeping system. OSHA gave examples involving positive EMG results,…
Workplace vermin control and OSHA jurisdiction
A requester asked whether OSHA regulates vermin at work and whether public and private workplaces face the same rules. OSHA pointed to sanitation standards for permanent workplaces and temporary…
Ladder access and fall protection for steel erectors
A construction company asked whether steel erectors needed ladders at every elevation change. OSHA said Subpart X applied to steel erectors, but required a safe ladder or stairway between levels in…
Bloodborne pathogens in maintenance and construction work
A mechanical contractors group asked how OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard applied to maintenance work at health care facilities. OSHA said routine maintenance workers with reasonably anticipated…
Extreme temperature protections for landscaping employees
A requester asked which OSHA standards applied to landscaping workers in extreme temperatures. OSHA identified general industry personal protective equipment and sanitation provisions and described…
HAZWOPER coverage of lead contaminated soil cleanup
A lead recycling company asked whether low level lead soil cleanup fell outside HAZWOPER. OSHA said the corrective action was within its scope and that the more protective provision controlled where…
Optional numeric and color coded chemical hazard labels
A dentist asked OSHA to require numeric or color hazard ratings on safety data sheets and containers. OSHA said the hazard communication rule allowed various label formats if required information…
Bloodborne pathogens duties for physicians and hospitals
A physician asked who must provide bloodborne pathogens protections when a professional corporation's doctors practice at a hospital. OSHA said the corporation was generally the physicians' employer…
Bloodborne pathogens protections in nail salons
A local health official asked OSHA about infection controls in nail salons. OSHA said it lacked enough information to prescribe autoclaving, gloves or testing, but salon employers had to assess…
Leak resistance of sharps disposal containers
A manufacturer asked whether its sharps disposal container met the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said its concern was whether liquid could escape through the container's joint or the joint could…
Employment relationship factors for nursing registries
A nursing registry asked whether nurses it placed were employees or independent contractors for purposes of OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA requested more facts before deciding the…
Temporary worker injuries on a host company's OSHA log
An employer asked who should record injuries to temporary agency workers on the former OSHA log. OSHA said the firm responsible for day to day direction should keep the records. Based on the…
Counting lost workdays after permanent job restrictions
An employer asked how to count lost workdays when a worker had permanent restrictions but could not yet return to an available job. Under its former recordkeeping guidelines, OSHA said making a…
Twenty four OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping questions
An employer asked 24 questions about injury and illness entries on the former OSHA 200 log. OSHA addressed cumulative trauma, restricted work, treatment, work relationship, temporary supervision,…
Recording work related joint dislocations
An employer asked whether a work related finger dislocation that a physician reset was recordable. OSHA said joint dislocations impaired normal use of a body part and were nonminor injuries under…
Prescription eye medication and former OSHA log entries
A plant physician asked whether preventive prescription eye ointment made a minor eye injury recordable. Under the former OSHA 200 log rules, OSHA said prescription medicine actually provided…
Termination and lost workday counts on former OSHA logs
An employer asked whether terminating a worker stopped the count of lost workdays after an injury or illness. Under its former recordkeeping guidelines, OSHA said an unrelated termination could stop…
Further EUC questions and corrections on overpayments and work tests
ETA corrected earlier answers in Changes 1 and 2 about overpayment recovery and emergency benefit calculations. It also answered further questions on work-search tests, claim eligibility, reporting,…
Hard hat citation policy for workers with personal objections
A senator's office asked about hard hat rules for workers whose beliefs conflicted with wearing them. OSHA said it would not cite employers of workers who objected on personal conviction grounds if…
Construction noise standard rather than general industry rule
A construction company asked which noise standard applied to its work after an OSHA publication listed the general industry rule. OSHA said that listing was an error and that 29 CFR 1926.52 covered…
Emergency response versus incidental hazardous substance releases
A safety consultant asked when cleanup of a hazardous substance release becomes an emergency response under HAZWOPER. OSHA said an actual emergency was covered even if workers in the immediate area…
Formaldehyde concentration threshold under process safety management
A process engineer asked what OSHA meant by formaldehyde in the process safety management rule's highly hazardous chemicals list. OSHA said the listing should read formaldehyde at 37 percent by…
Recording bloodborne pathogen exposures and protecting privacy
A county safety coordinator asked when hepatitis B or HIV exposure incidents were recordable and how to protect affected workers' privacy. Under its former log rules, OSHA said recordability…
Occupational hearing loss on former OSHA injury logs
An attorney asked about recording hearing changes under OSHA's former Form 200 log. OSHA described an interim enforcement policy and explained how employers choosing to record 10 or 25 decibel…
Custody and confidentiality of worker medical surveillance records
An OSHA medical officer addressed who keeps employee medical surveillance records and what a physician may report to an employer. The attached response said an employer had to establish records,…
Bloodborne pathogens duties of unincorporated owners and janitors
A business owner asked whether unincorporated owners and janitors were covered by the bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said every employer had to protect employees, though an unincorporated owner…
Fire extinguisher and emergency action plan citation policy
An OSHA regional office asked which standard inspectors should cite when an employer supplied fire extinguishers but its emergency action plan was missing or deficient. OSHA said inspectors should…
Lockable energy isolation devices and employer duties
An electrical manufacturers association asked who had duties under OSHA's lockout rule. OSHA said employers, rather than product designers, had to use lockable energy isolation devices where…
Warning tags on scaffolds during erection
A scaffold trainer asked whether OSHA required warning tags on every scaffold being erected. OSHA said there was no blanket requirement, though a tag could be appropriate for a hazardous or changing…
Caster locks on mobile scaffolds
A scaffold seller asked whether wheel only caster brakes met OSHA's scaffold requirements. OSHA said the general industry language then cited permitted a positive wheel or swivel lock and discussed…
Muriatic acid and process safety management listing
A chemical company asked if 32 percent muriatic acid was covered by OSHA's process safety management rule. OSHA said Appendix A listed hydrogen chloride and anhydrous hydrochloric acid, but did not…
Laboratory exclusion from process safety management
A chemistry association asked whether laboratory and research operations were covered by the process safety management rule. OSHA said a laboratory as defined by its laboratory standard was outside…
New Jersey automotive wholesalers health trust as a MEWA
A requester asked whether a New Jersey automotive wholesalers association health trust covering employees of multiple employers was a MEWA. EBSA said it was, so ERISA permitted state regulation…
UCX - State Law Provisions for Deductions of Federal Military Separation, Dismissal, or Severance Payments
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies to apply applicable state law when deciding whether military separation, dismissal, or severance payments reduce unemployment benefits for former service…
New Procedure -- Recertification of Credit Claimed by Federal Unemployment Taxpayers for State Contributions Paid
ETA informed state unemployment tax offices of a new IRS procedure for checking employer claims of state contribution credits against federal unemployment tax. It asked states to prioritize Form…
Expected-separation certification for JTPA Title III
ETA told state job-training agencies that an Office of Personnel Management Certification of Expected Separation counted as the termination notice required for an otherwise eligible federal worker…
Fertilizer retail facility exclusion from process safety management
A fertilizer trade group asked whether storage and blending facilities selling directly to farmers were exempt from process safety management. OSHA said an otherwise covered establishment qualified…
Process safety management questions from steel producers
A steel industry group asked six questions about OSHA's process safety management coverage. OSHA addressed fuel used only at work, coke oven and blast furnace gas, rail tank cars, gas blanketed…
ANSI nonionizing radiation warning signs
A state attorney general's office asked whether an ANSI radio frequency radiation warning sign could satisfy OSHA's nonionizing radiation sign rule. OSHA said the ANSI C95.2-1982 sign described in…
Conditions for acceptable shop made extension cords
An OSHA regional office asked whether extension cords assembled in the field always needed approval as a complete unit. OSHA said qualified workers could assemble temporary cord sets from approved…
Process safety management at contractor operated munitions plants
A munitions maker asked whether federal oversight of explosives and pyrotechnics production displaced OSHA's process safety rule. OSHA said other agencies had not exercised worker protection…
Excavation soil tests and storm sewer confined spaces
A utility contractors group asked about classifying excavation soil and whether a storm sewer manhole was a confined space. OSHA said moderate thumb penetration effort could indicate type B soil,…
Hearing threshold shifts on former OSHA injury logs
A consultant worried that recording hearing changes could discourage employers from offering extra follow-up under their hearing conservation programs. OSHA said its enforcement policy then required…
Chain slings and custom lifting fixtures
A chain manufacturer asked whether employers could use other steel chain grades and in-house lifting fixtures for hoisting. OSHA said slings outside its listed alloy table had to follow manufacturer…
Bloodborne pathogens coverage in group homes
A group home asked whether caregivers serving adults with developmental disabilities were covered by the bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said the employer had to identify tasks with reasonably…
Hydraulic crane holding brakes and employer responsibility
A senator asked about hydraulic crane holding brakes, leased equipment and inspection duties. OSHA said the employer using a crane was responsible for its safe working condition even if the crane…
Compressed gas cylinders at hazardous waste sites
A hazardous waste contractor asked how compressed gas cylinder rules apply at waste sites and to breathing air cylinders. OSHA distinguished fixed facilities from other sites, discussed secure…
Bloodborne pathogens training for nursing personnel agencies
A nursing personnel agency asked how bloodborne pathogens duties were divided when its staff worked at hospitals. OSHA said the agency and client shared responsibility: the agency provided generic…
Bloodborne pathogens coverage of janitorial work
An attorney asked whether janitorial workers were covered by OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said health care housekeepers who clean blood or handle infectious waste may have occupational…
Shared bloodborne pathogens duties for temporary nurses
A temporary nursing agency asked whether the bloodborne pathogens standard applied when its employees worked at client facilities. OSHA said both the agency and client had duties: the agency handled…
OSHA product certification and recognized testing laboratories
A machinery company asked whether a named testing laboratory was recognized and whether OSHA certified equipment. OSHA said the laboratory was on its recognized list for certain product categories,…
Discarded feminine hygiene products and regulated waste
An industrial hygienist asked whether discarded feminine hygiene products counted as regulated waste under the bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said absorbent products generally did not, because…
Construction exclusion from bloodborne pathogens standard
An electrical contractor asked whether construction workers were covered by OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said it planned to clarify that construction work as defined in 29 CFR 1910.12…
Fire station poles, floor openings and safe access
A fire fighters association asked how OSHA treated fire poles and their floor openings. OSHA said a pole was not an approved route between floors, and the opening needed a railing or cover to…
Rubber mill safety trip controls and rebuilt equipment
A consulting engineer asked about OSHA's rubber and plastics mill standard. OSHA said advisory 'should' language from the source standard had been removed, rebuilt mills fell within installation…
Bloodborne pathogens work areas and specimen transport
A clinical laboratory asked what counts as a work area under the bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said a work area is where work may contaminate surfaces; transport routes between collection and…
When disposable gloves must be changed
A pathology practice asked whether OSHA required changing disposable gloves between patients. OSHA said its worker safety rule required gloves to be changed when contaminated, torn or punctured, but…
Bloodborne pathogen regulated waste and discarded sharps
A medical department asked when common clinical and restroom waste counted as regulated waste. OSHA said absorbent menstrual products, unsaturated bandages and speculums generally did not meet the…
Roof fall arrest anchors and OSHA product approval
A roofing product maker asked OSHA for a compliance letter for a fall arrest bracket and safety nail. OSHA said it does not approve products because jobsite conditions and use matter. Based on the…
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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.