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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HAZWOPER coverage and training for utility work at waste sites
A utility asked when maintenance, soil work, inspections, and meter reading at hazardous-waste sites trigger HAZWOPER. OSHA said the answer depends on site characterization and actual or reasonably…
Historical OSHA 200 hearing-loss recording policy
A hearing-conservation company asked about OSHA’s then-current OSHA 200 log policy. OSHA said a work-related 25 dB average shift from the original baseline at specified frequencies was recordable,…
Historical OSHA 200 log criteria for hearing shifts
An audiometric testing company asked whether a 10 dB standard threshold shift had to go on the OSHA 200 log. OSHA said its then-current federal enforcement criterion for a work-related log entry was…
UCX - Separation Pay for Regular Enlisted Ex-Servicemembers
ETA instructed state agencies to apply their own unemployment laws to separation pay received by former regular enlisted service members who claim UCX benefits. Staff should check the DD Form 214…
Emergency versus incidental hazardous-substance releases
A consultant asked when a hazardous-substance release counts as an emergency under HAZWOPER. OSHA said there is no fixed quantity threshold; likely severe exposure, oxygen deficiency, fire or…
Design and use of trench shields and manhole boxes
A manufacturer asked about driven trench shields, round pipe manhole boxes, and stacked shields. OSHA said the designs could be used if a registered professional engineer approved them and they were…
Supervised field experience for HAZWOPER trainees
An inquirer asked what counts as three days of actual field experience for a HAZWOPER trainee. OSHA said this supervised work follows classroom instruction and lets the new worker become familiar…
Posting mobile-crane load charts in the cab
A regional administrator asked how mobile-crane load charts could meet posting and visibility rules. OSHA said a notebook securely attached inside the cab could satisfy the posting requirement if…
Tractor rollover structures meeting later consensus standards
A tractor maker asked whether rollover protective structures meeting newer SAE and ASAE standards could satisfy OSHA’s agricultural tractor requirements. OSHA said structures meeting ANSI/SAE J2194…
Grounding and bonding of portable generators
A generator maker asked whether bonding a portable generator’s neutral to its frame was optional when it supplies a separately derived system. OSHA said it was required, and explained when the frame…
Whether permanent handrails must be painted yellow
A protective-coating specialist asked whether OSHA’s yellow caution-color rule required every permanent handrail to be painted yellow. OSHA said the rule was not meant to impose that requirement.
Bearing monitoring in grain bucket elevators
A grain equipment company asked when a bearing is external to an inside bucket elevator and whether smaller grain facilities need monitoring. OSHA said monitoring generally applies unless the…
Backup alarms on construction vehicles
A senator asked about noise from backup alarms at construction sites. OSHA said a vehicle with an obstructed rear view must have a distinguishable alarm or a worker signaling the driver that backing…
Depth ratings for stacked trench shields
A contractor association asked whether every shield stacked in a trench must be rated for the trench’s full depth. OSHA said each shield needs a rating for the depth where it is used, and the stack…
Later consensus standards for agricultural tractor rollover protection
A tractor manufacturer asked whether newer SAE and ASAE rollover protective structures met OSHA’s agricultural tractor requirements. OSHA said structures meeting ANSI/SAE J2194 or ASAE S519 gave…
Average weekly benefit amounts for first-quarter FY 1992 disasters
ETA supplied state average weekly benefit amounts for calculating disaster unemployment assistance for major disasters from October through December 1991. State agencies were asked to give the…
Employer self-audits and OSHA enforcement
A company asked whether OSHA might use its own safety audit against it. OSHA encouraged self-audits but said serious hazards left uncorrected could lead to enforcement, and urged the company to…
Historical enforcement of the lockout/tagout standard
OSHA instructed its regional administrators to keep enforcing the lockout/tagout standard while a court challenge was pending in 1991. It said enforcement would continue unless the court changed the…
Timing and content of HAZWOPER refresher training
An environmental services company asked whether annual HAZWOPER refreshers must occur on the exact training anniversary and whether shorter job briefings can add up to eight hours. OSHA said…
Industry ergonomic guidelines and OSHA citations
A bakers association asked whether its voluntary ergonomics guidance could expose members to OSHA citations. OSHA said it would not target workplaces simply because the industry published guidance…
HAZWOPER response training for home heating oil distributors
A consultant asked what emergency-response training home heating oil distributor employees needed. OSHA said first responder operations training might allow defensive action without stopping the…
HAZWOPER duties of hazardous-materials truck drivers
A trucking association asked when drivers must be trained under HAZWOPER after a hazardous-materials release. OSHA said operators who only evacuate under a suitable plan may need no further response…
Locking hooks under the construction crane rule
A manufacturer asked OSHA for compliance determinations on three locking hooks. OSHA said it does not approve products in advance, because field conditions and use affect safety. Based on the…
Historical manhole-step width enforcement guidance
OSHA told its regions in 1991 how to handle manhole-step width while a proposed walking-surfaces rule was pending. It said citations should not issue for clear widths as short as 10 inches in the…
Lower-cost HAZWOPER emergency-response training options
A member of Congress asked about the cost of HAZWOPER emergency-response training for a small employer. OSHA said employers could plan to evacuate under an emergency action plan or train responders…
HAZWOPER response levels for firefighters
An inquirer asked what firefighters at different HAZWOPER training levels could do during a hazardous-materials incident. OSHA said awareness-level workers can identify and report a release, while…
Machine setup, lockout, and electrical approval requirements
An attorney asked which safety and ergonomic rules applied while setting up a two-spindle reaming machine. OSHA said it had no machine-specific ergonomics standard at the time, but identified…
Stairway and ladder rule for scaffold access ladders
A scaffolding institute asked whether construction stairway and ladder rules applied to ladders used for scaffold access. OSHA said the cited subpart did not cover ladders specifically made for…
Historical OSHA position on construction stilts
A manufacturer asked about OSHA rules for construction stilts. OSHA said it had no specific stilt rule at the time and had raised the subject in a pending rulemaking. OSHA labels this historical…
Engineered manufacturer tables for trench protection
A trench protection manufacturer asked whether its tabulated data could go beyond the excavation standard’s appendix tables. OSHA said it could if a registered professional engineer approved its…
Engineer approval for an added soil classification
A manufacturer asked whether its C-60 soil class could be used for excavation protective-system design. OSHA said manufacturer tables may use classifications outside OSHA’s tables when a registered…
Construction vehicle rules for end dump trucks
A consultant asked whether end dump trucks traveling between jobsites must comply with construction vehicle rules once they enter an off-highway site. OSHA said they do, while conflicting Department…
Electrical approval and bonding of portable generators
A generator maker asked whether jobsite generators need a laboratory listing and how their neutral and frame must be connected. OSHA said equipment must be approved but a listing is not the only way…
Railings on elevated construction stairway landings
A regional administrator asked when construction stairway platforms and landings need railings. OSHA said railings are required on unprotected sides and edges of stairways at least 30 inches high,…
Greater-hazard claim for crane anti-two-block devices
A contractor asked OSHA to suspend an anti-two-block requirement after failures of one device design. OSHA said it could not recognize a greater-hazard defense on the information provided because…
Hazard labels for crystalline silica in finished products
A product maker asked when finished goods containing crystalline silica need hazard labels and material safety data sheets. OSHA said the issue is whether normal use can release more than very small…
OSHA and MSHA jurisdiction at a fertilizer facility
A union asked which agency enforced worker safety rules at a fertilizer company’s Port Sutton facility. OSHA said MSHA had exercised jurisdiction there, so OSHA’s standards were preempted at that…
Uniform employer experience measurement
ETA interpreted FUTA’s requirement to measure employers’ unemployment experience over the same period using uniform methods. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Historical OSHA informal-conference penalty guidance
OSHA instructed regional and area offices in 1991 on penalty reductions, grouping related violations, and staffing informal conferences. The memo generally called for regional approval when a…
Hazard communication for volatile amines from humidifiers
An inquirer asked whether hazard-communication duties covered employees exposed to trace amines emitted by steam humidification systems. OSHA said workers who directly handle or store the chemicals…
Crane swing-radius barricade variance request
A contractor asked to substitute warning lights and an alarm for a physical barricade around a crane’s swing radius. OSHA denied the variance, explaining that the cited rule called for a barrier to…
Propane and gasoline response duties under HAZWOPER
An employer asked whether operations-level responders with additional fire training could close a valve inside the danger area during a propane fire. OSHA said this was a narrow special case for…
Date of disaster for disaster unemployment benefit calculations
ETA interpreted date of the disaster for weekly disaster unemployment assistance calculations as the date a major disaster began or, if later, the date the individual became unemployed. This lets…
Historical OSHA 200 recording of cumulative trauma disorders
OSHA told an area office that under its then-current OSHA 200 guidance, a work-related cumulative trauma disorder could be recordable without a physician’s diagnosis if its symptoms met the…
Historical recurrence rule for cumulative trauma cases
A meatpacking company asked when a cumulative trauma disorder case was resolved for OSHA 200 recordkeeping. OSHA said complete resolution of signs and symptoms for 30 days ended the case; recurrence…
Machine guarding in food processing facilities
OSHA answered whether food processors must guard unguarded machinery and power transmission equipment. It said the cited standards provide no food-industry exemption and that contamination concerns…
Meatpacking ergonomics guidance and preemployment exams
A meatpacker asked whether OSHA’s ergonomics guidelines conflicted with rules on preemployment medical exams. OSHA said its guidelines did not address preemployment screening; their baseline health…
Fall protection while climbing power transmission towers
A senator asked whether OSHA had newly extended fall protection to workers climbing power transmission towers. OSHA said its longstanding interpretation covered climbing as well as work stations…
Hazard data sheets for research pharmaceuticals
A research institute asked whether its custom synthesis and distribution of drugs and controlled substances required material safety data sheets. OSHA said the hazard communication rule covered…
Hazard warnings for continuous glass filaments
A lawyer asked whether continuous glass filaments needed cancer warning labels. OSHA said a manufacturer must assess the scientific evidence for its own product and report supported hazards on…
OSHA coverage of wholly volunteer ambulance organizations
A volunteer ambulance corps asked whether OSHA required it to offer members hepatitis B vaccination at no charge. OSHA said its jurisdiction covered employers and employees, so an organization whose…
Historical OSHA 200 hearing-loss retest timing
An employer asked how to log hearing loss and whether a later audiogram could replace the initial result. OSHA said its then-current OSHA 200 entry date was the test date and a retest within 30…
Who may remove a lockout device
OSHA noted that a trade magazine described a foreman removing a worker’s lock during lockout. OSHA said the employee who applied the lock normally must remove it; management can do so only when that…
Electrical tie wraps in a circuit breaker lockout device
A manufacturer asked whether its circuit breaker lockout devices complied with OSHA's lockout rule. OSHA said the standard electrical tie wrap in one device was not substantial enough to meet the…
Historical prescription-drop injury recordkeeping
A training company asked whether an eye injury treated with two single doses of prescription drops counted as medical treatment under then-current OSHA recordkeeping guidance. OSHA said it did…
Which year to log a delayed audiogram report
A steel company asked which year’s OSHA 200 log should show a December audiogram whose report arrived in January. OSHA said a recordable case belonged on the log for the year the test was performed,…
Conductivity of asbestos-sampling cassette cowls
A sampling-equipment maker asked for a numeric conductivity specification for asbestos cassette cowls. OSHA said its cited standards require the cowl to be conductive but specify neither a…
Reporting asbestos air measurements near detection limits
A plant asked whether an asbestos air laboratory should report the detection or quantitation limit. OSHA said the lab should report results seen within the method’s constraints: below detection as…
Historical baseline for logging hearing loss
OSHA told its regional offices that under then-current OSHA 200 recordkeeping guidance, the original audiogram baseline should be used to calculate a recordable hearing shift. The memo also said…
Spray-booth compliance and updated fire standards
A spray-booth maker asked OSHA to approve its design. OSHA said compliance must be assessed at the workplace and discussed fire, explosion, and exposure rules; in the cited circumstances, meeting 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.