State and Federal Labor Guidance
Free state and federal labor-agency opinion letters, administrative policies, and interpretive notices, with plain-English summaries, current status, and the official source on every page.
No documents match your search
Try different keywords or clear a filter.
Payroll deductions for voluntary spouse/dependent health-plan contributions don't violate Labor Code § 224
Counsel for an employer asked DLSE whether requiring employees who voluntarily elect optional spouse, dependent, or family health coverage to pay their share of the premium through a signed…
Fall protection on ladder jack scaffolds Unknown
An OSHA regional office asked whether a general scaffold guardrail rule applied to ladder jack scaffolds. OSHA said it did not and that the then-current ladder jack provisions had no fall protection…
Omitting inapplicable sections from material safety data sheets
State plan officials asked whether a material safety data sheet must display every possible information field, even when a field is inapplicable. OSHA said a preparer may omit an entire inapplicable…
UCFE claims from decennial census employment Unknown
ETA assigned a separate federal identification code for Census Bureau claims and asked state agencies to coordinate processing of the expected wave of claims from temporary census workers. Current…
Federal "basic rate" overtime shortcuts for commissioned employees don't apply under California law
An attorney asked DLSE to apply the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's "basic rate" regulations (29 C.F.R. § 548.1 et seq., referencing 29 U.S.C. § 207(i)) to compute overtime for commissioned…
Temporary oil-heater safeguards at construction sites
An OSHA regional office asked whether a temporary oil heater met construction standards. OSHA said the model’s integral fuel tank made a separate flame-loss shutoff unnecessary, while users still…
Day-of-rest exemption for the "grape industry" during harvest extends to wineries fermenting grapes
A law firm asked DLSE to reconcile the Industrial Welfare Commission's wage orders with Labor Code § 551's day-of-rest requirement, and whether Order 8-80's exemption for the "grape industry" during…
Time spent changing into required uniforms may be compensable; DLSE adopts the Lindow de minimis test
A hotel chain's counsel argued that time employees spend changing into and out of a required company uniform is de minimis and non-compensable under Lindow v. United States (9th Cir. 1984). DLSE…
Hazard communication training for short chemical-exposure tasks
A lawyer asked whether brief chemical-exposure tasks require hazard communication training and whether a short oral presentation can suffice. OSHA said coverage depends on possible exposure during…
Inapplicable fields on material safety data sheets
OSHA clarified whether an earlier interpretation allowing omitted inapplicable safety data sheet sections applied only to computer-generated sheets. It said the rule sets no fixed format, so…
Floral shop products under hazard communication rules Unknown
A florist asked whether it needed material safety data sheets for supplies. OSHA treated manufactured floral foam as an exempt article, discussed a then-current consumer product exclusion, and said…
Payday timing for unscheduled overtime and commissions under semi-monthly pay periods (Labor Code § 204)
A corporate personnel officer asked DLSE to clarify Labor Code § 204's timely-payment rules for wages earned in excess of an employee's normal work period, and for commissions, under a semi-monthly…
Medical examinations after chromic acid exposure Unknown
An OSHA medical officer clarified examination timing under the chromic acid rule. The memorandum said periodic exams meant yearly unless stated otherwise, and a physician should evaluate skin after…
Auto-repair "commissions" paid per repair are piece-rate wages, not sales commissions, and can't be withheld past the final-pay deadline
A law firm asked whether its client could keep delaying payment of "commissions" to terminated employees until customer offsets and recall reimbursements were resolved. Citing the recent Keyes…
Pension offset requirements under FUTA
ETA consolidated its interpretations of FUTA pension offset requirements for state unemployment compensation. The official issue-date header and 2025 checklist both give April 30, 1988. ETA still…
Consumer use exemption for liquid plant food under hazard communication
A plant-food supplier asked whether it had to supply material safety data sheets. OSHA said the Hazard Communication Standard does not apply to consumers. For workplace customers, the…
Directed IRA purchases of a bank parent company stock Unknown
A bank asked whether self-directed IRAs could buy its parent company stock. EBSA said the specified sale prohibition did not apply where the seller was not a disqualified person, but warned that…
Sheep-ranching exception to temporary labor camp livestock setback
An agricultural employers association asked how the 500-foot livestock setback for temporary labor camps applies to sheep ranches. OSHA said short-term housing of sheep for medication, shearing,…
Rated capacities for alloy steel chain slings under revised ASTM A391
A sling supplier asked about rated capacities after ASTM revised its alloy steel chain standard. OSHA said the table in 29 CFR 1910.184(e) applies to A391-65 material; slings made from the new…
Monthly release of leveraged ESOP securities Unknown
A requester asked whether a bank's ESOP could release pledged employer securities monthly or annually. EBSA said monthly releases were permissible if the total released in a plan year met the…
Equivalent courses for asbestos competent-person training Unknown
OSHA told regional offices what training counted as an equivalent course for the competent person supervising asbestos enclosure work. It identified EPA-accredited or approved state…
Wire rope and steel banding as construction guardrails Unknown
An OSHA regional office asked whether wire rope and steel banding rails gave protection equivalent to standard construction guardrails. OSHA said the performance rule did not fix post spacing, so…
Golf association retirement arrangement and ERISA plan status Unknown
EBSA said a golf association’s retirement arrangement was not itself an ERISA pension plan because the association was neither a qualifying employer group nor an employee organization. An employer…
Employee association supplemental sick-benefit fund Unknown
EBSA said an employee association’s supplemental sick-benefit fund was an ERISA welfare plan. It also discussed which entity was the plan administrator and when the employer could be a functional…
How to calculate overtime owed on commissions earned on top of an hourly wage
A company officer asked DLSE how to calculate overtime for employees who earn commissions in addition to an hourly wage. DLSE explained the basic method: divide the commissions earned in a workweek…
No cap on daily overtime hours if premium pay is paid; day-of-rest and constructive-discharge limits explained to a state legislator
A member of the California Assembly forwarded a constituent's complaint about excessive required overtime. DLSE responded that no law or regulation caps the amount of daily overtime an employer may…
Overtime for substitute employees who fill in on a different shift length under an alternative-workweek agreement (Wage Order 5-80)
A law firm asked DLSE how overtime applies to substitute employees who work rotating 8-hour and 12-hour shifts under the alternative-workweek amendments to Wage Order 5-80. DLSE distinguished three…
Church and school association benefits plan as a MEWA Unknown
EBSA said a church and school association’s benefits plan was a multiple employer welfare arrangement subject to applicable state insurance law, even if its separate ERISA welfare-plan status…
Multiple-load crane hoisting during steel erection Unknown
An OSHA regional office told field staff how it would assess cranes lifting several steel loads at once during erection. It said the practice could support a general duty citation if the recognized…
Waiver criteria for immigration status verification
ETA explained when the Secretary would waive a state from automated immigration-status verification, identified criteria for waivers, and described minimum verification duties that would remain. ETA…
ERISA status of an employee assistance program Unknown
EBSA said the described employee assistance program was an ERISA welfare plan insofar as it provided benefits listed in ERISA section 3(1). The opinion concerned only that program and did not decide…
Formaldehyde protection using approved chin-style respirator canisters
A respirator manufacturer submitted test data for chin-style formaldehyde canisters omitted from OSHA's respirator selection table. After reviewing the data with NIOSH, OSHA accepted the approved…
Criteria for changes to the UI quality-control questionnaire Unknown
ETA set criteria for reviewing state changes to the unemployment quality-control claimant questionnaire, including state-law fit and preservation of uniform data collection. Current status is unconfirmed.
Unemployment insurance quality-control questions and answers, Change 2 Unknown
ETA answered state agencies' questions about how to investigate unemployment benefit payments for quality control. It addressed interstate information delays, claimant interviews and mailed…
Grounding a construction transformer secondary circuit Unknown
An OSHA regional office asked whether a described construction transformer secondary system had to be grounded. OSHA said the 120/240-volt configuration met the cited grounding condition and the…
English labels and optional additional languages under hazard communication
A safety consultant asked whether employers must provide Hazard Communication Standard materials in a language other than English. OSHA quoted the label provision requiring legible English warnings…
Plan reimbursement of direct investment-service expenses Unknown
EBSA said reimbursement of direct investment-service expenses did not itself violate the cited fiduciary self-dealing rule. It left operational conflicts, factual expense classification, and…
1987 budget reconciliation changes to unemployment compensation Unknown
ETA summarized provisions of the 1987 Budget Reconciliation Act affecting extended benefits, self-employment demonstrations, unemployment accounts, and federal unemployment tax. Current status is…
Hexavalent chromium in photocopier toner safety sheets Unknown
A consultant asked whether toner containing 0.003 percent hexavalent chromium needed a carcinogenic warning on a material safety data sheet. OSHA said the evidence supplied did not establish…
Physician review and removal protection under the lead standard
A company asked how the lead standard's physician review process and medical removal benefits apply to an employee. OSHA said the multiple-physician process starts after an examination by the…
Quality-control case-file monitoring guidelines Unknown
ETA gave state agencies detailed guidance on how federal regional staff would assess unemployment quality-control case investigations and record exceptions. Current status is unconfirmed.
Bank cash-sweep services for employee benefit plans Unknown
EBSA said a bank’s cash-sweep service could qualify for the ERISA service exemption if its conditions were met, and the described fees did not themselves violate the specified self-dealing rules. It…
Positive locking hook latch for crane personnel platforms Unknown
An equipment user asked whether a proposed crane hook latch met the positive locking requirement for personnel platforms. OSHA said its gravity latch could dislodge and suggested a bolt-and-nut…
Transferring from an aerial lift to a fixed structure Unknown
An aerial equipment maker asked for clarification on transferring workers from a lift basket to a fixed structure. OSHA said the worker should secure a drop line and transfer the lanyard to the…
Bank employee medical plan during 1980 to June 1981 Unknown
EBSA said a bank’s employee medical plan was an ERISA welfare plan during 1980 through June 15, 1981, on the facts given. It expressed no view on plan compliance or the later period with a different…
Meal periods spent confined to the employer's premises count as hours worked
An attorney asked DLSE to explain its position under Section 11 of the Industrial Welfare Commission orders on employees required to remain on the employer's premises during meal periods. DLSE…
Rollover protection for a moving backhoe operator's seat
A manufacturer asked whether a tractor with a backhoe attachment could move slowly while operated from a backhoe seat without rollover protection. OSHA said the unprotected seat met the construction…
Spliced pump-jack scaffold poles
A scaffold association asked whether pump-jack poles could be made from spliced two-by-fours. OSHA said splices could replace continuous members when constructed to develop the full strength of each…
California pharmacists trust and ERISA plan status Unknown
EBSA said a pharmacists association trust was not itself an ERISA welfare plan because the association was neither a qualifying employer group nor employee organization. State regulation of the…
Hazardous-waste training and professional certification
A certified hazardous materials manager asked whether his certification was equivalent to HAZWOPER's 40-hour training requirement. OSHA said it does not approve or disapprove generic courses or…
Immigration reform and unemployment claims procedures
ETA explained how immigration-status verification requirements affect unemployment claim taking, benefit determinations, and information sharing with INS. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Wood dust under the hazard communication standard Unknown
OSHA told its regional offices that wood dust was covered by the expanded hazard communication rule, reversing an earlier policy against citations. The memo said wood dust should be treated as a…
Disclosure of trustees minutes reviewing investments Unknown
EBSA said trustees’ minutes did not become disclosable under ERISA section 104(b)(4) solely because they reviewed an investment manager’s performance. Minutes that actually established or operated a…
Quality-control program improvement studies Unknown
ETA set guidance for state quality-control studies intended to support improvements in unemployment program administration and use of QC data. Current status is unconfirmed.
ERISA preemption of Arkansas pharmacy-choice law Unknown
EBSA said Arkansas Act 489 was preempted insofar as it applied to ERISA-covered employee benefit plans and did not qualify for a cited statutory exception. It did not decide that exception’s…
Utah education trust retirement plan as governmental Unknown
EBSA said a retirement plan maintained through a trust formed by Utah school districts and public education agencies constituted one or more governmental plans excluded from ERISA Title I. It left…
Municipal hospital deferred compensation plan Unknown
EBSA said a California municipal hospital’s deferred compensation plan was a governmental plan excluded from ERISA Title I because the hospital was a city agency and, according to the requester, the…
Lifelines on two-point suspended powered platforms Unknown
An engineer asked about fall protection for workers on two-point suspended powered platforms. OSHA said its instruction did not bar use of the standard’s lifeline options, discussed precautions for…
Plastic meat-wrap fumes and hazard communication
A lawyer asked which OSHA requirements might apply when workers wrap meat in plastic. OSHA said any released contaminants must first be identified before matching them to air-contaminant standards,…
Grain dust under the hazard communication rule
A member of Congress asked about the expanded hazard communication rule on behalf of a grain industry constituent. OSHA said grain dust was covered because of explosion and respiratory hazards,…
How this guidance is useful
- See how the agency reads the law: An opinion letter shows how a state labor agency actually applied wage-and-hour law to a real employer's or worker's situation.
- Check the status before relying: Every page shows whether the document is still active or has been superseded, rescinded, or withdrawn, and when that status was last verified.
- Guidance, not law: These documents explain the agency's position but bind no court, and the agency can change its view. The official document linked on every page is the authoritative source.
- Research across states: Compare how different states treat the same question, from overtime and travel time to tips and independent-contractor status.
Browse guidance by state
This library covers 8 states plus federal guidance so far. Every document is checked against the agency's official source before it is published, so states are added as their labor departments' guidance is verified, not all at once. If your state is not listed yet, its labor department's own site is the place to check.