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.
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Collective plan investments and fiduciary conflicts Unknown
EBSA said the proposed collective trust’s service and deposit transactions could qualify for ERISA exemptions if their conditions were met, and said initial appointments by independent plan…
Pension suspension overpayment offsets Unknown
EBSA explained how a multiemployer pension fund could recover benefits paid during work that permitted suspension. The first resumed payment could be fully offset, but later payments were generally…
Realtors insurance trust plan status Unknown
EBSA said the national realtors association did not maintain a single ERISA welfare plan through its insurance trust on the submitted membership and control facts. An employer using the trust to…
Plan futures margin and broker fiduciary duties Unknown
EBSA said a plan trading futures held contract rights, while margin assets held by the futures broker were not themselves plan assets on the described terms. It addressed trust custody and when the…
Hospital ambulance workers in one health plan Unknown
EBSA said Orange Memorial Hospital and its ambulance service were under common control because the hospital appointed the service’s board. Covering ambulance workers therefore did not by itself end…
University payroll deductions for credit-union IRAs Unknown
EBSA said a university’s multipurpose payroll-deduction system did not become an ERISA pension plan merely because employees could use it for credit-union IRAs. Employer contributions, endorsement…
Workfare food stamps and UI benefit entitlement Unknown
ETA explained how mandatory food-stamp workfare allotments affect weekly unemployment benefit entitlement. Current status is unconfirmed.
Pension-claim arbitration costs and review Unknown
The Department said making a claimant share arbitration costs equally with the trust contravened ERISA's reasonableness rule if arbitration was compulsory or the trust lacked a full and fair review…
Fire hose size and reel requirements
An equipment committee asked about small hoses under OSHA’s fire protection rule. OSHA said the cited small hose was fire department hard rubber booster hose. A hose reel was preferred but not…
Chromate exposure limit as an eight hour average Unknown
A chemical company asked how OSHA's chromic acid and chromates exposure limit applied to strontium chromate and how the limit was measured. OSHA said the table had printed the limit under the wrong…
Real estate repayment of participant loans prohibited Unknown
EBSA said a participant’s transfer of real estate to repay a plan loan was a prohibited property exchange under the Internal Revenue Code, even if the loan qualified for an exemption. A trustee…
Law-firm medical leave as payroll practice Unknown
EBSA said a law firm’s salary continuation during approved medical absences, paid from general assets, was a payroll practice outside ERISA welfare-plan coverage. Unpaid personal leave was also…
GM income stream benefit as welfare plan Unknown
EBSA said General Motors’ guaranteed income stream program was an ERISA welfare plan and did not appear to be a pension plan on the submitted facts. It did not need to decide whether payments were…
Flammable-liquid storage in unit physical operations
A company asked which flammable-liquid storage provisions applied to indoor tanks associated with acid tank vehicle loading. OSHA said the described facility appeared to be a unit physical…
Settlement arbitrator as plan fiduciary Unknown
EBSA said an arbitrator deciding how a welfare plan should pursue settlement reimbursement was acting as a plan fiduciary because he exercised discretion over plan administration. The opinion did…
Affiliate pooled-fund investments and fees Unknown
EBSA said certain investments among affiliated bank pooled funds could qualify under ERISA section 408(b)(8) if its conditions were met. It would not give blanket self-dealing clearance, especially…
Original health claims required for record retention Unknown
EBSA said a welfare trust could not rely only on annual-report recap sheets to meet ERISA’s six-year record-retention rule. Original claims records were needed to verify and explain the reported…
Floor-opening safeguards at bus and rail repair pits Unknown
A transit authority asked how the floor opening rule applied to bus and rail repair pits. OSHA said covered pits did not violate the cited rule during maintenance. For uncovered pits, it accepted a…
Guarding bus and rail repair pits Unknown
A transit agency asked how OSHA's floor opening rule applied to bus and rail repair pits. OSHA said maintenance work over a pit covered by a vehicle was permissible, and employees could walk at…
Plan investment committee and trustee liability Unknown
The Labor Department said appointing an unpaid investment committee to act as the trustees’ arm would not, by itself, contravene ERISA’s trustee-control rule. The trustees remained liable for…
Reuters pension fund foreign-plan exclusion Unknown
EBSA concluded that the Reuters pension fund was maintained abroad primarily for nonresident aliens and was outside ERISA Title I under the foreign-plan exclusion. Two companion letters in one PDF…
Sheet-metal pension plan established despite waivers Unknown
EBSA said the sheet-metal companies had established their pension plan despite a claimed lack of intent to implement it. It cited benefits accrued for four workers to reject the no-accrual argument,…
Later eye protection standard and visitor spectacles Unknown
An Army officer asked about eye protection standards and visitor spectacles. OSHA said a later ANSI edition did not become an OSHA requirement without rulemaking, though the agency accepted products…
Helene Curtis pre-ERISA asset sale transition Unknown
The Labor Department said the proposed sale of Empro stock and the plan's trademark interests to Helene Curtis could use the cited transition relief if all statutory conditions were met. Empro was a…
Ford income stream benefit as welfare plan Unknown
EBSA said Ford’s guaranteed income stream program was an ERISA welfare plan and did not appear to be a pension plan on the facts submitted. It did not need to choose between unemployment and…
Employer trust denied welfare reporting exemption Unknown
EBSA said the employer-controlled Bordine trust was not an employee organization, so its welfare program could not use the cited limited reporting exemption. The agency left the trust’s tax status…
When pension trustees must disclose meeting minutes Unknown
EBSA said trustee meeting minutes were not automatically documents that a plan administrator must furnish under ERISA. Minutes that establish or operate the plan, such as minutes setting a claims…
Multiemployer sick-pay tax reporting duties Unknown
EBSA said multiemployer plan trustees should choose the least costly feasible method for sick-pay tax reporting and employer FICA obligations, reassessing as facts change. An employer-affiliated…
Side guards for pneumatic plier straightening presses Unknown
A tool manufacturer sought guidance after a variance request for two pneumatic plier straightening presses was denied. OSHA said the open sides exposed operators to pinch points and described…
Plan investment adviser fees and expense advances Unknown
The Labor Department addressed a trust’s proposed fiduciary service arrangements and said furnishing office space to trustees was not a transaction between a plan and a party in interest, while…
Employee exposure record rule for finished-product warehouses
A distributor asked whether OSHA’s exposure and medical records rule applied to offices and warehouses handling finished consumer products. OSHA said the rule did not appear to apply where workplace…
Partnership fund investment manager delegation Unknown
Assuming the fund’s assets were plan assets, the Department said the described arrangement would permit delegation of management to the fund’s investment manager under ERISA section 403(a)(2). Its…
Oil-and-gas royalty bonus outside pension status Unknown
EBSA said Forest Oil’s royalty bonus was not an ERISA pension plan by its written terms because payments were not tied to retirement or employment termination. Systematic deferral in actual…
Backup alarms on construction equipment
An alarm maker asked what OSHA required for backup alarms. OSHA pointed to its construction vehicle and earthmoving equipment rules and said compliant alarms were acceptable, but OSHA did not…
Four union health funds covered by ERISA and predecessor law Unknown
EBSA concluded that four named laborers and carpenters health and welfare funds were covered by ERISA Title I and had also been covered by the earlier Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act. The…
Conrail payroll deduction IRA program and ERISA status Unknown
EBSA said Conrail’s selection and review of IRA sponsors did not alone make its payroll deduction program an ERISA pension plan. The program would remain outside that definition only if all…
Crane certification in marine construction Unknown
An OSHA regional office asked when longshoring certification requirements apply to cranes used in marine construction. OSHA said marine construction cranes were not subject to those certification…
Sponsor-paid trustee and brokerage services for benefit plans Unknown
EBSA said The Ohio Company’s proposed trustee and brokerage service arrangement could use the ERISA exemption for necessary services if its conditions were met. Sponsor payment and independent…
Coal-mine burial fund is an ERISA welfare plan Unknown
EBSA found that a voluntary coal-mine employee association’s death benefit fund was an ERISA welfare plan. Its cash death payments were more than the small remembrances excluded by regulation, so…
Trustee repurchase agreements with IRA and Keogh plans Unknown
EBSA said Home Federal, acting as trustee, would engage in a prohibited transaction if it caused the described IRA or Keogh plans to buy its own repurchase agreements. The agency did not decide any…
Eligibility Review Program operations
ETA urged state agencies to operate the Eligibility Review Program in all local offices and described review practices. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Puerto Rico IRA tax bill and ERISA fiduciary duties Unknown
EBSA said Puerto Rico’s proposed IRA tax provisions would not be preempted merely because they were income tax laws. IRA programs that were ERISA pension plans would still have to meet federal…
Dissimilar metals in tube and coupler scaffolds Unknown
A scaffold company asked whether aluminum tubes and steel clamps could be used together. OSHA said permanent use of dissimilar metals would reduce design strength, but short-term use without…
Photochromatic safety lenses in changing light Unknown
An optical company asked for OSHA's ruling on photochromatic safety lenses. OSHA said variable tint lenses were unsuitable for indoor work with changing light, but could be used in steadier indoor…
Bank affiliate mortgage investment services and fiduciary duties Unknown
EBSA said the bank and an investment affiliate would be fiduciaries in the described mortgage investment programs. Their services could qualify for ERISA exemptions if the statutory conditions,…
Tree-trimming saddle belt testing
An attorney asked how tree-trimming saddle belts should be tested. OSHA said its standards did not then provide a specific procedure. The described test appeared to meet the Act’s intent if…
Respirators for isocyanate paint spraying Unknown
A respirator company asked about protection during spraying of isocyanate-containing paints. OSHA said negative-pressure paint spray respirators did not provide adequate protection because leaks or…
Safety footwear availability in logging
An OSHA region asked how the logging footwear provision related to the general protective equipment rule. OSHA said the same interpretation applied: employers had to make appropriate safety footwear…
Single stroke mechanisms on enclosed power presses Unknown
An OSHA regional office asked how to classify a missing single stroke mechanism on a full revolution mechanical power press. OSHA said it could be treated as a de minimis violation only when the…
Inspection limits for commercial diving firms in 1982 Unknown
A Washington resident questioned why OSHA was not routinely inspecting small commercial diving operations. OSHA explained that a 1982 funding rider restricted programmed safety inspections of…
Employer requests for plan reports and trustee minutes Unknown
EBSA said ERISA did not generally require a plan to furnish trustee minutes and other requested documents to a contributing employer who was neither a participant nor a beneficiary. Some minutes…
Employer-stock sale between profit-sharing and stock plans Unknown
EBSA said a proposed employer-stock sale from one Yellow Freight plan to its stock ownership plan could qualify for ERISA’s exemption if the price was adequate consideration. It declined to decide…
Manufacturer eligibility for a scaffold variance Unknown
A scaffold manufacturer asked for a variance from a construction rule on dissimilar metals in tube and coupler scaffolds. OSHA said only an employer could seek a variance for its affected workers,…
Child-support withholding from unemployment benefits
ETA explained how state agencies should implement withholding of unemployment benefits for child-support obligations. ETA still lists the letter as continuing.
Construction pneumatic demolition tools
A tool maker asked whether OSHA regulated the backhead design of handheld pavement breakers. OSHA said the construction pneumatic tool rule did not specify that component’s design. It said pneumatic…
Construction blasting equipment and drilling near loaded holes
A state labor commissioner asked about equipment near blast holes and drilling near loaded holes. OSHA explained which vehicles and machinery must be removed during loading and blast preparation. It…
Damaged synthetic web slings with protective outer yarns
A manufacturer asked when synthetic web slings had to be removed from service. OSHA said damage reducing load capacity required removal, but slings designed with non-load-bearing protective jacket…
Reynolds retirement account plan and employer stock Unknown
The Labor Department said Reynolds’ adopted Individual Retirement Account Plan would be an ERISA pension and individual account plan. It would also qualify as a savings plan and eligible individual…
Noise action levels for work shifts over eight hours
An employer asked how the noise standard applies to shifts longer than eight hours. OSHA said the Table G-16 limit used for controls was not adjusted below 90 dB for longer shifts. The 85 dB hearing…
Employer payment of IRA payroll administration fees Unknown
EBSA said an employer could pay an IRA sponsor’s fee for operating payroll deductions without that payment alone making the IRA program an ERISA pension plan, if the fee was for the deduction…
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.
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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.