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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Broker-dealer discretion under interim exemption Unknown
DOL answered a request about a then interim securities-industry exemption. Merely giving advice did not by itself make a broker-dealer a discretionary adviser or controller. Actual discretionary…
Suspending vested pensions for competitive activity Unknown
A pension plan permitted suspension of retiree benefits for activity deemed competitive or prejudicial to the employer. DOL said ERISA’s then vesting standards did not allow that reason for…
Employer or union prepaid legal plans are welfare plans Unknown
DOL stated that prepaid legal service plans established or maintained by an employer or employee organization fall within ERISA’s welfare-plan definition and are subject to Title I parts 1 and 4.…
Flying-scale guards on forging hammers
A forge sought a variance from the requirement for a scale guard behind its hammers. OSHA said the described operation fell outside that requirement because operators worked around the hammers and…
Indicia of plan asset ownership abroad Unknown
A requester asked about ERISA section 404(b)’s ban on keeping indicia of plan asset ownership outside U.S. court jurisdiction absent regulation. DOL said the rule concerned evidence of ownership,…
When a city firefighter pension is outside ERISA Unknown
A retired city firefighter asked whether ERISA guaranteed pension payments after a disaster. DOL said that, if the pension plan was established and maintained by the city for its employees, it was a…
Self-adjusting lower guards on radial saws Unknown
A college asked OSHA to approve a plastic lower-blade guard for radial saws. OSHA said it did not approve proprietary products, but the described guard appeared to meet the rule because it adjusted…
Fan blade guards and variance request Unknown
A grocery company sought relief from guarding fan blades near employees. OSHA said limiting the fans to low speed was not an acceptable substitute for guards and suggested disconnecting decorative…
Insurance general account policies as plan assets Unknown
A requester asked about fiduciary responsibility when a plan buys policies backed by an insurer’s general account. DOL said the policies, rather than the insurer’s underlying assets, were plan…
Student workers and pension eligibility Unknown
An educational institution sought a permanent exclusion for full-time student employees. DOL said ERISA broadly defined employee and gave the Secretary no authority to grant such an exemption. It…
Protective gear for supermarket meat cutters Unknown
A senator asked when supermarket meat cutters needed protective equipment and what happened if workers refused it. OSHA said gear was required when it could prevent a reasonably probable injury;…
State-regulated retirement association as insurer for trust rule Unknown
A nonprofit retirement association asked whether its annuity contracts qualified for ERISA section 403(b)’s insurance exception to the trust requirement. Based on state licensing, insurer-like…
Emergency lighting and floor-load signs Unknown
A postal safety official asked about exit lighting and floor-load signs for private employers. OSHA said its then-current rule required reliable exit illumination but no separate emergency-lighting…
Securing a transmission tower while suspended by helicopter
A requester asked whether OSHA's ground-lines rule prevented a helicopter from positioning a two-legged electrical transmission tower. OSHA said it did not. The agency said some base bolts could be…
Collectively bargained vacation trust is an ERISA welfare plan Unknown
DOL found the described jointly bargained vacation trust to be an ERISA welfare plan subject to reporting, disclosure, and fiduciary requirements. It said the parties could decide whether to…
Puerto Rico welfare plans under ERISA Title I Unknown
A requester asked whether ERISA Title I covered an employee welfare plan maintained in Puerto Rico. DOL said ERISA’s state definition includes Puerto Rico and that a covered welfare plan was subject…
Fire-treated cardboard in a spray booth
A manufacturer sought a variance to use fire-treated cardboard on the floor and lower walls of a spray booth to simplify cleanup. OSHA said the described use met the spray-booth rule's intent, so no…
Aerial-lift basket use while traveling to a pole Unknown
An electrical workers' union asked whether aerial-lift rules barred riding in a basket and transferring to a pole. OSHA said the cited work-position rules applied while performing the task, not…
Electrical product approvals and testing laboratories Unknown
A standards organization asked about changes to the National Electrical Code and recognition of electrical-product approvals. OSHA described the code's revised enforcement text and said it could not…
Claims procedures in plan documents Unknown
A requester asked whether ERISA claims procedures had to appear in the written plan instrument when already in plan and summary descriptions. DOL said section 503 and the then proposed regulation…
Hydraulic restrictors on log-handling machines
OSHA reviewed a variance dispute over hydraulically operated log-handling machines. Its January 1975 answer said installing restrictors met the standard's intent to prevent a load or fork from…
Guarding by location on a machine with foot treadle Unknown
A manufacturer sought a variance from point-of-operation guarding for a modified machine. OSHA said moving the foot treadle and using a hand lever appeared to provide acceptable guarding by…
Gasoline drums used for construction-site refueling
An OSHA area office asked whether a pickup truck could carry 55-gallon gasoline drums and dispense fuel with a hand pump at construction sites. OSHA said that setup was permissible if the drums were…
Crane swing-radius memorandum and standard text Unknown
A contractor asked how an OSHA field memorandum affected the crane swing-radius standard. OSHA said a field memorandum could address part of a standard but did not alter it, and inspectors still had…
Safe ladder access to scaffold platforms Unknown
A contractor asked what counted as safe scaffold access. OSHA said attached portable ladders had to meet ladder rules and integral scaffold ladders could be acceptable if properly designed and…
Ground crews beneath hovering helicopters
OSHA clarified whether workers could work beneath a hovering helicopter to position a power-distribution tower. It said the cited construction rule contemplated such work when needed to guide and…
Vehicle standards for construction sites and deliveries
OSHA responded to a request to clarify which construction vehicle rule applied to equipment moving on a jobsite and vehicles delivering to it. The memorandum discusses Sections 1926.601 and 1926.602…
Union severance pay plan treated as an ERISA pension plan Unknown
DOL explained that the described union-funded severance plan is an ERISA pension plan to the extent it defers employees' income until their employment ends or later. The determination concerned a…
Historical ERISA view on sex discrimination in pensions Superseded
This 1974 letter discussed different pension participation rules and smaller early retirement annuity payments for women under the law then in effect. Its age-25 ERISA participation threshold has…
Clamshell buckets in demolition work Unknown
A demolition contractor asked whether clamshell buckets could be used. OSHA said they were not categorically prohibited, but the operation still had to meet demolition and crane rules, including…
Unemployment claimants in approved training
ETA explained when states must preserve unemployment benefits for claimants in approved training, how training allowances may affect payments, and which agency approves interstate training. ETA…
Scaffold platform widths and a proposed minimum Unknown
An internal OSHA memo identified scaffold types whose then-current rules lacked a general minimum platform width, while two-point suspension scaffolds had a 20-inch rule. The author recommended a…
Stair railings in public-use buildings Unknown
An OSHA region asked about railings on very wide stairways. OSHA said its stairway rule applied to stairs intended for employees, while the described public-use building stairway design fell outside…
Open-flame work on rope-supported staging Unknown
An OSHA field office asked about welding and other open-flame work on suspended staging. OSHA said it was prohibited where the staging was supported by fiber or synthetic rope, with stated…
Tenant employer responsibility for floor-load postings Unknown
An insurer asked who would be cited if a building owner refused to help a tenant evaluate and post floor loads. OSHA said the tenant employer remained responsible for exposed employees and would be…
Roll-over protection for trenchers and snow vehicles
A trade group asked whether trenchers and snow vehicles needed roll-over protective structures. OSHA said its standards did not require them on snow vehicles, but did require them on wheeled…
Records of welding-equipment inspections
A company asked whether OSHA maintained or approved forms for recording welding-equipment inspections. OSHA said it had no such forms and would accept any practical recordkeeping method an employer…
Sod growing and incidental installation as agriculture Unknown
A lawyer asked whether growing sod and installing it as a minor part of the same business counted as agriculture. OSHA's solicitor said both activities did on the specific facts presented, while the…
Nonprofit reimbursement options for elective coverage
ETA explained that federal law permits states to choose contribution or reimbursement treatment for small nonprofit employers covered only by election, while required coverage carries a contribution…
Fall protection at formwork deck edges Unknown
An OSHA standards official explained how the construction fall-protection rule applied at formwork decks. Workers at open sides generally needed railings or equivalents; leading-edge deck installers…
Flammable-liquid rule applied to wineries
OSHA issued a standard notice explaining how its flammable-liquid rule applied to wineries. It said Section 1910.106(i) governed and that wine held in tanks or vats before bottling was part of…
Cable and chain guards at construction openings Unknown
An OSHA regional memo addressed cable and chain barriers at construction floor and wall openings. It set regional criteria for strength, anchoring, tension, visibility, and toeboards so those…
Exit-door locks and illuminated exit signs Unknown
OSHA staff asked how exit-door locks and exit-sign lighting rules worked. OSHA said exit doors had to open from the egress side without a key and described acceptable release hardware and sign…
Maximum safeguards for reimbursing nonprofits
ETA explained that the combined safeguards imposed on a reimbursing nonprofit should not exceed the state’s maximum contribution rate applied to that employer’s annual taxable payroll. ETA still…
Disaster-related benefit noncharging and experience rating
ETA changed its prior position and allowed states to omit employer charges for benefits directly caused by a presidentially declared major natural disaster under specified conditions. ETA still…
Color of workplace exit signs
An employer asked whether OSHA prohibited red exit signs. OSHA said its cited exit-marking rule did not ban red; any color or combination was acceptable if the sign was readily visible or…
Torres and Dinger ruling on benefit termination
ETA explained that the Torres and Dinger decisions supported informal interviews before suspension or termination of unemployment benefits without a full prior hearing. ETA still lists the letter as…
Aisle marking colors and recommended widths Unknown
OSHA field offices asked what aisle markings would comply in industrial workplaces. OSHA said line color and pattern could vary if they clearly marked the aisle, and gave widths for markings and…
Experience recapture for returning employers
ETA explained that a returning employer who recaptures prior experience may still be treated as newly covered for reduced-rate eligibility, subject to the state’s lawful rating method. ETA still…
Small-package alcoholic beverage exemption
A distilled-spirits group asked OSHA to confirm an exemption for alcoholic beverages under its flammable-liquid storage rule. OSHA said beverages packaged in units of one gallon or less were exempt…
Procedures for implementing the Java decision
ETA sent model procedures for implementing the Supreme Court’s Java decision, including notice before determination and prompt benefit payment. It urged states that had not revised their own…
Draft state legislation implementing Java
ETA supplied draft state-law language and an explanation to implement prompt benefit payment after the Java decision. The letter names an explanatory statement and draft legislation as attachments.…
Java decision on prompt benefit payment
ETA explained that the Java decision requires prompt benefit payment after an allowance despite a pending appeal, plus notice and an opportunity for claimant and employer input before the…
Revised claim filing and employment-service standards
ETA explained revised standards that gave states more flexibility in filing and reporting including optional biweekly claim filing and payment and continued access to employment services. ETA still…
New work and prevailing wage conditions
ETA explained when an offer counts as “new work” for unemployment claims and when prevailing local conditions must be assessed. Any offer from a former employer after the employment contract has…
Reopening missed benefit appeal hearings
The Bureau of Employment Security explained that a claimant who misses a benefit appeal hearing for good cause must be able to request reopening within a reasonable time. ETA still lists the letter…
South Dakota wage-based benefit disqualification decision
ETA published the Secretary’s decision finding that South Dakota’s wage-based periods of benefit ineligibility conflicted with federal unemployment compensation requirements. The complete decision…
Uncashed unemployment checks and state funds
The Bureau of Employment Security explained that uncashed checks drawn on unemployment benefit or administration accounts cannot be transferred to a state general fund, and instructed states to…
Disaster-related benefit charges under experience rating Withdrawn
The Bureau of Employment Security reported that the Secretary found disaster-related noncharging provisions in two state laws inconsistent with federal requirements. Pennsylvania’s provision…
Interstate localization of work for UI coverage Unknown
The Bureau of Employment Security recommended a uniform interpretation of state-law tests for deciding which state's unemployment law covers work across state lines. Those laws call for considering…
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.