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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Metal cable ladders used on exhaust stacks
A construction company asked whether a steel cable ladder attached to an exhaust stack is allowed and which ladder rules apply. OSHA said it is a fixed ladder, not a portable one, because it cannot…
Super Brace sheathing as wall opening fall protection
A homebuilder asked whether Super Brace sheathing could guard wall openings during construction. OSHA said the reported test data appeared to meet guardrail strength and deflection requirements for…
Canadian inspection of a crane used in the United States Unknown
A crane owner asked whether an annual inspection by a competent person in Canada would count before using the crane in the United States. OSHA said the cited standard did not specify where the…
Revised PY 2003 dislocated worker allotment distribution Rescinded
ETA corrected the timing of Program Year 2003 dislocated worker formula allotments between the July and October distributions. The correction changed when states and the National Reserve received…
Wet handling and disposal for demolition materials below one percent asbestos
A contracting official asked whether wet handling, prompt cleanup, and disposal requirements apply when demolition material contains less than one percent asbestos. OSHA answered yes for the two…
Concrete strength tests before steel erection
A construction safety coordinator asked whether concrete sample cylinders may be warmed in cold weather and whether Windsor Probe or Pin tests can replace field cured sample tests before steel…
Safe methods to locate underground utilities
A pipeline safety consultant asked whether hydro vacuum excavation or nonconductive hand tools can safely expose buried utilities. OSHA said nonconductive hand tools used with appropriate caution…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefit amounts for October–December 2003 Withdrawn
ETA sent state agencies minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from October through December 2003. Its attachment lists each jurisdiction's average…
Private right of action to enforce meal period pay under IWC orders and Labor Code section 226.7
An attorney asked whether employees have a private right of action to recover the extra hour of pay owed when an employer fails to provide a required meal or rest period under Labor Code section…
Hazard communication carcinogen listings and mixture threshold
A lawyer asked whether OSHA's Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3 exposure tables are lists of recognized carcinogens for hazard communication. OSHA said they are not; the letter identifies substance specific…
PY 2003 workforce information grant planning and allocations Rescinded
ETA told states how to apply for and manage Program Year 2003 grants for workforce information products and services. It gave state allocations, required products, application procedures and annual…
OSHA training officer and the professional exemption
An OSHA training officer asked whether duties such as training investigators, presenting standards, and answering public questions met the FLSA professional exemption. WHD said the job did not…
PY 2003 customer satisfaction index formula weights Rescinded
ETA issued state specific formula weights for calculating American Customer Satisfaction Index scores from workforce program surveys. States were to use the attachment's weights for employer,…
Employer securities in a GM and Hughes stock exchange Unknown
GM asked how ERISA employer-security rules applied when its plans exchanged GM Class H shares for Hughes shares. EBSA said both classes were qualifying employer securities before the transaction…
FY 2004 TAA training and administration allocations under the continuing resolution Rescinded
ETA allocated Trade Adjustment Assistance training and administration funds to states through October 31, 2003, while Congress operated under a continuing resolution. The letter explains that each…
FY 2004 TAA formula planning estimates and reserve funding requests Rescinded
ETA replaced its grant request approach for most Trade Adjustment Assistance training funds with state formula allocations for FY 2004. The letter describes a 75 percent formula pool, a 25 percent…
Commercial producers health fund as ERISA plan and MEWA Unknown
A commercial producers association asked whether its health fund was one ERISA welfare plan and a fully insured multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said the member employers could form a…
State-government council employees in Kentucky retirement system Unknown
A Council of State Governments official asked whether its employees could participate in Kentucky’s public retirement system without affecting its ERISA status. EBSA said the association’s joint…
Interim Enhanced Enforcement Program instructions Unknown
OSHA instructed its regional administrators to identify priority enforcement cases from specified serious, repeat, willful, fatality, and failure to abate findings. It described follow up…
Warning lines and controlled zones for roofing fall protection Unknown
A fall protection consultant asked whether warning lines or controlled access zones could be used on steep roofs and how the rules apply to metal roofing. OSHA explained when a residential fall…
Implementing veterans' priority in DOL workforce programs Rescinded
ETA told states and DOL funded workforce partners how to apply the Jobs for Veterans Act's service priority for eligible veterans and certain spouses. The priority applied only after a person met a…
Fall protection plans and safety monitors in precast concrete work
A precast concrete industry representative raised concerns about uneven enforcement of fall protection plan rules. OSHA cited its policy allowing contractors to use the sample plan's stated reasons…
FUTA receipts and funds returned to states, FY 2001–2002 Withdrawn
ETA supplied fiscal 2001 and 2002 state tables comparing estimated Federal Unemployment Tax Act receipts with federal funds returned for administration and benefits. It also supplied a cumulative…
Asbestos gasket replacement on process equipment
A process equipment company asked which OSHA asbestos standard covers routine replacement of an asbestos containing gasket on a reactor. OSHA said the general industry asbestos standard applies…
Mutual fund profile delivery under ERISA section 404(c) Unknown
A plan service provider asked whether delivering an SEC mutual fund Profile around a participant’s first investment satisfied ERISA section 404(c) regulations. EBSA said it did when the Profile was…
Needlestick law outreach and healthcare compliance data
A member of Congress asked how OSHA had implemented the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act and whether it could measure healthcare facilities' compliance. OSHA described training, enforcement…
Youth loading tools onto city work trucks
WHD considered 14- and 15-year-olds loading tools into trucks for city park work. It said the work normally fell within child-labor transportation prohibitions, but announced a narrow discretionary…
Youth work in city parks, pools, and libraries
WHD answered a city’s questions about employing minors in parks, swimming pools, and libraries. It described a discretionary position for some work by 14- and 15-year-olds while retaining federal…
Temporary labor certification procedures for entertainment employers Rescinded
ETA gave state workforce agencies special procedures for temporary labor certification applications in the entertainment industry. The attached guidance set out where employers file, recruitment and…
Open toe shoes in office and warehouse work
An office employee asked whether open toe shoes were prohibited at a desk job with occasional contact with warehouse and pharmacy areas. OSHA said it has no general office shoe ban; protective…
OSHA review of chemical hazard communication Unknown
A senator asked about the accuracy of material safety data sheets and OSHA's review of reactive chemical hazards. OSHA described the review it was conducting in 2003, draft guidance it planned to…
Listed equipment and building management systems
A building controls specialist asked which OSHA requirement could apply if listed equipment were installed contrary to its listing or label instructions. OSHA pointed to 29 CFR 1910.303(b)(2), which…
Perimeter columns and safety cables at roof level
A steel erector asked whether perimeter columns must extend 48 inches above the finished roof. OSHA said the cited column height requirement refers to the next tier, so it does not apply after the…
Guarding fan blades in air handling equipment
A safety consultant asked about guarding blades on cooling fans and air handling units. OSHA said fan blades within seven feet of a floor or working level must be guarded with openings no wider than…
Data validation policy for employment and training programs Rescinded
ETA required states and grantees to validate employment and training data reported to the agency. It distinguished checks of aggregate report calculations from checks of participant records against…
Safety colors and markings on machinery
A risk management consultant asked whether OSHA always cites missing color coding on machinery and which machine parts must be marked. OSHA said neither its safety color rule nor the cited ANSI…
State agency questions on advance Health Coverage Tax Credit implementation Rescinded
ETA answered state workforce agencies' questions about identifying and reporting eligible Trade Adjustment Assistance recipients for the advance Health Coverage Tax Credit that began in August 2003.…
Immediate audiogram retests after a threshold shift
An occupational nurse asked whether an immediate second hearing test uses up an employer's chance to retest a possible standard threshold shift. OSHA said the noise standard does not limit the…
Preliminary 2003 average employer UI contribution rates Withdrawn
ETA sent state workforce agencies preliminary 2003 employer unemployment insurance contribution rates and actual rates for 2001 and 2002. One attachment reports rates by state on taxable and total…
Master-trust reallocation of employer securities Unknown
A plan sponsor asked whether moving employer stock from one participating plan’s account to other plan accounts in exchange for equal-value assets counted as an acquisition. EBSA said it did; if a…
Stipended elder-services volunteers may keep volunteer status after funding ends
A nonprofit social service agency asked whether it could keep treating its elder-services volunteers as volunteers, rather than employees, after the state grant funding their small stipends ended,…
Interim instructions for Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance for older workers Rescinded
ETA gave states interim instructions for certifying and paying older workers under the Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance program. Eligible workers aged at least 50 who found different…
Minors and Bloodborne Pathogens in Non-Medical Settings
This L&I administrative policy explains that minors are not categorically barred from working in child day care, bathroom-cleaning, or hotel/motel housekeeping jobs, but are prohibited from tasks…
Meal break spent required to stay on premises counts as compensable working time
An employer asked whether an uninterrupted half-hour meal break, during which no work is permitted but employees must remain on the premises, counts as compensable "working time." DLS adopted the…
Hazardous materials response training for firefighters
A state safety official asked whether firefighters trained only at the awareness level could respond to a suspected hazardous substance release to confirm it. OSHA said a suspected release already…
Lodging deduction caps and the 2003 repeal of nightly on-call minimum pay
An employer asked three questions about wage deductions and on-call pay: whether housing, utilities, and cable can be credited toward minimum wage; whether employees on nightly on-call duty must be…
No-fault attendance policies and FMLA leave
WHD addressed an attendance point system that could lead to termination after seven absences. It said a no-fault policy does not necessarily violate the FMLA, but employers may not assess points for…
NFPA 70E and construction multi employer responsibilities Unknown
A construction industry association asked whether a general contractor must enforce a subcontractor's compliance with NFPA 70E and what duties facility owners have for electrical hazards. OSHA said…
FMLA complaint and employer bankruptcy
A complainant asked WHD to revisit an FMLA termination complaint after the employer filed for bankruptcy. WHD said it could bring an enforcement action and seek appropriate injunctive relief despite…
Alternative guardrails instead of perimeter safety cables
A steel erector asked whether wooden or other guardrails can satisfy the perimeter safety cable requirement on multistory structures. OSHA said alternatives can meet the rule when installers have…
OMB approval of UCX forms ETA 843 and ETA 841 Withdrawn
ETA told state workforce agencies that OMB had extended approval for forms ETA 843 and ETA 841 in the Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers program. It supplied the approval number,…
Lockable control circuit switch for machine servicing Unknown
A machine operator asked whether a lockable switch in an emergency stop circuit could serve as a lockout device during servicing. OSHA said a control circuit device does not meet its energy…
Compensation systems and the FLSA salary-basis test
An energy company asked whether exempt employees could track hours, receive straight-time or other additional pay, and still satisfy the FLSA salary-basis test. WHD said the described system…
External GFCI testers during construction inspections
An OSHA regional office asked whether compliance officers may use external testers to check construction site ground fault circuit interrupters. OSHA said an approved tester's positive reading can…
Snaphook connections in fall arrest systems
A construction worker asked what it means for a locking snaphook to be designed for a connection and whether two hooks may share a harness Dee ring. OSHA said the manufacturer must specifically…
Glass containers for flammable reagent chemicals
A law firm asked whether laboratories could use glass containers allowed by NFPA 30 even when the cited OSHA flammable liquids table was stricter, and whether a four liter container could substitute…
Fall protection on ladder jack scaffolds Unknown
A construction coordinator asked when ladder jack scaffold workers need fall protection and whether scaffold platforms may exceed twenty feet. OSHA said scaffold rules require personal fall arrest…
Open neutral protection in construction GFCIs
A contractor asked whether construction site ground fault interrupters lacking open neutral protection had to be replaced. OSHA said the controlling issue is whether a qualified testing laboratory…
Proof tests for custom lifting accessories
A safety consultant asked whether a custom lifting beam requires load marking and proof testing and whether engineering calculations could substitute for a test. OSHA said custom lifting accessories…
Locating buried utilities by hand tools or hydro vacuum Withdrawn
A pipeline safety consultant asked whether hand digging or hydro vacuum equipment could locate buried utilities safely. The July letter rejected traditional hand tools such as shovels and discussed…
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.