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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Minimum disaster unemployment benefit amounts for July–September 2003 Withdrawn
ETA sent state agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from July through September 2003. Its attachment lists each jurisdiction's average…
Electronic financial reporting for trade training grants Rescinded
ETA extended the electronic SF 269 financial reporting process in TEGL 17-00 to TAA and NAFTA-TAA training grants. It directed states to report each training and administration portion by funding…
FY 2003 WOTC and welfare-to-work tax credit plans Rescinded
ETA directed state workforce agencies to plan their FY 2003 Work Opportunity and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit administration, reporting and grant spending. The letter supplied funding rules and…
Fiscal year 2004 unemployment insurance state quality plans Withdrawn
ETA opened the fiscal year 2004 State Quality Service Plan process for unemployment insurance agencies. It required corrective plans where performance fell below stated criteria and gave special…
Cafeteria benefit plans and the FLSA regular rate
A city asked whether its cafeteria-plan contributions for police officers had to be included in the FLSA regular rate. WHD said a bona fide benefits plan may make incidental cash payments, applying…
Fixed ladder landing platforms and construction standards Unknown
A design supervisor asked whether fifty foot landing platform intervals from an OSHA construction pamphlet could replace the thirty foot intervals in the general industry fixed ladder rule. OSHA…
FMLA coverage for a guardian of an adult disabled sibling
WHD considered whether an employee who was the legal guardian of an adult disabled sister could take FMLA leave to care for her. It said a disability that began before age 18 and continued into…
Fall protection alternatives for masonry homes Unknown
A regional office asked whether OSHA's residential fall protection procedures for specified wood framed construction applied to single family homes built with block or masonry walls. OSHA said the…
Terminated welfare trust surplus and charitable transfer Unknown
A Pennsylvania welfare trust asked how to distribute surplus after termination. The Department said the share attributable to participant contributions should provide participant benefits; after all…
Interactive questions in bloodborne pathogen training
An employer asked whether an online or workbook bloodborne pathogen course could answer employee questions by email later. OSHA said the training must provide an opportunity for interactive…
Trust company mutual-fund service fees Unknown
A trust company asked whether receiving mutual-fund service fees, including from affiliated funds, violated ERISA. EBSA said the described fees did not violate section 406(b)(1) or (b)(3) when an…
Emergency response to anhydrous ammonia releases
A refrigeration facility asked whether an emergency plan under 29 CFR 1910.38 was enough for defensive responses to releases from a large ammonia system. OSHA said the described releases could…
Manhole-step enforcement during walking-surface rulemaking Unknown
A requester asked how OSHA would enforce manhole-step rules while a walking-surface revision was pending. OSHA said it would not cite steps meeting the proposed rung-width and toe-clearance…
PY 2003 agricultural services submissions Rescinded
ETA instructed state workforce agencies to submit PY 2003 agricultural services plans as part of their WIA strategic planning. The attached guidance addresses farmworker needs, outreach, One-Stop…
Recordkeeping for professional sports team injuries
An insurer asked whether professional sports teams must include players' injuries in the OSHA injury and illness records. OSHA said the recordkeeping rule applies to employees, but it could not…
Recording criteria for cases involving workers from a temporary help service, employee leasing service, or personnel supply service.
An employer-side lawyer asked how OSHA injury and illness records should be kept for temporary and leased workers. OSHA said the controlling employer that supervises them day to day is responsible…
QPAM related-party ownership test under PTE 84-14 Unknown
A requester asked how to apply the five percent ownership test in prohibited transaction exemption 84-14. EBSA said ownership interests of entities merely under common control with the qualified…
Hazardous energy control for electric utilities
An electric utility executive commented on OSHA's draft enforcement instruction for electric power generation, transmission, and distribution. OSHA said the directive would not change employers'…
Development of OSHA electric power enforcement guidance
The Edison Electric Institute asked about OSHA's process for revising its electric power enforcement instruction and raised concerns about negotiations and hazardous energy controls. OSHA explained…
Lockout tagout for postal sorting machine servicing Unknown
A postal employee asked whether a USPS maintenance procedure for an automated sorter complied with OSHA's lockout and tagout rule. OSHA said the minor servicing exception may apply only when work is…
Scaffold storage and immediate operations Unknown
A contractor asked whether masonry materials could be stored on a scaffold two days before use and left overnight. OSHA's page retains a second answer saying a controlling contractor may impose…
Military commissary deli services and SCA coverage
WHD reviewed a Defense Commissary Agency contract for deli and bakery services. It affirmed the agency’s determination that the contract principally furnished services through service employees and…
Second extension of emergency unemployment compensation Withdrawn
Public Law 108-26 extended the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program for new claims through the end of 2003; ETA instructed states how to administer that extension. Claimants with…
OSHA duties and propane torches near oil field condensate
An oil and gas worker asked what OSHA law says about an injury caused by an unavailable safety device and whether propane torches may thaw ice near oil field condensate. OSHA explained that duties…
Language access for limited English proficient persons Rescinded
ETA transmitted the Labor Department's revised Title VI guidance for recipients serving people with limited English proficiency. ETA asked state workforce agencies to distribute the guidance. It…
Arc flash clothing and electric power standards Unknown
A senator asked about clothing that protects electric utility workers from flames and electric arcs. OSHA said the then-current rule barred clothing that could increase injury from flames or arcs…
State unemployment experience rating indexes, 1998–2002 Withdrawn
ETA published state unemployment insurance Experience Rating Index data for rate years 1998 through 2002, along with a historical series and the formula used to calculate the index. It explained…
Determination of exempt or non-exempt status of officers and 'key administrative personnel' employed by labor unions
A union-side law firm asked DLSE to categorically declare that labor union officers and "key administrative personnel" (business agents, organizers, field representatives) are exempt from overtime.…
Whether undifferentiated PTO counts as sick leave for Kin Care and is subject to vacation vesting
A law firm asked whether an employer's undifferentiated paid-time-off (PTO) bank — which lets employees take days off for any reason without distinguishing vacation from sick time — counts as sick…
Ladders placed on equipment or roofs
A contractor asked whether a worker may stand on a portable ladder placed on equipment or a roof during construction. OSHA said the portable-ladder rule does not require additional fall protection…
Mortar strength notification before steel erection
A masonry contractors association asked whether a steel erector must receive written notification of mortar strength before erecting steel on masonry walls. OSHA said no appropriate ASTM test…
Replacement plugs and strain relief on double insulated tools
A safety consultant asked whether a non original replacement plug and a metal strain relief could repair a double insulated electric hand tool. OSHA said a replacement plug may be used if it…
Home-to-work travel in a company van isn't compensable if conditions are met
An employer whose field technicians travel from home to customer worksites in company-provided vans asked whether that home-to-work travel is compensable working time. DLS adopted the federal…
Lockout devices on modified electrical switches
An employer asked whether a lock and bracket could hold a modified on/off switch in the off position for lockout. OSHA said the bracket could serve as a lockout device if the switch isolates energy,…
OSHA authority over international machinery standards
A machinery manufacturer asked whether OSHA could enforce ISO and ANSI machinery standards directly. OSHA said it could enforce such standards when incorporated into an OSHA rule. Where an ANSI…
Applications for WIA Section 503 incentive grants, PY 2001 Withdrawn
ETA updated state applications for incentive grants based on Program Year 2001 results across workforce, adult education and vocational education programs. States had to document planned uses and…
Electrical appliances and rechargeable racks at work
A worker asked which OSHA rules cover electrical appliances and rechargeable racks. OSHA pointed to Subpart S electrical requirements, including the appliance and approval provisions, and said…
Methylene chloride exposure in police training sprays
A Florida Highway Patrol captain asked about methylene chloride exposure from a training spray. OSHA said state agencies are generally outside federal OSHA coverage, identified methylene chloride as…
State police special-duty escorts and section 7(p)(1)
A state asked whether off-duty troopers escorting permitted vehicle loads had to have those hours combined with their regular state police work. WHD said section 7(p)(1) applies when the…
Clarifications of emergency benefits for displaced airline workers Withdrawn
ETA answered state agencies' questions about the added emergency unemployment benefits for displaced airline and related workers. The answers cover claimant notices, qualifying employment, benefit…
Aggressive asbestos flooring removal methods
A contractor asked whether aggressive removal methods are allowed for asbestos containing floor tile, sheet flooring, and mastic. OSHA said nonaggressive methods are preferred and aggressive methods…
Sick-day deductions after paid leave runs out
An employer asked whether it could deduct a full sick day from an exempt employee’s salary after the employee exhausted paid sick leave and was not covered by FMLA or disability benefits. WHD said…
Post-termination forfeiture of sales commissions
An employer asked whether it could withhold quarterly sales commissions from employees who weren't currently employed at payout time. The DLSE responded that commissions on sales are wages earned…
Additional emergency unemployment benefits for displaced airline workers Withdrawn
ETA instructed state agencies how to provide additional Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation to eligible airline and related workers displaced after September 11, 2001, for specified causes.…
Pilot measure of UI claimants' reemployment rate Withdrawn
ETA invited four state unemployment agencies to pilot a measure of how often claimants returned to work after a first benefit payment. The method matched claimant records with wage records for the…
Construction safety alliance outside ERISA benefit-plan coverage Unknown
A labor-management construction safety alliance asked whether its training and safety activities made it an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the described organization would not be covered after…
Storage of water reactive and flammable chemicals
A distribution center asked how OSHA rules apply to stored water reactive chemicals, flammable liquids, and other products. OSHA said the water-reactive solids could not be stored in the same room…
Resident employees at 24-hour care facilities: sleep time and lodging charges
A residential care facility asked the DLSE whether "resident employees" who live on-site but aren't required to stay there must be paid for sleep time, and how much the facility may charge them for…
Worker access to toilet facilities
A law professor asked about OSHA's guidance requiring reasonable access to toilet facilities, its effect, and whether employers may charge workers or make bathroom time unpaid. OSHA said the…
Travel time pay for an employee working alternating worksites
An employer asked whether an employee who alternates weeks between two work locations must be paid for the roughly 1.5-hour daily commute to the more distant site. The DLSE explained that an…
HAZWOPER training for hospital decontamination teams
A hospital decontamination supervisor asked whether HAZWOPER training could be tailored to employees' anticipated duties and whether a proposed competency list was sufficient. OSHA said training may…
FY 2003 WIA adult and dislocated worker fund reductions Rescinded
ETA told states how to apply the 0.65 percent FY 2003 discretionary funding reduction to adult and dislocated worker formula allotments. It specified limits for local, statewide and rapid response…
Advance health coverage tax credit reporting for TAA recipients Rescinded
ETA instructed state workforce agencies to identify Trade Adjustment Assistance recipients eligible for advance Health Coverage Tax Credit payments and send records to the IRS contractor through the…
Volunteer firefighters and public-agency employment
A requester asked when public employees and other volunteers could provide fire or ambulance services without becoming FLSA employees. WHD applied the rules on separate public agencies, same type of…
Employer receipt of post-termination insurer demutualization award Unknown
An employer asked whether it could retain shares awarded on an insurer’s demutualization after a pension plan had terminated through an annuity purchase. EBSA said ERISA Title I did not require…
Stricter company fall protection rules in steel erection
A steel erector asked whether a company policy requiring workers to tie off below the heights specified in the steel erection standard was allowed. OSHA said the standard sets minimum requirements…
PY 2002 dislocated worker fund reallotment Rescinded
ETA recaptured $2,867,639 in PY 2002 dislocated worker funds from four states and reallotted the money to other states. It directed states to adjust financial reports and attached revised state…
PY 2003 WIA, Wagner-Peyser and reemployment allotments Rescinded
ETA announced FY 2003 rescissions and PY 2003 allotments for WIA youth, adult and dislocated worker programs, Wagner-Peyser employment services, reemployment services and FY 2003 tax credit…
Improving unemployment benefit payment accuracy and integrity Withdrawn
ETA analyzed why unemployment benefits had been overpaid and recommended that state agencies use their own data to assess prevention and recovery methods. It pointed to employer interviews before…
Acceptable use of antiseptic-hand cleansers for bloodborne pathogen decontamination and as an appropriate handwashing practice.
A healthcare association asked whether alcohol-based hand rubs were consistent with OSHA’s bloodborne-pathogens standard. OSHA said hands must be washed with soap and running water after…
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.