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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University retirement credit after joint-venture unwind Unknown
The University of California asked whether crediting employees’ time at a former private joint venture and transferring related balances into its plans would affect their ERISA governmental-plan…
HAZWOPER safety plans for Phase I and II environmental assessments
An environmental consultant asked whether Phase I and II site assessments require a HAZWOPER health and safety plan. OSHA said the answer depends on whether the work and exposure fall within the…
Guarding live electrical parts near unqualified employees Unknown
An employer asked whether an electrical industry standard could guide guarding and clearances near unqualified workers. OSHA discussed access controls and guarding under its electrical rules. In…
Inspection and maintenance requirements for compressed natural gas storage cylinders; use of updated Compressed Gas Association pamphlets for guidance.
A natural-gas vehicle group asked how OSHA’s compressed-gas rule applies to storage cylinders at vehicle fueling stations. OSHA said it had jurisdiction over the described onsite storage, that DOT…
HAZWOPER medical examinations must be offered at a reasonable time and without cost to the employee
A consultant asked what “reasonable time” means for medical examinations required under the hazardous waste operations standard. OSHA said exams generally should be offered during normal working…
Medical evaluations and HAZWOPER training for hospital responders
A hospital asked whether respirator users need pulmonary function tests and whether HAZWOPER awareness and operations training must take separate eight-hour blocks. OSHA said neither pulmonary…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for late 2002 Withdrawn
ETA sent state unemployment agencies minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from October through December 2002. Its state table generally uses half the…
BIOHAZARD labeling for shipped blood specimens
A federal transportation official asked when blood shipments need OSHA’s BIOHAZARD label. OSHA said larger labeled or color-coded containers can exempt individual inner containers, and it accepts a…
OSHA standards applicable to overhead doors at fire departments
A door service company asked whether OSHA has rules specifically for overhead doors at local fire departments. OSHA said it has no overhead-door-specific standard; general industry rules may apply…
Ventilation and vapor-area limits for dip tanks
A manufacturer asked whether vapor concentration must stay below 25 percent of the lower flammable limit throughout a dip tank’s vapor area. OSHA said no; the employer must limit the vapor area as…
Port Authority police welfare fund as governmental plan Unknown
A police association asked whether its Port Authority welfare fund was exempt as a governmental plan. EBSA found the Port Authority to be a governmental entity of New York and New Jersey and, after…
Youth summer training and FLSA employment status
A nonprofit asked whether young people in a summer program who performed clerical and neighborhood tasks were FLSA employees. WHD said the paid older mentors were employees, but it lacked enough…
Respiratory protection for hospital staff decontaminating chemical patients
An insurer asked what respiratory protection hospital employees need when decontaminating patients exposed to unknown chemicals. OSHA said its highest protection rule for responders near a release…
On-duty meal periods
An employer association asked whether a fast-food restaurant could give a solo hourly shift manager an "on-duty" meal period, since the manager needed to stay available to answer questions during…
Identification labels on lockout devices
A safety consultant asked if white labels on lockout locks satisfy the rule that devices be standardized by size, shape, or color. OSHA said color is only one option and the locks must be…
Aircraft support contract and SCA coverage
WHD reviewed an Air Force aircraft-support contract with service work and engine overhaul. After examining the contract’s work and labor hours, it concluded that furnishing services was the…
Hanford tank retrieval construction and prevailing wages
WHD reconsidered its 1999 direction to apply Service Contract Act wages to six Hanford tank-retrieval activities. It concluded that the installation and related work were substantial construction on…
Classification of asbestos debris cleanup and surfacing-material work
An engineer asked how asbestos overspray, old debris, and contaminated ceiling tiles should be classified for construction cleanup. OSHA said removal of surfacing material is generally Class I,…
Demolition of buildings with asbestos-containing material in place
An environmental contractor asked which OSHA asbestos rules apply if a building is demolished without first removing asbestos material. OSHA said demolition is Class I if thermal insulation or…
Bloodborne pathogen precautions during elective surgery
A senator relayed a surgeon’s concern about employee exposure during elective procedures on patients with HIV. OSHA said its bloodborne-pathogens rule does not prohibit such procedures; workers must…
State workforce agency indirect cost proposals
ETA ended the practice of letting state workforce agencies rely on annual certifications of older accounting systems to recover indirect costs. It directed agencies seeking recovery for costs…
Service provider indemnification in pension fund contracts Unknown
A pension fund asked whether provider contracts could limit liability or require plan indemnification. EBSA said provisions covering a provider’s fraud or willful misconduct are void and imprudent.…
Third-party employers and the companionship exemption Unknown
A requester asked whether a staffing agency could claim the companionship-services exemption without jointly employing a worker with the household. WHD said in 2002 that the exemption could apply…
Electronic respiratory medical questionnaires
A respirator maker asked whether an employee medical questionnaire could be completed online. OSHA said electronic presentation is permitted if the required Appendix C questions keep their wording…
Proof-testing custom-designed lifting accessories
A boiler contractor asked whether a custom crane lifting accessory needs proof testing before every use and whether all units from one maker must be tested. OSHA said each custom design must be…
Field bolting of long steel joists before final welding
A steel erector asked if a joist over 60 feet could be held by a crane and welded into place without the required initial field bolts. OSHA said no: final welds and continued crane support do not…
Application of ANSI robotics standards to an assembly line Unknown
An employer asked whether a revised ANSI robotics standard applied while an assembly line was being installed. OSHA said ANSI standards are voluntary unless adopted by OSHA, and it had no specific…
Paid firefighters, sleep time, and multiple rates
A town asked about a staffing plan for firefighters it called volunteers but would pay hourly wages. WHD said they were employees, and it could exclude up to eight hours of scheduled sleep from a…
Negative election to participate in 401(k) plans
A benefits attorney asked DLSE to reconsider its 1998 opinion that "negative election" 401(k) enrollment (automatically deducting a contribution unless the employee opts out) violates California…
On-call pager time away from a hotel worksite isn't covered by the on-call-at-worksite rule
A hotel asked whether the on-call regulation requiring at least four hours' pay per night for on-call workers (455 C.M.R. §2.03(1)(b)) applies to maintenance workers who carry a pager after their…
State unemployment tax rate manipulation and SUTA dumping Superseded
ETA described how employers could shift payroll to related entities or acquire a low-rate company to reduce state unemployment taxes. It recommended that states consider laws to preserve an…
Distinguishing a covered employee from a bona fide volunteer
Given a hypothetical where a worker was pressured into nine months of full-time unpaid "volunteer" work — performing the same duties as paid case managers, under threat that her employer would…
Underground construction rules for an immersed tube tunnel
An OSHA regional administrator asked whether the underground construction rule covered an immersed tube tunnel laid beneath a channel. OSHA said it did: the completed tube was covered, connected to…
Safety rules for microwave devices in medical laboratories
A dental school professor asked which OSHA rules apply to microwave devices used to prepare medical specimens. OSHA identified radiation, electrical, flammable-liquid, and chemical standards, and…
Level I and II wages in foreign labor certification Rescinded
ETA clarified how state workforce agencies should choose Level I or Level II prevailing wages for foreign labor certification jobs. Its attached questions and answers say the employer's job…
Late eligibility notice and FMLA enforcement
A requester asked whether late notice of FMLA ineligibility made an employee eligible for protected leave despite not meeting the 1,250-hour test. WHD said it generally would not pursue a case…
Administrative services for an employer’s customers
A services company asked whether an employee could qualify for the FLSA administrative exemption while performing administrative work for its customers. WHD said the exemption can apply to work…
Standards applicable to cotton gins
OSHA instructed its regional offices that cotton ginning is an agricultural operation. It said agriculture rules and the limited general industry standards incorporated into those rules apply, while…
Dock workers who load trucks are 'loaders,' not exempt truck 'helpers' — reconsideration denied
Following DLS's February 26, 2002 opinion that a "truck loader/dock worker" likely isn't exempt from overtime, an employer's counsel asked DLS to reconsider as applied to specific dock workers who…
Corrected H-2A transportation reimbursement examples Withdrawn
ETA replaced TEGL 23-01 to correct two examples about workers moving from H-2A jobs to employers outside the H-2A program. It explained when the first employer pays transportation to the next…
Indoor air quality documents as employee exposure records Unknown
A lawyer asked which indoor air quality reports must be preserved and made accessible as employee exposure records. OSHA said the content controls: relevant air and contaminant measurements can…
Development of a UI payment accuracy and integrity measure Withdrawn
ETA asked state workforce agencies to comment on three possible measures of unemployment insurance payment accuracy and integrity: a recoverable overpayment rate derived from Benefit Accuracy…
Modifying WIA and Wagner-Peyser state plans Withdrawn
ETA explained when states should modify their five-year workforce plans, how to submit changes, and how to add programs through unified planning. It encouraged states to use the modification process…
Glass-company pension arrangement not a multiemployer plan Unknown
A glass company and union asked whether their existing pension plan qualified as a multiemployer plan. EBSA considered the regulation’s substantial-business-purpose factors, including bargaining…
Planning for 2001 and 2002 reemployment services funds Rescinded
ETA gave state workforce agencies instructions for using $35 million in program year 2002 funds to add reemployment services for unemployment insurance claimants, alongside remaining 2001 funds. It…
Minimum increments for intermittent leave after birth or adoption
WHD considered whether an employer could require at least one full workday for each intermittent leave period after a birth or adoption. It said the employee and employer’s agreement may govern the…
Workers’ compensation leave and FMLA notice
A union steward asked about a facility’s FMLA practices. WHD said workers’ compensation leave may run concurrently with FMLA leave when the absence is for a qualifying serious health condition, but…
Notice for unforeseeable intermittent FMLA leave
An employer asked whether an officer’s after-the-fact request to count an absence as FMLA leave was sufficient. WHD said an employee with an unforeseeable need for intermittent leave must notify the…
Paid and volunteer EMT roles in a town
A mayor asked whether a town could pay an emergency medical technician who also volunteered as an EMT in that town. WHD explained that public employees generally cannot volunteer the same type of…
A live-in home health aide is covered by state minimum wage and overtime law regardless of federal exemptions
An employer asked whether Massachusetts minimum wage and overtime law applies to a live-in home health aide caring for an elderly client with multiple health conditions, performing duties like…
Whether movement of a collapsed extension ladder counts as failure
A worker asked if the upper section of a retracted extension ladder briefly pulling away from a wall constitutes ladder failure. OSHA said the described movement appeared not to be a failure under…
Perimeter lifeline before steel decking is installed
A steel erector asked whether a single cable used as a horizontal lifeline must already meet guardrail rules before floor decking is installed. OSHA said no, because the perimeter guardrail…
Non-kickback fingers on reverse-rotation saws
An OSHA region asked whether reverse-rotation saws need non-kickback fingers. OSHA treated their absence as de minimis for the described climb-cut mode, but said the fingers are required if users…
Fiscal 2003 unemployment insurance state quality service plans Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to prepare their fiscal 2003 State Quality Service Plans, including performance priorities, funding periods, and submission procedures. An attached table…
SCBA use and fire brigade rules for structural fires
A firefighter asked when visible smoke requires self-contained breathing apparatus and how that affects fire classification. OSHA said the fire’s actual stage and conditions control: larger fires…
Verification tags in group lockout procedures
An employer asked whether tags used to confirm an equipment lockout must meet the tagout-device specifications. OSHA said the described tags only document verification and are not the devices that…
Trustee authority over delinquent pension contributions Unknown
Multiemployer pension trustees asked whether they had to replace their collection procedures with conflicting terms negotiated by a union and employers. EBSA said the bargaining terms did not amend…
Manufacturer approval for forklift front-end attachments
A worker asked whether adding a front-end forklift attachment requires both written manufacturer approval and updated truck markings. OSHA said yes when the addition affects capacity or safe…
PY 2002 agricultural services planning under Wagner-Peyser Withdrawn
ETA told states how to prepare their 2002 agricultural services submissions under the Wagner-Peyser Act. The attached planning guide calls for assessing farmworker and employer needs, planning…
Revised ETA 9002 and VETS 200 labor exchange reporting Rescinded
ETA told state workforce agencies to use the revised ET Handbook 406 instructions for quarterly ETA 9002 and VETS 200 reports beginning July 1, 2002. The letter noted the previously announced labor…
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.