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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WOTC and welfare-to-work tax credit procedures during lapse Rescinded
After WOTC and welfare-to-work tax credit authority expired in December 2001, ETA told states to keep accepting and logging employer certification requests for later action. It warned employers that…
Waxed cotton string for electrical tagout devices
A utility asked whether waxed cotton string could attach tagout devices at nuclear plants. OSHA said no for equipment under its authority because the attachment was reusable and not self-locking; it…
Variances from the Industrial Welfare Act
This brief L&I administrative policy explains that RCW 49.12.105 lets an employer apply to the L&I director for a variance from the department's Industrial Welfare Act rules (WAC 296-126) governing…
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Employee Wearing Apparel
This L&I administrative policy answers frequently asked questions about employee wearing apparel under RCW 49.12.450: minimum-wage earners can be required to buy common-color, dress-code-conforming…
Employee Wearing Apparel and Uniforms
This L&I administrative policy explains when an employer must pay for clothing it requires employees to wear, under RCW 49.12.450. Clothing that identifies the employee with a specific employer,…
Commissions, Piecework and Minimum Wage Requirements
This short L&I administrative policy sets out how the department verifies that commission- or piecework-paid workers (who are not otherwise exempt, such as outside salespersons) receive at least the…
Special Education Student Exemption from Minimum Wage
This L&I administrative policy explains when a special-education student's unpaid work-experience placement, including a short unpaid workstation trial, is not considered "employment" under RCW…
Examples of Retail Sales and Service Establishments
This L&I policy supplements ES.A.10.1 and ES.A.10.2 with two partial reference lists used to determine whether a business qualifies as a "retail or service establishment" for the commission overtime…
Frequently Asked Questions: Retail/Service Establishment Sales Exception
This L&I FAQ supplements ES.A.10.1 and answers common questions about the retail/service establishment commission overtime exception under RCW 49.46.130(3): what happens to commission pay on…
Bridge steel-erection shear connector petition and transition dates
A bridge trade group asked OSHA to exempt bridge construction from shear-connector rules and extend the steel-erection transition. OSHA declined the exemption, citing the rulemaking record on trip…
Draft steel-erection compliance directive and 2002 outreach period
A construction trade association asked about the short period for commenting on a draft steel-erection compliance directive. OSHA said it could revise the directive after the rule took effect and…
Sponsor trust company charging its pension plans Unknown
A trust company asked whether it could charge its own defined benefit plans standard trustee fees under service exemptions. EBSA said fees above direct expenses properly incurred in providing the…
Participant asset allocation program and affiliated funds Unknown
An investment firm asked about a participant advice program that could invest in its affiliated funds. EBSA said no per se section 406(b)(1) or (b)(3) violation arose solely from increased advisory…
Construction manager duties under the multi-employer citation policy
A safety company asked when a construction manager can be cited for subcontractor safety violations. OSHA said the answer depends on actual authority and conduct, not the manager’s title or whether…
Guarding a pneumatic tool used to cut PVC pipe inside a manhole
A worker asked whether a guarded pneumatic cutting tool could be used without its guard when cutting PVC pipe from inside a manhole. OSHA said the construction tool rule requires the guard when the…
Resource Justification Model reporting approval and deadlines Withdrawn
ETA announced federal approval for collecting state unemployment insurance administrative cost data through the Resource Justification Model. It told states where to obtain the forms and set January…
Log truck drivers are covered by Wage Order 9, not Wage Order 16
A logging-industry employer asked whether log truck drivers are covered by the on-site logging provisions of newly adopted Wage Order 16 or by the general transportation Wage Order 9. Drawing on…
Scaffold access gates and OSHA compliance directives in shipyard work
A lawyer asked whether OSHA requires access gates at a scaffold inside a dry-docked drilling rig being converted to a hotel. OSHA said shipyard rules applied and did not specifically address those…
Workforce program guidance for activated reservists Rescinded
ETA answered state questions about WIA participants called to active military duty. States could keep or exit those participants with proper documentation, but needs-related and supportive payments…
Career firefighters volunteering for nonprofit rescue companies
A county asked WHD to revisit whether its career firefighters had to be paid when they volunteered for separately incorporated nonprofit fire and rescue companies. WHD said the companies controlled…
Rough-terrain forklift platforms used to lift construction workers
An insurer asked what rules govern a rough-terrain forklift lifting people on a platform. OSHA said both forklift and scaffold standards apply: the machine must be designed to elevate personnel, the…
Overtime for mixed prevailing-wage/private jobs uses a full-week weighted average
An employer asked DLS to recalculate how overtime pay is figured for employees who work both prevailing-wage and non-prevailing-wage jobs for the same employer in a single week. DLS announced this…
WIA performance report submission procedures Rescinded
ETA instructed states how to submit their program year 2000 WIA annual reports and individual participant records by December 1, 2001. The letter and attachments specify submission channels, data…
Revisions to WIA participant and performance reporting Rescinded
ETA revised the WIA participant and performance reporting guidance in TEGL 14-00. It corrected data definitions, clarified quarterly and annual reporting, required states to verify and validate…
Resetting circuit breakers after a protective trip
A code consultant asked when workers may reset a tripped breaker. OSHA said an unqualified worker may reset it once if an overload is verified and no energized parts above 50 volts are exposed. A…
Training requirements for process hazard analysis facilitators
A company asked whether its process hazard analysis facilitator needed formal training. OSHA said the rule does not prescribe a course, but the team must include expertise in engineering, process…
Case managers at an alcohol/drug treatment center likely aren't exempt professionals
An alcohol/drug treatment center asked whether its case managers are exempt "professionals" under the minimum wage law, and separately whether the facility qualifies for the sanitorium overtime…
Northeastern co-op students are exempt as trainees, not covered employees
An employer providing physical therapy services asked whether students it employed through Northeastern University's Cooperative Education Program are covered employees or exempt trainees. DLS…
Changes to ETA's advisory system
ETA explained changes to how it publishes guidance and information for states and grant recipients. TEGLs would carry workforce program guidance, UIPLs would cover unemployment insurance, and TENs…
Customer satisfaction survey methodology changes Rescinded
ETA revised how states surveyed WIA participants and employers about their satisfaction with services. It set minimum completed interviews and response rates, revised sampling and confidentiality…
Claiming hazardous chemical ingredients as trade secrets
A manufacturer asked when it may claim a hazardous ingredient as a trade secret. OSHA said the claim must be supportable; publicly known ingredients cannot qualify. Exposure limits and the…
Qualifications for annual bakery oven safety inspections
An engineering company asked whether OSHA would approve it to inspect bakery ovens and whether plant engineers could do the work. OSHA said it does not certify inspectors. It interprets the annual…
Spray-booth face velocity under OSHA ventilation standards
A safety engineer asked whether spray booths must meet both a table of airflow ranges and a 100-feet-per-minute rule. OSHA said the 100-feet-per-minute rule applies to dry overspray collectors,…
OSHA authority over customer safety in retail stores
A customer asked OSHA about safety at a retail store. OSHA explained that its authority under the Occupational Safety and Health Act reaches employment in workplaces, not customer safety as such,…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for October–December 2001 Withdrawn
ETA supplied state and territory average weekly unemployment benefit amounts, calculated 50 percent figures, and rounded minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits. These figures applied to…
Extra travel time to a reassigned work site is compensable, any length of assignment
An employer asked about two scenarios where hourly employees normally assigned to one office are required to report instead to a different office, sometimes exceeding their normal commute. The…
TAA and NAFTA-TAA training transportation payments Rescinded
ETA clarified transportation payments for approved TAA and NAFTA-TAA training outside a worker's commuting area. The state had to consider travel costs when deciding whether training was reasonably…
Timing of PY 2001 dislocated worker fund reduction Rescinded
ETA told states that it needed more time to review the data for the planned program year 2001 dislocated worker funding reduction. No effective date had been set when this change was issued, and…
Cost concerns about the 2001 steel-erection standard
A steel erector raised concerns about the cost of OSHA’s revised steel-erection rule. OSHA described the negotiated rulemaking, public comments, and its assessment of safety and costs. It also…
Asbestos standard for sheet-gasket maintenance and repair
A company asked whether repair of asbestos-containing sheet gaskets falls under construction asbestos rules when it does not ordinarily perform construction. OSHA answered yes: the nature of the…
Aerial lifts near overhead electric lines in construction
A regional OSHA office asked what rule applies when workers using an aerial lift near power lines are not doing electrical work. OSHA said §1926.416(a)(1) applies when direct or indirect contact is…
Meaning of utility owner in excavation notice rule
A requester asked whether the excavation rule’s reference to utility “owners” means the owner of the land being dug. OSHA said it means the owner of the underground utility installation, including…
Crane manufacturer limits when hoisting construction workers Unknown
A contractor asked whether meeting personnel-hoisting requirements allowed use of a crane whose manufacturer said it was not made to lift workers. OSHA said no: both the manufacturer’s…
Continuation of TAA and NAFTA-TAA programs Rescinded
ETA addressed a possible September 2001 sunset of the Trade Adjustment Assistance and NAFTA transitional programs. It instructed states to continue operating them through September 2002 if the…
Steel-erection fall protection, shear connectors, and controlling contractors
A construction trade association challenged the revised steel-erection rule on fall protection, shear connectors, multi-employer duties, and several technical provisions. OSHA explained how the…
Rest-period scheduling under Wage Order 16
California construction-trades representatives asked how employers may schedule paid rest periods under Wage Order 16 for on-site construction, drilling, logging, and mining workers. DLSE said the…
Recirculated air in occupied spray-booth spaces
A manufacturer asked whether recirculating air in an occupied spray booth could be treated as a de minimis violation. OSHA said full compliance with the cited NFPA 33-2000 recirculation provisions…
Fall protection and confined-space questions for HVAC work Unknown
An HVAC contractor asked which fall rules cover construction and maintenance work and when a crawl space is confined. OSHA said the work activity and hazards determine the applicable rules, and…
Electronic UCFE and UCX wage and separation information exchange Unknown
ETA gave state unemployment agencies new procedures for obtaining federal civilian and former service member wage and separation information electronically, including claims control records, forms,…
Polyethylene tanks for PCB-contaminated mineral oil
A lawyer asked about a polyethylene tank for PCB-contaminated mineral oil. OSHA said a Class IIIB liquid, if correctly classified, was outside the cited flammable-liquid rule. For liquids the rule…
Federal OSHA coverage of a Louisiana hospital service district
A lawyer asked whether a Louisiana hospital service district is an employer under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act. OSHA applied its tests for state political subdivisions to the…
Using NFPA 30 in place of an OSHA flammable-liquid provision
A coatings company asked whether it could follow an NFPA 30-2000 liquid-storage provision instead of the cited OSHA rule. OSHA said it may treat a deviation as de minimis when the applicable newer…
Revised PY 2001 youth activity allotments Rescinded
ETA supplied the revised state allotment table missing from its earlier TEGL 3-01. The table shows how an additional $25 million for program year 2001 youth activities affected states and outlying…
Selling standard syringes after OSHA’s needlestick rule revision
A medical supplier asked whether it may sell conventional syringes and who is responsible for the needlestick rule. OSHA said conventional syringes can be used when no occupational blood exposure is…
Safety syringes for radiopharmaceutical procedures
A nuclear-medicine group asked how the bloodborne-pathogens rule applies to radiopharmaceutical injections. OSHA said employers should consider radiation hazards and seek input from workers familiar…
PY 2001 dislocated worker reductions and youth funds Rescinded
ETA explained how it would allocate a $110 million reduction in states' program year 2001 dislocated worker funds, using their unspent 1999 and 2000 allotments. It also described an additional $25…
Residential truss framing under former fall-protection directive Unknown
A framing contractor asked whether a former residential fall-protection directive covered truss work on structures built with residential methods. OSHA said the directive’s definition also…
Spartanburg water and sewer employee benefit plans Unknown
South Carolina water and sewer entities asked whether their disability and health plans were excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA found the entities were governmental agencies or subdivisions under…
Participation in Money Smart financial education effort Rescinded
ETA described a free, ten-module financial education program developed with the FDIC for adults with limited banking experience. States and local One-Stop centers could choose whether to offer it…
Containers for combustible aluminum paste
A consultant asked whether plastic drums and bags, fiber drums, and foil pouches could store Class II aluminum paste. OSHA said certain plastic containers could receive de minimis treatment under a…
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.