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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Storing flammable and corrosive chemicals in one cabinet
A requester asked if flammable and corrosive chemicals may be stored in the same cabinet. OSHA said yes, assuming the manufacturer’s storage instructions are followed and the chemicals are in…
Parts-cleaning sinks under the dipping and coating rule
An industrial hygienist asked whether a sink-on-a-drum parts cleaner is a dip tank. OSHA said the described solvent-fed brush operation was flow coating and the parts likely drained and dried in the…
Wisconsin vehicle dealers health trust as one ERISA plan Unknown
A Wisconsin automobile and truck dealers trust asked whether its subscribers formed one ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the association and subscribers could qualify at least in form if the proposed…
Compensation for employee's stand-by time
An attorney asked, on behalf of a U.S. DOL certifying officer reviewing an alien employment certification, whether a "senior line operator" job requiring 24-hour on-call availability (with a cell…
Hepatitis B antibody testing for police and firefighters
A physician asked whether police and firefighters need hepatitis B antibody testing after vaccination. OSHA said the cited public-health guidance required it for workers with both blood or patient…
Planning grants for youth access to One-Stop systems Rescinded
ETA invited state-designated local workforce boards to seek planning grants of up to $20,000 to improve young people's access to One-Stop centers. It described eligible applicants, permitted…
Transfer of state UI grants for IT support center services Withdrawn
ETA revised UIPL 21-97's procedure for states that paid the UI Information Technology Support Center with unemployment administration grant funds. It said states should route transfer requests…
Release of calendar year 2000 benefit accuracy data Withdrawn
ETA set deadlines and procedures for state agencies to review calendar year 2000 unemployment benefit accuracy data before federal publication. It explained that states were no longer required to…
Extensions and revisions for Welfare-to-Work grants Rescinded
ETA explained how Welfare-to-Work formula and competitive grantees could request more time to spend their grants, up to five years from the award date. It also required revised state plans or…
Multi-station Bitrex respirator fit-testing apparatus
A respirator maker asked whether its electric-pump Bitrex apparatus could test up to five people at once under OSHA’s qualitative protocol. OSHA said it would treat the described setup as equivalent…
FY 2001 Work Opportunity and Welfare-to-Work tax credit grants Rescinded
ETA told state employment agencies how to plan and report their fiscal year 2001 grants for administering the Work Opportunity and Welfare-to-Work tax credits. The letter sets a $20 million spending…
PY 2001 workforce allotments and employment service estimates Rescinded
ETA gave states and outlying areas their program year 2001 funding allotments for Workforce Investment Act youth, adult and dislocated worker activities. It also provided preliminary Wagner-Peyser…
Racing-team loaders and motor-carrier overtime exemption
A racing operation asked whether employees loading cars and parts onto interstate trailers qualified for the FLSA motor-carrier overtime exemption. WHD said only workers exercising judgment over…
Certified scuba instructor and teacher exemption
A youth education program asked whether its certified scuba instructor qualified for the FLSA teacher exemption. WHD said the program counted as an educational institution because students received…
Revised Trade Act Participant Report instructions Rescinded
ETA revised the Trade Act Participant Report used for Trade Adjustment Assistance and NAFTA transition assistance, aligning its fields with Workforce Investment Act reporting. States were told to…
Cab shields on dump trucks used at construction sites
A vehicle maker asked whether nonstandard dump trucks with the bed four feet behind the cab need cab shields. OSHA said the rule still applies and the gap alone does not provide equivalent…
How newer ANSI aerial-lift standards affect OSHA enforcement
A lift-equipment company asked how later ANSI standards affect an OSHA rule that incorporated an older ANSI edition. OSHA said the older incorporated edition remains the rule until rulemaking…
Wireless antenna installation on occupied homes under former residential fall directive Unknown
A contractor asked whether a former residential fall-protection directive covered antenna installation on existing occupied homes. OSHA said the described antenna and cable work fell within the…
State FUTA receipts and funds returned, fiscal 1999 Rescinded
ETA gave state unemployment agencies estimates of 1999 federal unemployment tax receipts by state alongside federal administrative grants and benefit payments returned to each state. It also…
Timely ETA 538 and 539 unemployment claims reporting Unknown
ETA reminded state unemployment agencies to submit weekly ETA 538 and ETA 539 claims reports on time, including during holiday weeks, and to explain large increases or decreases in initial claims.…
Training conferences for denied claims accuracy staff Withdrawn
ETA announced two 2001 conferences to train state unemployment insurance staff on investigating the accuracy of denied claims. It asked state administrators to nominate staff and return reassigned…
Unemployment insurance integrity conference Withdrawn
ETA announced an April 2001 conference for state unemployment insurance supervisors and staff working on payment control, internal security, and tax issues. It listed proposed workshop topics and…
Domestic-service exemption for elder care in a residence
A requester asked whether the exemption for privately employed domestic work in a residence includes care of an elderly household member. OSHA said it does when the work is an ordinary household…
State data requests for veterans' transition program evaluation Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies that contractors evaluating the Veterans' Transition Assistance Program planned to request addresses and benefit histories for sampled former service members. It…
Uniform and equipment deductions in overtime weeks
An employer asked whether it could deduct uniform and weapon costs in weeks when employees worked overtime. WHD said deductions could be allowed only if minimum wage and the full overtime premium…
Employer demutualization vote and payroll annuity safe harbors Unknown
An insurer asked whether employers’ votes and allocation choices in its demutualization would make payroll deduction IRAs or tax-deferred annuities ERISA plans. EBSA said the described one-time…
Insurer information and default allocation in demutualization Unknown
An insurer asked whether describing feasible allocation options and implementing a default in its demutualization made it an ERISA fiduciary. EBSA said information and implementation alone did not…
Credit-card recovery bonuses and overtime regular rate
A staffing company asked whether $50 payments to cashiers for finding unauthorized credit cards could be left out of the overtime regular rate. WHD said the payments rewarded ordinary job duties and…
401(k) profit-sharing plan and FLSA overtime rate
An employer asked WHD to approve its 401(k) profit-sharing plan for exclusion from the overtime regular rate. WHD said the described plan met its thrift or savings plan criteria and had no listed…
Teacher suspensions and the professional exemption
A public school district asked whether one-to-four-day unpaid disciplinary suspensions would end teachers’ FLSA professional exemption. WHD said qualifying teachers are exempt from the salary-basis…
Hourly pay in place of vacation, holiday, and sick benefits
An employer asked whether it could replace vacation, holiday, and sick pay with an hourly cash amount. WHD said the hourly amount paid in lieu of benefits had to be included in the regular rate for…
Automobile sales commissions and minimum wage
An automobile dealer asked whether unpaid commissions could be carried into later monthly settlement periods for salespeople exempt from overtime. WHD said the arrangement did not violate the FLSA…
A 401(k) pension plan and FLSA overtime regular rate
An employer sought WHD approval of its 401(k) pension plan as a bona fide thrift or savings plan. WHD said the described plan met its criteria and approved it under the FLSA regular-rate exclusion.…
Fixed ladders on paving vehicles under construction ladder rules
A lawyer asked whether fixed ladders on a paving shuttle vehicle must meet the construction stairway and ladder subpart. OSHA said no: its fixed-ladder definition covered ladders integral to a…
Truck driver/transportation industry overtime exemption under IWC Order 9-2001
A petroleum-transport driver in Redding wrote to DLSE asking why he wasn't entitled to overtime despite working 12-15 hour days, since he'd been told IWC Wage Order 9's exemption for drivers…
Updating process safety information for older pressure vessels
A risk consultant asked whether process-safety information on pressure vessels must be redone whenever an engineering code changes. OSHA said the initial suitability determination becomes the…
2001 federal remuneration schedule for former service members Withdrawn
ETA sent state agencies a revised federal remuneration schedule for determining military wages in Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers claims. States were to use it for first claims filed…
Former process safety retail exemption for fertilizer sales Unknown
A fertilizer seller asked whether its anhydrous-ammonia process qualified for the process-safety retail exemption. OSHA said the described direct-to-farmer sales met its then-applied majority-income…
Competitive selection of WIA youth service providers Rescinded
ETA explained when local workforce boards had to select youth service providers competitively under the Workforce Investment Act. The letter describes exceptions for a local grant recipient's…
Inipol EAP22 exposure information from the Exxon Valdez cleanup
A requester asked about the Inipol product used during Exxon Valdez cleanup and possible contact effects. OSHA described its role in bioremediation and relayed the product safety sheet’s skin, eye,…
Access to employee exposure and medical records involving carbon tetrachloride
A former worker asked about government records concerning carbon tetrachloride exposure. OSHA explained that employers must keep covered exposure and medical records and provide access to employees…
Scaffold-to-wall distance for synthetic stucco work
A construction consultant asked whether synthetic stucco installation counts as plastering and lathing for the scaffold-to-wall distance rule. OSHA said yes: despite different materials, the…
Job Service registration in UI benefit accuracy reviews Withdrawn
ETA told state benefit accuracy reviewers to code Job Service registration according to their state's written law and procedures. The attached answers explain when a missing registration makes a…
Linking the workforce help line with America's Service Locator Rescinded
ETA told states how to keep their workforce service locations current in America's Service Locator and make that information available through a national toll-free help line. The letter and…
Plan expenses for termination and tax qualification Unknown
A requester sought clarification of EBSA’s earlier opinion on plan termination expenses. EBSA said creating a tax-qualified plan and choosing among sponsor amendment options are settlor activities…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits, January–March 2001 Withdrawn
ETA gave state agencies minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts for major disasters declared from January through March 2001. The attached table lists each jurisdiction's average…
Roof elevation changes and safety monitoring on low-slope roofs
A roofing safety group asked whether a parapet or roof elevation change must have a minimum height to divide low-slope roof areas. OSHA said no for measuring area widths under the monitoring…
Testing laboratories for suspension-scaffold hoists
A trade association asked whether OSHA audits labs that test suspension-scaffold hoists and requires UL 1323 testing. OSHA said it does not routinely audit them, and the rule does not require a…
Information needed to decide unemployment eligibility
ETA reminded state unemployment agencies to make reasonable efforts to get the facts needed for eligibility decisions, including contacting employers or other sources when information is missing or…
Treatment of Indian tribes under federal unemployment compensation law
ETA explained 2001 federal amendments requiring states to cover most employment by federally recognized Indian tribes and offer tribes the option to reimburse benefit payments instead of paying…
Whether meal periods during which employees are restricted to their employer's premises constitute hours worked
A union attorney asked whether an employer (Chevron Marketing) could lawfully require employees to remain on its premises during unpaid lunch breaks. DLSE said no: under every IWC wage order, any…
Chemical labels and needlestick controls in clinical laboratories
A laboratory accreditor asked about reagent and secondary-container labels and whether a lab with no needlesticks could avoid safer devices. OSHA said labeling depends on the rule covering the…
Fall protection for vendors delivering roofing materials
A roofing-material supplier asked whether delivery workers must tie off on a roof. OSHA said workers must have fall-protection equipment and use it when suitable anchors are already available,…
Outsourcing unemployment compensation administration
ETA explained which state unemployment insurance tasks must be done by government merit staff and which tasks may be contracted out. It treated eligibility decisions, first-level appeals, employer…
Petition about the former ergonomics standard grandfather clause Unknown
An employer group asked OSHA to delay the effective date and grandfather-clause milestones of its 2000 ergonomics standard. OSHA explained how existing programs could qualify and declined the…
America's Workforce Network logo on grantee materials Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment insurance agencies that grants would require the America's Workforce Network logo on public materials. Agencies could use materials already in stock, then add the logo to…
Safer biopsy needles under the bloodborne-pathogens rule
A medical-device maker asked whether biopsy needles are subject to needlestick protections when a safety design could impair sample quality. OSHA said feasible engineering controls must be used when…
State UI preparations for NAICS industry coding Unknown
ETA told state unemployment insurance programs how to prepare employer records, tax files, and forms for North American Industry Classification System codes. The letter described 2000–2002…
MAPP gas used to heat and lubricate glass molds under PSM
A gas supplier provided more facts about MAPP gas used to heat glass molds. OSHA concluded the described process qualified for the hydrocarbon-fuel exemption when gas was consumed onsite as fuel,…
Repeat ice treatment and injury recording on OSHA Log 200 Unknown
An occupational-health provider asked whether lifting injuries treated with ice and exercises should appear on the former OSHA Log 200. OSHA treated the described employer-provided, continuing plan…
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.