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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Proof load testing of longshoring cargo gear and shore equipment Unknown
A crane certifier asked whether new longshoring testing requirements changed its proof load testing cycle. OSHA said the change applied to gear on ocean going cargo vessels, while the four year…
Fitness leave benefit during intermittent FMLA leave
WHD considered an employee taking intermittent FMLA leave who was denied discretionary paid time for physical fitness activities. It said discretionary leave is still an employment benefit, and an…
Methylene chloride stay and use as a medical-device bonding solvent Unknown
A medical device manufacturer asked whether its use of methylene chloride as a bonding solvent qualified for a 1997 compliance-date stay covering product formulation. OSHA's regional office answered…
Restricted workdays, prescriptions and braces in injury records Unknown
An employer asked how to count restricted work after an ankle injury and whether prescriptions or a wrist brace made other injuries recordable. OSHA counted the two worked days with restrictions,…
Restricted work and wound closures in injury records Unknown
A medical consultant asked when restricted duty and wound treatment made an injury recordable under OSHA's then-current rules. OSHA said restrictions extending beyond the injury day could create a…
Implementing electronic benefit statements for combined wage claims Withdrawn
ETA directed states to install electronic processing for quarterly combined wage claim benefit statements by the first 1999 billing cycle. During the transition, a paying state already using…
Explosives research and testing under process safety management
An industry group asked whether research and testing involving explosives fell under OSHA's process safety management rule. OSHA said explosives manufacturing is covered at any quantity, while…
Bloodborne pathogen controls and medical device purchasing Unknown
A member of Congress relayed concerns that purchasing agreements hindered sales of a safer medical device. OSHA said employers must evaluate engineering controls that reduce bloodborne pathogen…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for January–March 1998 Withdrawn
ETA supplied a state-by-state table of average weekly unemployment benefits, calculated 50 percent amounts, and rounded minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits. The figures applied to…
Revised military remuneration schedule for UCX benefits Withdrawn
ETA instructed state unemployment agencies to use a revised military pay schedule to determine federal wages for new ex-servicemember claims beginning after April 4, 1998. Claims filed earlier…
1998 phase-out of the Self-Employment Assistance program Withdrawn
ETA reminded states that the then-current federal authorization for Self-Employment Assistance was set to expire December 8, 1998. It said states could pay allowances after that date only for…
Hearing impaired forklift operators and workplace safety duties
An employer asked whether a hearing impaired worker could operate a forklift under OSHA and ANSI requirements. OSHA said its then-current truck rule did not set physical qualifications, and it…
Maximum guard openings on mechanical power presses
A safety consultant asked how to read the vertical and horizontal dimensions in OSHA's mechanical power press guard opening table. OSHA said the table limits the opening dimension that lets a worker…
Pipeline cooperation fund grant to outside training program Unknown
A pipeline labor-management fund asked whether a grant to a separate training fund would make it an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the described grant alone did not change its status, but declined to…
Needle incineration devices and bloodborne pathogen compliance
A requester asked OSHA to confirm that a needle incineration device complied with the bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said the rule did not prohibit incineration, but the agency does not endorse…
Exact wording of hepatitis B vaccine declination form Unknown
An employer asked whether the hepatitis B vaccine declination form had to copy the exact wording in OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA answered yes, citing its then-current instruction…
Grounding lead for arc welding from a suspended scaffold
A contractor asked how to apply the suspended scaffold grounding rule when welding inside a boiler, where a ground lead could add weight or create other hazards. OSHA suggested ways to manage the…
State personnel actions affecting unemployment insurance administration
ETA told states that broad hiring freezes, furloughs, and staffing cuts must account for the needs of their unemployment insurance programs. A state must show how it will handle the UI workload…
Unemployment benefits require a loss of work
ETA told state unemployment agencies that a person must actually lose work for a period before receiving unemployment compensation for it. A drop in earnings alone is insufficient if the person's…
DLSE may pursue a group misclassification action without investigating each employee individually
An inquirer asked what DLSE's enforcement policy is when an investigation reveals that an employer has erroneously classified a whole group of similarly situated employees as exempt. DLSE explained…
Safety disconnect system as a lockout energy isolating device Unknown
A manufacturer asked whether its safety disconnect system could serve as an energy isolating device under OSHA's lockout rule. OSHA said the system described could perform that function if included…
Work relationship of lightning injury for OSHA records Unknown
An employer asked whether a lightning injury to a worker inside its facility was work related for OSHA injury records. OSHA said the on-premises incident was work related under its then-current…
Electronic access to material safety data sheets
A senator asked OSHA to set a format for electronic material safety data sheets. OSHA declined a single format and described conditions for electronic delivery and workplace access, including…
Wage order coverage for temporary help agency employees follows the client's industry, not a default order
A law firm asserted that DLSE had historically treated temporary help agency employees as covered by Wage Order 4 regardless of the industry of the business they were assigned to. DLSE found no…
Utility fall protection on transformers and loading docks Unknown
An electric utility asked when fall protection was required for employees working on transformers, loading docks and other elevated equipment. OSHA discussed platform use, applicable general…
Electrical conductor identification at power plants
An OSHA regional office asked whether power plant building services were exempt from electrical installation rules and whether wiring diagrams could identify grounded conductors. OSHA said those…
Utility lineworkers climbing poles and using aerial lifts
A safety consultant asked about fall protection for qualified lineworkers leaving aerial lifts and moving between connected poles. OSHA said the applicable duties depend on the work and conditions,…
Verifying immigration status for unemployment claims Unknown
ETA explained what state unemployment agencies should do when an immigration status check does not verify a claimant's identity or work authorization. Agencies must give the claimant a reasonable…
FMLA and disability or workers' compensation absences
WHD explained how FMLA interacts with temporary disability and workers' compensation absences. Where the condition qualifies, an employer may designate the absence as FMLA leave, but neither side…
FMLA alongside a more generous employer leave plan
WHD addressed an employer plan providing more than 12 weeks of leave. It said qualifying leave may run concurrently with FMLA leave after written designation, while leave before an employee becomes…
Secure fastening of a plastic pump shaft guard Unknown
A manufacturer asked whether a snap-on plastic shield could guard a pump shaft without fasteners. OSHA said a casing must resist accidental displacement and easy removal by unauthorized people.…
Partners performing work on a public works project must be paid prevailing wages
A law firm asked whether partners who personally perform work on a public works project must be paid prevailing wages. DLSE concluded yes: Labor Code section 1771 and related provisions cover "all…
Scaffold erection access and fall protection enforcement Unknown
OSHA told regional offices how to handle scaffold erection and dismantling citations while it developed Appendix B guidance. The memo required national review before certain citations and described…
DLSE does not recognize the fluctuating workweek method of overtime pay
A law firm asked whether upcoming 1998 changes eliminating daily overtime in several wage orders would let California employers adopt the federal "fluctuating workweek" method of calculating…
Golf course restaurant employees are covered by Wage Order 10, not Wage Order 5
A human-resources consultant asked whether upcoming 1998 changes to several wage orders, and a staff member's contrary advice, meant that restaurant employees at a golf course would become covered…
Therapy and restricted duty under 1997 injury recordkeeping guidance Unknown
An employer asked when a workplace stretching therapy program, same-day restrictions and repeat heat or cold treatment made injuries recordable. OSHA treated repeated on-site therapy for symptoms as…
Internet distribution of material safety data sheets
A utility employee suggested requiring manufacturers to post material safety data sheets online and put web addresses on product labels. OSHA declined a fixed delivery format under its hazard…
Titanium dioxide hazard communication in material safety data sheets
A company asked whether titanium dioxide had to be reported as a carcinogen on a material safety data sheet. OSHA said it did not then regulate titanium dioxide as a carcinogen, but hazard…
Alternative glove materials under the bloodborne pathogens rule
A university safety officer asked whether protective gloves could use materials other than latex or vinyl. OSHA said its bloodborne pathogens rule requires appropriate protection without prescribing…
North Carolina hospital association pension as governmental Unknown
A county hospital association asked whether its employee pension plan was excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA found the county’s appointment and control of trustees, financial support, and statutory…
Application of HAZWOPER to universal-waste facilities
A recycling company asked whether HAZWOPER paragraph (p) covered employees at universal-waste destination facilities and handlers. OSHA said destination facilities subject to RCRA Parts 264 and 265…
HAZWOPER coverage of groundwater sampling at contaminated sites
An employer asked whether employees bailing groundwater samples from monitoring wells had to follow OSHA’s HAZWOPER requirements. OSHA said preliminary investigations and voluntary cleanup work at…
Routine asbestos inspections and Class III bulk sampling
A requester asked how asbestos inspections, bulk sampling, and training fit OSHA’s construction asbestos standard. OSHA said sampling suspect material is Class III work when the material contains…
HAZWOPER illumination requirements for RCRA facilities
A waste-management company asked whether OSHA’s HAZWOPER illumination table applied to indoor storage areas at a RCRA-permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facility. OSHA said those facilities…
Good-faith searches for employee medical records
A medical-records service asked how OSHA would treat an employer that could not locate some pre-1992 chest X-rays despite repeated efforts. OSHA said an employer must make a good-faith, diligent…
Glove monitoring devices in medical procedures
A member of Congress asked OSHA to recommend electronic devices that alert healthcare workers when a glove tears. OSHA said it does not endorse medical devices and would evaluate any workplace use…
Employer-stock ownership limits after preferred-share conversion Unknown
A requester asked whether other holders’ redemption or conversion of preferred employer shares forced a plan to retest ERISA section 407(f)(1) limits. EBSA said the test applies on a direct or…
Guards for metal-center grinding wheels
A grinding-wheel maker asked whether a guard must contain an entire metal-center wheel or just its abrasive rim if the wheel fails. OSHA said its abrasive-wheel guarding provision excludes…
Use of a nonapproved emergency respirator
A power company asked OSHA to accept a nonapproved respirator for tactical emergency situations. OSHA said NIOSH approves respirators, and OSHA may consider a nonapproved component only in rare,…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for October–December 1997 Withdrawn
ETA supplied a state-by-state table of average weekly unemployment benefits, calculated 50 percent amounts, and rounded minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits. The figures applied to…
Distinguishing a licensed practical/vocational nurse from an exempt "personal attendant"
A law firm asked DLSE to clarify the line between the services of a licensed practical (vocational) nurse and those of a "personal attendant" under the wage orders. DLSE explained that a personal…
ATM/draft-based payroll delivery service for over-the-road truck drivers satisfies Labor Code 212
A law firm described a client's proposed payroll delivery service for over-the-road truck drivers, letting drivers access all or part of their wages while on the road through direct deposit, ATM…
Proposal for a national electronic safety data sheet repository
A senator asked OSHA about a proposal for a central electronic repository of material safety data sheets. OSHA said electronic delivery can provide immediate access to hazard information, but it did…
OSHA nursing home inspection initiative Unknown
A long-term-care association raised concerns about OSHA’s nursing home inspection initiative, including inspector training and residents’ privacy. OSHA said it considered the inspection framework…
Fall protection in aerial lifts for electric power work Unknown
An electric utility asked which fall protection rules apply to workers in vehicle-mounted aerial lifts under the electric power standard. OSHA said fall arrest or work-positioning equipment must…
1997 federal budget and tax amendments affecting unemployment insurance
ETA explained how the 1997 Balanced Budget Act and Taxpayer Relief Act affected state unemployment insurance programs. The letter covers new hire data disclosures, state base period rules, Reed Act…
Advanced risk analysis training for state unemployment agencies Withdrawn
ETA announced advanced risk analysis classes for state unemployment insurance security staff in early 1998. It asked state administrators to assess their risk analysis plans, complete a full or…
Glove selection for glutaraldehyde exposure
A healthcare employer asked whether latex surgical gloves protect workers handling glutaraldehyde. OSHA said gloves should be impervious to the chemical, identified materials it considered suitable,…
Effect of City of Boerne on religious freedom claims in unemployment insurance
ETA told state unemployment agencies that the Supreme Court's City of Boerne decision invalidated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as applied to state and local laws. It said neutral, generally…
DLSE will not follow the Ninth Circuit's Barner v. City of Novato view that vacation pay isn't salary
A law firm asked whether DLSE would follow the Ninth Circuit's decision in Barner v. City of Novato, which held that the federal salary-basis regulation's terms "amount" and "compensation" mean…
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.