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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Article exemption under the hazard communication rule
A state health department asked when manufactured items count as exempt articles under OSHA’s hazard communication rule. OSHA said a refrigeration unit may qualify in ordinary end use, but workers…
Injury-log duties for health services employers Unknown
A health services company asked whether a low-hazard industry exemption relieved it of OSHA injury and illness logs. Under OSHA’s former SIC-based recordkeeping rules, OSHA said health services…
OSHA response to a question about toluene exposure
A worker asked whether past workplace toluene exposure could explain a child’s medical condition. OSHA replied that, on the information it had in 1997, it did not find an established link to that…
Rust-ring removal and former OSHA injury logs Unknown
A requester asked whether treating a rust ring in an injured eye was recordable. Under OSHA’s former recordkeeping guidance, OSHA said removal of an embedded foreign body counted as medical…
Computer-based bloodborne pathogen safety training
A safety consultant asked whether interactive computer training could meet OSHA training duties, especially for bloodborne pathogens. OSHA said it can be part of a program, but generic software…
Confidentiality and disclosure of unemployment records Withdrawn
ETA said information collected for state unemployment programs is confidential, with specified exceptions. It described when state agencies could or must disclose records to public officials and…
Potable water for general industry and farm workers
A garden business asked whether OSHA required drinking water to be piped instead of bottled. OSHA said applicable general-industry and farm sanitation rules required water meeting the relevant…
Methylene chloride rule and adhesive manufacturers
An adhesive manufacturer asked whether OSHA’s methylene chloride rule would force a switch to more hazardous solvents. OSHA said its rulemaking found the exposure limit feasible for nearly all…
Revised 1997 nonmonetary determination training schedule Withdrawn
ETA revised the 1997 schedule for training state unemployment staff on nonmonetary determination quality. It added sessions, reassigned regions among locations, and gave hotel arrangements and…
Hazard communication for vehicle maintenance chemicals
A technicians’ association asked whether common vehicle-shop fluids counted as hazardous chemicals and whether cotton uniforms were protective equipment. OSHA said antifreeze, oil, and diesel fell…
Rebar caps and construction impalement hazards
OSHA clarified an earlier memo about small mushroom-style rebar caps. It said the caps were not banned for ordinary use or minor-injury prevention, but employers must assess whether exposed rebar…
Trucking inspections, employee interviews, and forklift belts
A trucking association asked about OSHA inspections, private worker interviews, fatality reports, and forklift seat belts. OSHA explained when an employer could require an inspection warrant and how…
Employee status of unpaid 'promotional extras' in motion picture production
A production-industry correspondent asked whether unpaid "promotional extras" who simply show up for crowd scenes are employees under IWC Order 12-80, which broadly defines "extra player" without…
1997 interest rate on Title XII advances Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies that the Treasury Department would charge 6.604 percent interest on Title XII advances during calendar year 1997. The letter required no state action. Its rate…
Insurer affiliate mutual-fund service fees and menu changes Unknown
An insurer affiliate asked about fees from unrelated mutual funds and its ability to replace funds offered to plans. EBSA said receiving fees alone need not violate the cited rule absent fiduciary…
Mutual-fund fees offsetting trustee charges Unknown
A bank trustee asked whether receiving fees from mutual funds selected for client plans violated ERISA. EBSA said disclosed fees used to reduce the plans’ existing trustee obligations, with excess…
Fall protection while moving on reinforcing steel assemblies
Two construction groups asked whether workers needed fall protection while climbing or moving on preassembled reinforcing steel. OSHA said it would not cite those movements under the cited provision…
Overtime exemption for 'for hire' motortrucks does not cover airport or hotel shuttles
This letter corrects an error in a July 10, 1996 DLSE opinion letter to the same attorney about overtime exemptions for a portable-toilet company. The earlier letter had suggested Vehicle Code…
Process safety coverage of public flame displays
A consultant asked whether public flame-effects systems were covered by OSHA’s process safety management rule. OSHA said the display operation described was generally outside that rule. It warned…
Voluntary respirators below nuisance-dust exposure limits
A union representative asked what respirator duties applied when measured dust exposure was below OSHA’s limit. OSHA said a respirator might not be required to meet that limit, but voluntary use…
HEPA vacuum use with asbestos glovebags
A training institute asked whether every asbestos glovebag needed an attached HEPA vacuum. OSHA said its standard includes a glovebag procedure without that attachment. A glovebag system designed to…
Safety data sheets for drugs in physician offices
A clinic asked whether drugs required material safety data sheets and whether a drug reference book could replace them. OSHA said hazardous pharmaceuticals generally require hazard information for…
Hazard labels for portable fire extinguishers
A fire-equipment service company asked when portable extinguishers needed hazard labels, including older units. OSHA said extinguishers containing hazardous chemicals must be labeled regardless of…
Glutaraldehyde and healthcare chemical hazard information
Healthcare workers asked OSHA about glutaraldehyde and workplace chemical rules. OSHA said healthcare employers must maintain hazard communication programs, train workers, and provide updated safety…
Stored flammables under the process safety standard
OSHA told regional offices how to handle atmospheric tanks connected to processes under its process safety management standard after the Meer decision. It said it would not count qualifying…
Electrical welding in a nonpermit confined space
A requester asked whether bringing electrical welding equipment into a nonpermit confined space automatically changed its classification. OSHA said it did not, if welding-rule protections prevented…
1997 national meeting for unemployment appeals staff Withdrawn
ETA announced a joint meeting for state unemployment appeals managers and administrative staff to exchange ideas on managing large appeals workloads. It said states would need to pay participants'…
Corrected final PY 1997 Wagner-Peyser allotments to states Rescinded
ETA corrected the final PY 1997 Wagner-Peyser employment service allotment attachment sent with TEGL No. 8-96. States were told to remove the April 16, 1997 attachment and use the revised May 8…
Federal agency injury logs for claims filed after retirement Unknown
An OSHA region asked how a federal agency should log occupational-illness claims filed by former employees. Under its former federal-agency recordkeeping policy, OSHA said the claim belonged on the…
Consumer travel association health program as MEWA Unknown
Virginia asked whether a consumer and traveler association’s health program was a multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said it was a MEWA on the stated assumption that members included…
Year 2000 readiness of unemployment insurance software Withdrawn
ETA described which national unemployment insurance software and data formats needed changes for the year 2000. It said its Tax Performance System COBOL program was compliant, while the BAM program…
Use of older approved particulate respirator inventories
A respirator supplier asked whether pre-1998 approved filters and respirators could still be sold or used after new manufacturing rules took effect. OSHA said distributors could sell stock acquired…
Minimum disaster unemployment benefits for April–June 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…
Final PY 1997 Wagner-Peyser allotments to states Rescinded
ETA announced final PY 1997 Wagner-Peyser employment service allotments to states and explained the statutory formula, the 3% setaside, and the amount held for postage costs. Its April 16 allotment…
Updated list of significant local and bilingual employment service offices for PY 1997 Rescinded
ETA corrected its PY 1997 list of significant local and bilingual employment service offices because it had omitted a Texas office. State workforce officials were asked to replace the earlier Table…
Fiberglass product labels for workplace and consumer use Unknown
A consumer group asked whether a fiberglass insulation product needed a cancer warning under OSHA’s hazard communication rule. OSHA said workplace products may require that warning and safety-sheet…
Sulfur dioxide concentrations under process safety rules
An engineer asked whether sulfur dioxide in a combustion gas triggered OSHA’s process safety management rule. OSHA rescinded its December 11, 1996 answer and said Appendix A uses commercial-grade…
OSHA nursing home outreach and inspection initiative Unknown
A senator asked why OSHA chose seven states for a nursing-home safety initiative and whether it imposed new duties. OSHA said those states were selected by nursing-home counts and federal…
Salary basis: DLSE revises its 'remuneration' test for the administrative/executive/professional exemptions
An employment attorney asked DLSE eleven detailed questions about how the "remuneration" requirement in the IWC Wage Orders' administrative, executive, and professional exemptions should be…
Class III asbestos work during inspections and bulk sampling
An asbestos inspector asked how bulk sampling was classified and whether EPA inspector training had to be repeated as OSHA Class III training. OSHA said disturbing suspected asbestos for bulk…
Separate asbestos analysis of sheetrock and joint compound
A cleaning contractor asked whether sheetrock and joint compound could be tested as one composite material. OSHA said each must be analyzed separately for asbestos. Where joint compound alone…
Hazardous-material patient care and hospital responder training
A hospital engineers’ group asked what training medical staff needed when treating patients contaminated in a hazardous-material emergency. OSHA said staff who did not run decontamination but might…
Asbestos-containing paint during renovation and demolition Unknown
A consultant asked whether asbestos-containing paint had to be removed before interior work or whole-building demolition. OSHA said the standard did not generally require advance removal, but the…
Automating combined wage claim reimbursement forms Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies it was testing model code to automate Form IB-6 billing and reimbursement for combined wage claims involving more than one state. It planned to distribute the…
Verifying immigration status with the I-766 work card Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies that claimants could present the new I-766 employment authorization card during claims intake. It instructed agencies to treat the I-766 the same as the older…
Liable/Agent data format for interstate unemployment claims Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies to use the Liable/Agent Data Transfer format for sending and receiving interstate claims data. It said support for the older By-pass format would end with data…
Procedures for release of 1996 unemployment insurance benefit accuracy data Withdrawn
ETA told state unemployment agencies how to reconcile and report calendar-year 1996 Benefit Accuracy Measurement data. States could choose whether to release their own data publicly, but still had…
Catholic school pension as church plan Unknown
A school run by Dominican Sisters asked whether its employee pension plan was excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA agreed with an IRS private ruling if the plan still operated substantially as…
OSHA inspections of small dental offices
A dental worker raised concerns about patient care and asked why OSHA could not inspect small dental offices at random. OSHA said patient-care quality belonged to state licensing authorities, while…
Lockout and pressure-vessel rules for forging presses Unknown
An OSHA region asked whether hydraulic forging presses could be cited under the general lockout rule as well as the press-specific rule. OSHA said both could apply. It also said the air-receiver…
Employer outplacement training under ERISA welfare-plan rules Unknown
A telecommunications employer asked whether its outplacement assistance program was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA distinguished ordinary payroll and employer-funded education practices from covered…
Asbestos work with material containing less than one percent asbestos
A scientist asked how OSHA's construction asbestos rule applies after a treatment reduces fireproofing's asbestos content below one percent. OSHA said such material is no longer asbestos-containing…
Protective clothing for hot tar and asphalt construction work
OSHA told its regional administrators how to assess protective clothing during hot tar and asphalt construction. Employers must protect workers exposed to skin burns, but inspectors should consider…
Bloodborne pathogens rule for companion-sitters in private homes
A home care provider asked whether its companion-sitters are covered by OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said employees designated to give first aid are covered, but it treats failure to offer…
Fall protection while cutting a roof opening
A mechanical contractor asked whether its plan for cutting a roof opening meets OSHA's fall protection requirements. OSHA said the described practice is acceptable for workers exposed to falling…
Electrical protective equipment near energized lines Unknown
A contractor asked what protective equipment is suitable when mechanical equipment works near energized lines. OSHA said insulating items such as rubber gloves, blankets, and live-line tools must…
Emergency services exclusion from unemployment coverage
ETA interprets a federal unemployment coverage exception for temporary government employees hired to deal directly with an emergency or its urgent effects. It says disaster-related work is not…
Transferring state UI resources for IT support services Withdrawn
ETA described two ways state unemployment agencies could obtain services from the UI Information Technology Support Center: contract directly with its lead consortium member or seek approval to…
Approval of modifications to powered industrial trucks
An employer asked who may approve changes to forklifts when a manufacturer has closed or refuses approval. OSHA said the user must seek the manufacturer's written approval, or ask a purchasing…
Disclosure of third-party administrator contracts Unknown
A requester asked whether a participant may obtain the plan’s contract with a third-party administrator under ERISA section 104(b)(4). EBSA said disclosure is required if the contract or part of it…
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.