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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Termination expenses of insolvent insurers’ pension plans Unknown
A California insurance liquidator asked whether pension plan assets could pay termination costs when sponsors were insolvent. EBSA said doing so, including maintaining tax-qualified status on…
Fall protection for general-industry rooftop surveys Unknown
A consultant asked whether construction fall-protection measures could satisfy a general-industry guardrail duty during rooftop surveys. OSHA said the construction rule could not itself be…
HAZWOPER training for maintenance workers at a waste facility
An employer asked whether workers who occasionally repair fire systems at a hazardous-waste facility need 24-hour HAZWOPER training. OSHA said the training does not apply if the employer can show no…
Union access to the OSHA 200 injury and illness log Unknown
An employer's attorney asked whether a union needed an individual worker's request to see the OSHA 200 log. OSHA said a union representing workers at an establishment could access the entire log…
Gasoline use for underground construction welding
A mining engineer asked whether gasoline could be used as welding gas in underground construction. OSHA pointed to the underground-construction hot-work and ventilation provisions and said…
Recording a reaction to travel vaccination Unknown
An employer asked whether a worker's reaction to a hepatitis A vaccination for required business travel had to be logged. OSHA said the clinic's recommendation for the required trip made the episode…
Revised interstate claims exchange and commuter weeks claimed reporting Unknown
ETA changed UIPL 38-96's interstate claims data exchange so state unemployment agencies would report reopened and transferred claims as well as initial claims. It also directed states to send…
Hazard communication coverage of dental devices
A dental trade group asked how OSHA's hazard communication rule applies to FDA-regulated dental devices. OSHA said FDA labeling can exempt a device from OSHA labeling, but covered hazardous devices…
California university foundation employees in CalPERS Unknown
A California State University foundation asked whether its employees could participate in CalPERS without changing the system’s governmental status. EBSA found the foundation a state agency or…
Illinois Catholic service corporation benefit plans Unknown
An Illinois corporation controlled by a Catholic religious institute asked whether its retirement and welfare plans were church plans. EBSA agreed with an IRS private ruling if the corporation and…
Labor Code 450: employer cannot require a sales employee to buy a branded truck from chosen vendors
An attorney asked whether Labor Code section 450's ban on compelling employees to patronize third persons applies only to specifically named vendors, or more broadly, and what happens if the…
Nursing home safety initiative and existing employer duties Unknown
Two nursing-home associations questioned OSHA's publicity, education, and enforcement initiative. OSHA said injury data supported its concern, that outreach sessions were meant to explain safety…
Entertainment-industry student intern program does not qualify for the trainee exemption
An attorney asked DLSE to confirm that a studio's unpaid college-student intern program, in which students earned course credit for routine studio tasks, did not create an employment relationship…
Bloodborne pathogen duties for fixed HIV-infected tissue
An attorney asked whether work with fixed HIV-infected tissue and extracted genetic material triggers OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule and waste-treatment duties. OSHA said it could not classify the…
UCFE coverage ruling for USDA nutritional research subjects Unknown
ETA's attached coverage ruling says participants in USDA Agricultural Research Service nutritional studies did not perform federal service for unemployment compensation for federal employees. It…
Overhead steel loads during multiple-lift rigging Unknown
A steel erector asked about suspending multiple steel members over workers during a lift. OSHA discussed then-current limits and said dangerous rigging could raise a general duty issue, while…
Submitting proposed and enacted state unemployment laws Withdrawn
ETA reminded state unemployment agencies to send proposed bills as well as enacted laws to the federal agency for review. Early submission would allow federal staff to flag potential conflicts…
HAZWOPER medical surveillance intervals and covered staff Unknown
An employer asked whether some hazardous-waste workers could receive medical examinations every two years and whether occasional site visitors needed surveillance. OSHA said the attending physician…
Choosing and changing the FMLA 12-month leave period
WHD explained four methods an employer could use to set the 12-month period for FMLA leave. It said the chosen method generally must be applied consistently, and a change requires at least 60 days'…
Recordkeeping for temporary workers in nursing homes Unknown
OSHA corrected a nursing-home safety framework that had given incorrect injury-log advice about temporary workers. It said the firm supervising temporary workers day to day should record their…
Risk analysis training for state UI agencies Withdrawn
ETA announced spring 1997 training for state unemployment agency staff on analyzing security risks and using RiskWatch software. It gave eligibility, schedule, nomination, and travel details and…
Serious health condition, common illness, and treatment
A requester asked whether common illnesses, doctor visits, and complications could amount to an FMLA serious health condition. WHD explained that the answer depends on the statutory and regulatory…
Correcting WHD’s serious-health-condition interpretation
WHD revisited its 1995 response about whether a common illness could qualify as an FMLA serious health condition. It said its earlier view was incorrect and withdrew that letter. A condition…
Stay of roof bracket scaffold platform-width enforcement Unknown
OSHA told regional administrators that it had stayed enforcement of the 12-inch minimum platform-width rule for roof bracket scaffolds. It said manufacturers' input led it to seek a new rulemaking…
Maximum gap between adjacent tank-runway guardrails Unknown
A company asked how large a gap could remain where guarded runways on adjacent tanks meet but cannot be connected. OSHA said a maximum opening of four inches would satisfy the cited general-industry…
Employer payment for lost or replacement protective equipment Unknown
An employer asked whether it could charge workers who failed to bring employer-issued safety helmets or glasses to work. OSHA said required protective equipment generally had to be provided and paid…
Recording an injury when treatment is prescribed or declined Unknown
An employer asked how to log an injury when doctors gave conflicting views and the worker declined treatment. OSHA said the case should be judged by what occurred, including a prescription from the…
Initial investment timing for VCOC status Unknown
A requester asked when an entity can first claim venture capital operating company treatment under ERISA’s plan-assets regulation. EBSA said the initial 50 percent test must be met when it first…
Telephone and electronic unemployment claim filing Unknown
ETA explained how federal unemployment rules applied when states took claims by telephone or other electronic means. It addressed immigration documents, which state receives combined wage or…
Written medical opinion before hepatitis B vaccination
A medical provider asked whether OSHA required a healthcare professional's written opinion before hepatitis B vaccination, rather than only after an exposure. OSHA said employers must obtain a…
Minimum weekly disaster unemployment assistance for October–December 1996 disasters Withdrawn
ETA gave state unemployment agencies the minimum weekly Disaster Unemployment Assistance amounts to use for major disasters declared from October 1 through December 31, 1996. It explained that the…
Retention of confined-space atmospheric exposure records Superseded
A company asked whether atmospheric tests on confined-space permits needed only the permit's one-year retention period. OSHA's 1996 answer distinguished samples from atmospheres workers entered and…
Process safety coverage of vinegar manufacturing with ethanol Unknown
Michigan OSHA asked whether a vinegar plant's ethanol storage and dilution steps were separate under the process safety management rule. OSHA said interconnected vessels and on-site movement of…
Implementation of benefit accuracy measurement changes Withdrawn
ETA described changes approved for state Benefit Accuracy Measurement programs, including lower minimum sample sizes and more flexible investigation methods. States were to start the new sampling…
Waiting-time penalty willfulness and attorneys' fees on appeal from a Labor Commissioner award
In consolidated wage claims, the trial court awarded unpaid wages but denied waiting-time penalties and attorneys' fees after the employer appealed a Labor Commissioner award, arguing nonpayment was…
Using paid sick leave for adoption-related FMLA leave
WHD considered an adoptive parent's request to use accrued sick leave during FMLA leave after the employer allowed vacation leave instead. It said FMLA does not itself require paid leave and that…
Access to railroad tankcars during chlorine unloading Unknown
A consultant asked whether workers could use a railcar's ladder to reach chlorine-unloading connections. OSHA said a ladder meeting applicable DOT or OSHA requirements could be used, and that…
Direct deposit of wages must be to an in-state financial institution
An attorney asked DLSE to confirm that direct deposit of employee wages complies with California wage payment law, and whether wages could instead be deposited into an out-of-state financial…
Bloodborne pathogen coverage of barber shop workers
A member of Congress asked whether OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule applied after a barber shop worker had a one-time bleeding episode. OSHA said barber shops must evaluate whether workers…
Disease-causing agents under the HAZWOPER hazardous-substance definition
An OSHA training office asked whether HAZWOPER's phrase 'other disease-causing agent' includes chemicals, irritation, or heat. OSHA said crystalline silica and chemicals causing diseases such as…
Eliminating hazards before reclassifying a permit-required confined space Unknown
An attorney asked how employers can eliminate hazards before reclassifying a permit-required confined space. OSHA distinguished elimination from isolation, discussed mechanical and hydraulic…
Hazard communication data sheets and DOT hazard labels
A distributor urged OSHA to replace material safety data sheet forwarding with a system modeled on transportation hazard labels. OSHA said its advisory work group had examined that idea and…
Military Reserve earnings and unemployment claims Withdrawn
ETA reported a GAO study finding that some military reservists had received unemployment benefits without reporting Reserve pay. It urged states whose laws reduce weekly benefits for that pay to…
Bloodborne pathogen coverage of Alaska custodial work
OSHA reviewed Alaska's response to a complaint about custodians and bloodborne pathogen exposure. It said employers must assess actual tasks and anticipated blood contact case by case; a maintenance…
Lockout and tagout during oil and gas maintenance Unknown
A consultant asked whether various oil and gas production maintenance activities fell under OSHA's lockout/tagout rule. OSHA said the rule protects both maintenance workers and others nearby from…
Counting restricted workdays when an injured employee does other tasks Unknown
An employer asked whether an injured worker who could not do the normal job but watched training videos or answered phones had days away or restricted workdays. OSHA said any work during part of a…
Recording pressure-related ear illness in flight crews Unknown
An airline asked whether a pressure-related ear condition during aircraft descent had to be recorded. OSHA said the gradual pressure change made the condition an illness under its older guidance and…
Health provider association program lacking employer control Unknown
A health-care provider benefit organization asked whether its program was one plan maintained by an employer association. EBSA found a service supervisor retained decisive control and the…
New Jersey Friends school pension as church plan Unknown
A Religious Society of Friends school asked whether its employee pension was excluded from ERISA Title I. EBSA agreed with the submitted IRS private ruling if the school and plan still operated…
Enforcement of lockout and tagout after a court decision Unknown
OSHA instructed inspectors how to apply its lockout/tagout rule after a court decision involving a machine with warning signals and a multi-step startup. It said most enforcement would be…
Outside consultants conducting lockout inspections
A consultant asked whether OSHA's requirement for periodic lockout inspections by an authorized employee excludes outside consultants. OSHA said an authorized person for this purpose can be a…
Mixed radioactive and blood-contaminated syringe waste
A nuclear pharmacy asked which agency regulates syringes contaminated by both radioactive medicine and blood. OSHA said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission governs disposal of mixed waste and that…
Minimum teams for commercial scuba and surface-supplied dives Unknown
A diving contractors' association asked for minimum team sizes for scuba and surface-supplied air dives. OSHA said each described setup required at least three people, with the roles and tending…
Discarding unneeded safety data sheets and using fax access
A feed industry association asked whether plants could discard sheets for nonhazardous products and rely on fax transmission for sheets at multiple locations. OSHA said the rule did not require…
FMLA leave for a newly placed foster child
A postal employee asked whether she could take FMLA leave when a licensed foster agency placed a newborn child with her. WHD said the described placement qualified, assuming she met the employee…
Toilet facility counts for telecommunications employers
A telecommunications union asked whether employers still had to follow the toilet-facility counts in Table J-1 of OSHA's sanitation rule. OSHA said the table remained part of the rule and covered…
Potable water for beauty salon workers
A member of Congress asked what potable-water rule applies to beauty salons. OSHA said water used for drinking, washing, and personal service rooms must meet the rule's drinking-water definition or…
Plan-asset look-through for mortgage pool interests Unknown
A mortgage company asked whether plans buying interests in a trust would hold only their certificates or also underlying mortgages. EBSA said the certificates were equity interests in a trust and,…
Voluntary workplace violence guidance for late-night retail
A member of Congress questioned whether OSHA's draft late-night retail violence guidelines would create binding duties. OSHA said the guidelines were advisory recommendations, not enforceable…
1997 appropriations limits on OSHA enforcement Unknown
OSHA told regional administrators that the fiscal-year 1997 appropriations law continued the same restrictions on enforcement actions. It directed them to keep using its existing directive and the…
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.