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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Post-emergency cleanup training and medical surveillance
An oil-production employer asked how HAZWOPER applied to crews who clean up after an emergency and whether all responders need medical surveillance. OSHA distinguished emergency and post-emergency…
Updated fax contacts for Title XII advance requests Unknown
This change to UIPL 3-91 replaced the fax contact details used when state agencies sent advance notice of Title XII loan or interest-payment requests. It also directed them to make an immediate…
Securities brokers and the ERISA limited-scope audit rule Unknown
A requester asked whether a securities broker could provide certified statements that an ERISA plan auditor may leave outside the audit opinion. EBSA said the cited exception requires a regulated…
Orthopedic devices and recordable injuries Unknown
An employer asked when a wrist splint or other orthopedic aid made symptoms recordable on the former OSHA log. OSHA said immobilizing casts or splints generally counted as medical treatment, while…
Restricted work after an employee lifting limit Unknown
An employer asked whether a driver’s lifting limit counted as restricted work when the driver sometimes had to lift heavier bags. OSHA said normal duties include tasks expected during the calendar…
Lost workday counts after employment termination Unknown
An employer asked whether firing an injured worker stopped lost workday counting. OSHA said an unrelated termination may stop the day count but does not erase a recordable case; when the reason for…
Communicating with welders inside confined spaces
A lawyer asked whether a confined-space welding rule required direct visual observation despite another OSHA example allowing tank-wall tapping. OSHA said tapping could provide adequate…
HAZWOPER coverage at contaminated groundwater treatment plants
A water treatment facility asked whether HAZWOPER covered its work on groundwater from a hazardous waste cleanup site. OSHA said monitoring could support an absence of significant worker exposure…
Facial hair and powered air-purifying respirators
An employer asked whether a powered air-purifying respirator could protect workers with beards. OSHA said hair under the visor’s sealing edge would prevent a proper seal under the cited respiratory…
Classifying potentially gassy underground worksites
An OSHA region asked when underground construction must be classified as potentially gassy. OSHA distinguished a full 24-hour monitoring period at or above ten percent of the lower explosive limit…
Hepatitis B vaccine consent forms and liability waivers
A care employer asked whether staff could sign a hepatitis B vaccination consent form that also waived employer liability. OSHA said the waiver imposed a cost contrary to the free-vaccine…
Disaster unemployment benefit amounts for July–September 1993 Unknown
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use the attached average weekly benefit amounts when calculating disaster unemployment assistance for disasters occurring July through September 1993.…
Coca-Cola short-term disability pay as payroll practice Unknown
An employer asked whether its short-term disability income program for nonexempt workers was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said payments from the employer’s general assets, made only during medical…
Excavation protection and an error in OSHA safety materials
A construction safety administrator pointed out an error in an OSHA accident-prevention sheet. OSHA agreed that its excavation rule did not require a trench to reach a minimum length before…
Keeping injury logs for long-term off-site employees Unknown
An employer asked where to keep injury records for employees working at another site. OSHA said an assignment expected to last over a year could make that site a fixed establishment, and explained…
Positioning hook for concrete formwork under proposed rule Unknown
A contractor asked if a positioning hook for concrete forms met OSHA construction standards. OSHA said no then-current construction rule applied to positioning devices and described a proposed,…
Head protection on fishing vessels and variance requests
A fishing company asked to use a different helmet instead of the head protection described by OSHA’s rule. OSHA said no variance was needed where there was no falling or flying object hazard; where…
Reverse signal alarms on construction vehicles
A manufacturer asked whether a radar backup alarm met OSHA’s construction vehicle rule. OSHA declined to approve the product but said an alarm that activates when the vehicle is shifted into reverse…
Custom safety footwear and hazard control priority
A custom shoe maker asked about using its footwear where industrial safety shoes were required. OSHA said workplace hazards should first be addressed through engineering controls, then…
Bloodborne pathogen coverage for lifeguards
An OSHA region asked whether lifeguards fell under the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said their emergency response duties generally made blood exposure reasonably anticipated, so covered…
American Fidelity Trust as a multiple employer welfare arrangement Unknown
Virginia regulators asked whether an association health trust was a multiple employer welfare arrangement. EBSA said its coverage of workers from several unrelated employers made it a MEWA, so ERISA…
Needle blunting and recapping before disposal
An inventor asked whether a device that blunted and recapped needles before disposal complied with OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA declined product approval and said blunting that leaves a…
Executive exemption: California's 'primarily engaged in' test differs from the federal 'primary duty' test, and simultaneous work counts once
An attorney for retail-service employers asked DLSE to confirm that managers and assistant managers who spend most of a long workday on managerial duties, but also make sales or perform service work…
Further questions on EUC elections, eligibility and interstate claims Unknown
ETA explained how to determine emergency unemployment compensation entitlement when a claimant postpones a new regular benefit year or defers rights to regular benefits. Its questions and answers…
Seven confined-space permit and rescue questions Unknown
A utility contractors association asked seven questions about permit-required confined spaces. OSHA distinguished ventilated permit-space procedures from reclassification and explained…
Exclusive control of a plug during equipment servicing Unknown
An employer asked what exclusive control of a plug means while servicing cord-connected equipment. OSHA said the worker must be able to prevent re-energization, such as by holding the plug, keeping…
Worker safety at crane-based bungee jumping operations Unknown
An industry association asked about OSHA’s role in bungee jumping from cranes. OSHA said it covered employees at those operations, while spectator and non-employee jumper safety belonged to other…
Controlled descent devices in emergency escape plans Unknown
A maker sought OSHA confirmation that its controlled descent device met emergency escape requirements. OSHA declined to endorse it, saying employers must assess their own hazards and escape routes…
Disinfectant claims for bloodborne pathogen protection Unknown
A university project asked OSHA to confirm which disinfectant labels were acceptable under the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA agreed with the described tuberculocidal approach and said an HIV-only…
Blood exposure for recycling sorters and needle-removal supervisors
A recycling operator asked whether occasionally finding needles gave its manual sorters occupational blood exposure. OSHA said the described stop-and-notify process could avoid reasonably…
Approval and grounding of construction generators
A generator manufacturer asked whether portable and vehicle-mounted generators used at construction sites had to be approved and how grounding terms applied. OSHA said generators counted as…
Employer duties under the hazard communication rule
A correspondent questioned the employer’s and federal government’s responsibilities for chemical safety information. OSHA explained that the hazard communication rule requires suppliers to transmit…
Reeves Sleeve rescue stretcher use and training Unknown
A rescue stretcher representative asked if the Reeves Sleeve met OSHA requirements. OSHA's construction office said proper application and user training could satisfy relevant emergency rescue…
Sulfuric acid and oleum under process safety management Unknown
An employer asked whether sulfuric acid fell under OSHA’s process safety management rule. OSHA said 93–98 percent sulfuric acid was outside the rule and described coverage for specified…
Bloodborne pathogen duties for a utility employer
A gas company asked whether the bloodborne pathogens rule applied outside healthcare. OSHA said coverage depends on reasonably anticipated blood or other infectious material contact in employees’…
Interim unemployment fund cash management under CMIA Unknown
ETA gave state unemployment agencies interim cash management instructions under the Cash Management Improvement Act while DOL regulations were pending. The letter replaced a one-day benefit-account…
Monthly employment definition on quarterly contribution reports Unknown
ETA recommended that states clarify how employers count monthly employment on quarterly contribution reports and in employer handbooks. Its proposed wording counts covered full-time and part-time…
Commercial-grade chemicals under process safety management Unknown
A chemical company asked whether Appendix A substances without stated concentration limits were exempt when commercial purity fell below 99 percent. OSHA said the commercial grades of listed…
Off-shift emergency response training for chemical plants
A chemical plant asked whether off-shift workers could assist outside their own process area after hazardous releases. OSHA said the need for HAZWOPER training depends on the release hazard and…
Disinfecting surfaces contaminated with blood Unknown
A hospital asked whether cleaning or protective coverings could replace disinfecting blood-contaminated surfaces. OSHA said covered surfaces must be decontaminated, discussed protective coverings…
Recording skin conditions, heat illness, and blisters Unknown
An employer asked several questions about recording skin conditions, heat effects, blisters, and disputed work relationship. OSHA explained how workplace exposure or aggravation made cases work…
Electronic log signatures and multiple recordkeeping scenarios Unknown
A lawyer asked eight questions under OSHA’s former injury-log system. OSHA accepted electronic certification with supporting documentation and addressed prescriptions, vaccine reactions, parking-lot…
Computerized injury logs and travel to treatment Unknown
An employer asked whether a computerized injury log was available if it could be printed immediately, and whether a car crash en route to medical treatment was work related. OSHA accepted immediate…
Work relationship during travel and voluntary activities Unknown
An employer asked whether injuries away from its premises counted as work related. OSHA said the former recordkeeping test turned on whether the worker was carrying out work duties or present…
Recording disputed injury and illness claims Unknown
A requester asked how employers should handle disputed workplace injury claims on the former OSHA log. OSHA said employers make the recording decision based on substantive evidence and should record…
Restricted work limited to the injury day Unknown
An employer asked how to record work restrictions that did not last beyond the injury day. OSHA said the case was entered without lost workdays under the former log and explained how…
Carpal tunnel syndrome and work relationship in records Unknown
A requester asked how to classify carpal tunnel syndrome. OSHA explained that workplace exposure need only contribute to or aggravate the condition for work relationship under the former system,…
Emergency eyewash and shower equipment for corrosive exposure Unknown
A safety equipment supplier asked what OSHA expected of emergency eyewash and shower facilities where workers could contact corrosive materials. OSHA described its quick-drenching requirement and…
Reuse of contaminated uniforms during asbestos removal
A uniform supplier asked whether asbestos workers could leave a contaminated uniform in the equipment room during a break and put it back on when returning. OSHA said the described reuse violated…
Twenty-four injury and illness recordkeeping questions Unknown
A meatpacking employer asked 24 questions about OSHA’s former injury and illness log. OSHA explained how it classified treatments and conditions, including medicines, wound closures, blisters, and…
Steel-toe footwear for electrical trades
An electrical worker asked about wearing steel-toe shoes. OSHA said it generally did not consider them hazardous if the conductive part was neither exposed nor touching the foot, and pointed to…
Capacity of modified portable ladders
A union asked whether adding support legs could raise the safe capacity of a portable ladder. OSHA said a modified Type 1A ladder could comply if a registered professional engineer certified the…
Pulmonary function testing and respirator medical programs
A union asked whether respirator use always required pulmonary function testing and raised concerns about spirometer hygiene and tester qualifications. OSHA said testing came from certain…
Training outside HAZMAT teams for waste-site emergencies
An employer asked whether an outside HAZMAT team needed full hazardous-waste-site worker training to respond anywhere on a site. OSHA said responders trained for their emergency duties under…
Variance application guidance for OSHA field staff Unknown
OSHA sent field offices a handout explaining variances. It said a permanent variance is an equally protective alternative method, while a temporary variance allows time to comply with a new…
Contractor health coverage and cash benefits during FMLA leave
WHD answered a contractor asking about medical premiums during unpaid FMLA leave. It said the employer must continue group health coverage, including insurance used to satisfy a contract wage…
Restricted duties for workers trained across production lines Unknown
An employer asked whether an injured worker had restricted work if a medical limit affected a job the worker was trained for but was not currently doing. OSHA said a cross-trained job was part of…
Lockout and machine guarding interpretation for printing presses
OSHA told its regional offices that an earlier letter on lockout and guarding applied to printing presses only. It said references to standards for binding and finishing equipment had caused…
Who supplies chemical hazard labels and data sheets
A member of Congress forwarded a concern that health workers should not have to create labels for hazardous products. OSHA said manufacturers, importers, or distributors must label outgoing…
Power strips used for surge protection or extra outlets Unknown
An OSHA safety committee asked when workplace power strips violated electrical rules. OSHA distinguished devices used for surge suppression from strips used solely to add convenient outlets, which…
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.