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.
No documents match your search
Try different keywords or clear a filter.
First aid program requirements where a medical facility is near the workplace Unknown
An industry group asked what first aid arrangements employers need when a medical facility is near the workplace. OSHA said the required response time depends on the likely severity of workplace…
Platforms and ladders on communication towers Unknown
A communication tower engineering firm asked which OSHA rules apply to ladders, platforms and climbing devices. OSHA said 29 CFR 1910.23 and 1910.27 apply, and described when ladderway openings and…
1992 amendments to JTPA Title III dislocated worker services Rescinded
ETA explained amendments to JTPA Title III that took effect when the 1993 defense authorization law was signed. The guidance covered state rapid response duties, reporting, needs related payments,…
Recording TB related cases on the OSHA 200 Log Unknown
OSHA instructed regional recordkeeping coordinators to record work-related tuberculosis infections and disease on the OSHA 200 Log. It said a workplace exposure is presumed in certain healthcare and…
OSHA jurisdiction at an Indian reservation clinic
A dentist asked whether OSHA covered employees working at a clinic on an Indian reservation. OSHA said the Act made no special exemption for tribes, that tribal employers were treated like other…
Dust exposure monitoring in hazardous waste site plans
An environmental consultant asked how OSHA's HAZWOPER rules interact with a state agency's dust action level for cleanup projects. OSHA said it enforces its own worker standards, while stricter…
Bloodborne pathogen hazards at construction sites
An electrical contractors' association asked whether exclusion from OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule also meant construction employers had no duty to address blood exposure. OSHA said the general…
Taiwan representative office health plan under ERISA Unknown
A representative office of Taiwan asked whether its proposed U.S. employee health program would be an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said it would provide covered medical benefits through an employer in…
Employee-funded supplemental disability association under ERISA Unknown
A requester asked whether a voluntarily funded disability trust for warehouse employees was an ERISA welfare plan. EBSA said the employee association, limited to workers at one employer location and…
UC Tax Audit Documentation Requirements
ETA sent state unemployment agencies revised documentation standards for employer tax field audits, including a detailed Employment Security Manual attachment. It reduced the fiscal 1993 minimum…
Guarding protruding rebar against impalement
A safety consultant asked how far reinforcing steel must protrude before OSHA requires guarding. OSHA said length was not the trigger: rebar of any length had to be guarded where a worker could fall…
McDermott, Inc./Gates Construction Co., Inc. inspection workers considered as seamen Unknown
OSHA reviewed whether workers on an inspected pipe-laying barge were land-based maritime workers or seamen. It concluded that their berthing and meals aboard the vessel, together with their work…
Engine cut off switch for an elevated work platform Unknown
An equipment company asked whether an employee on an elevated work platform needs an engine cutoff switch on a powered industrial truck. OSHA said the switch is required when the truck has controls…
Vertical stack and scaling ladders in construction
A state safety investigator asked how OSHA treated temporary vertical stack or scaling ladders. OSHA said they were portable ladders, but vertical use with another effective fall protection method…
HAZWOPER refresher training after lapses in work
An industrial hygiene firm asked when HAZWOPER refresher training was due and what workers returning after a long absence needed. OSHA said refresher training was intended within twelve months,…
Employer investment staff expenses reimbursed by pension plans Unknown
An employer asked whether its pension plans could reimburse salaries and expenses of staff managing their investments. EBSA said a services exemption could apply if its conditions were met, and…
Navy gas-free certification for shipyard hot work
OSHA responded to a regional question about Navy personnel certifying former fuel spaces for hot work. It said a Navy Gas Free Engineer met its competent-person requirement, while a Gas Free…
OSHA does not cover restaurant customer safety Unknown
A congressional office relayed a concern about hot food skillets carried above shoulder height near restaurant customers. OSHA said its jurisdiction concerned employee safety and did not cover…
Cumulative trauma disorder (recording) on the OSHA 200 log Unknown
A medical consultant asked how to record several possible cumulative trauma disorder cases. OSHA said an immobilizing splint is generally medical treatment, ice used at home is first aid, and a job…
Request for approval of hoist hook remote release device Unknown
A manufacturer asked OSHA to approve or recommend a remote release device for crane hoist hooks. OSHA said it does not approve or endorse products because workplace conditions and product use vary.…
Georgia Baptist hospital benefit plans as church plans Unknown
A request made for the Baptist Convention of the State of Georgia asked whether benefit plans for its hospital system were church plans. EBSA found the churches' control of the institutions and an…
Pittsburgh Mercy health system plans as church plans Unknown
A Pittsburgh Mercy health system asked whether its hospital and related institutions’ employee plans were church plans. EBSA said the Catholic order’s control of the institutions and associated…
Puerto Rico payroll deduction rule preempted for ERISA plans Unknown
An employer asked whether Puerto Rico could prohibit payroll deductions for employee contributions to an ERISA savings plan. EBSA reaffirmed its earlier opinions that the cited Puerto Rico provision…
Reusable phlebotomy collection device Unknown
A medical device maker asked whether its reusable phlebotomy holder complied with OSHA’s bloodborne-pathogens standard. OSHA said the device appeared to allow a contaminated needle to be recapped…
Transition guidance for the 1992 JTPA amendments Withdrawn
ETA gave states and local job-training areas transition rules for the 1992 JTPA amendments. It explained how to use older funds, serve participants enrolled before the new rules, handle procurement…
ERISA preemption does not require an advisory opinion Unknown
A firm asked whether New Jersey could apply a state insurance coordination rule to an ERISA plan until DOL issued an opinion about preemption. EBSA said ERISA preemption is self-executing and does…
Contractual commission-earning conditions can delay payday timing, but earned commissions are still due at termination
An advertising company's counsel asked DLSE whether its outside sales representatives' commission structure — commissions calculated monthly and treated as unearned until full customer payment is…
Television transmission towers Unknown
A Kentucky official asked which federal OSHA standards apply to television transmission towers. OSHA said the telecommunications standard leaves uncovered operations subject to other applicable Part…
Firefighter HAZWOPER training and NFPA 472 levels
A fire training commission asked whether 1992 NFPA 472 courses met HAZWOPER requirements and who set responders' roles. OSHA said the NFPA levels were generally equivalent except for the hazardous…
Criteria for recording work-related tuberculosis cases on OSHA Form 200 Unknown
OSHA instructed regional coordinators to record work-related tuberculosis infections and disease on the OSHA 200 Log. It presumed work-related exposure in specified healthcare and congregate…
Coast Guard authority over housing on fish processors
A regional office asked whether OSHA could apply temporary labor camp housing rules to floating fish processors. OSHA said the Coast Guard governed vessel living spaces, removed that subject from a…
Material safety data sheets for table salt
A senator asked why a constituent had received a material safety data sheet for table salt. OSHA said manufacturers determine a product's hazards, its consumer-product exception depends on employee…
A mileage reimbursement covers accident/theft losses on a personal vehicle used for work, and an employer can't shift that cost onto the employee
A retail employer asked whether paying managers 25 cents per mile to use their own vehicles on company business satisfied Labor Code §2802, and whether it could also require managers to buy their…
IWC Wage Order §9's deduction for an unreturned uniform or safety item is likely unenforceable against final wages, despite its plain text
An employer's counsel asked whether it was legal to deduct the cost of an unreturned company-issued safety belt from an employee's wages, since Section 9 of the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage…
Mixed hourly/piece-rate pay requires a blended regular rate for overtime; a golf instructor's per-lesson fee isn't a true 'commission'
A worker paid a piece-rate for golf lessons and an hourly rate for other time asked DLSE how to calculate the regular rate of pay for overtime purposes. DLSE first clarified that a per-lesson fee…
A mortgage loan officer can share in a loan's sale gain or loss when that gain/loss is a known part of the commission transaction itself
Counsel for a mortgage lender asked whether it was acceptable under California law for loan officers to share in the gain or loss realized when a closed loan is later sold at a different interest…
Plywood sheeting in excavation shoring systems
A utility contractor asked whether layered plywood could hold back soil in a hydraulic waler trench system. OSHA said plywood could contain raveling soil and transfer its load but could not replace…
Recording elastic bandage use and small burns on the OSHA log Unknown
A safety professional asked whether using an elastic bandage or treating a small burn makes an injury recordable. OSHA said a non-constraining bandage is generally first aid, while an immobilizing…
Disaster unemployment benefit amounts for January–March 1993 Unknown
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use the attached average weekly benefit amounts when calculating disaster unemployment assistance for disasters occurring January through March 1993.…
Upper controls on crane-supported personnel platforms Unknown
A crane maker asked OSHA to revisit its 1990 letter requiring upper controls on personnel platforms attached to mobile crane booms. OSHA said the earlier letter was superseded: upper controls were…
Bracing masonry walls built beside scaffolds
A construction safety council asked whether a masonry wall could remain unbraced on its scaffolded side until scaffolding was removed. OSHA said walls over eight feet that were not otherwise…
Spirometry tubing and bloodborne pathogen exposure
A medical equipment supplier asked whether spirometry tubing had to be sterilized under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said ordinary saliva outside dental procedures was not covered unless…
Ground-fault protection in construction job trailers
A builders' association asked if outlets inside a construction job trailer needed construction-site ground-fault protection. OSHA said certain interior outlets still needed protection under the…
ADA bloodborne compliance checklist does not assure compliance
OSHA clarified that its limited review of an American Dental Association checklist did not approve the checklist or promise that a dental office using it would comply with the bloodborne pathogens…
Larger chest X-ray film under OSHA standards
A testing provider asked if 16-by-17-inch chest X-ray films remained acceptable where OSHA rules specified 14-by-17-inch film. OSHA reaffirmed its earlier position that the larger format was…
Bloodborne pathogens rule for small medical offices Unknown
A physician questioned the cost and complexity of the bloodborne pathogens standard for small medical offices. OSHA described the bloodborne risks to health care workers, the rule's development and…
Daylight blasting rule inside a contained vessel
A contractor asked whether it could blast hardened material inside a furnace vessel before dawn. OSHA said the sunup-to-sundown requirement addressed outdoor blasting, where daylight helps keep…
Intra-Title II transfers of JTPA funds Rescinded
ETA explained how service delivery areas could use remaining Title II-A funds for 1993 activities and transfer limited amounts among Title II program parts with a governor's approval. It described…
Approval requirements for electrical conductors and equipment Unknown
A lawyer asked how OSHA’s electrical equipment approval rule involves nationally recognized testing laboratories. OSHA said electrical conductors and equipment used to safeguard employees must be…
Long-term restrictions, geographic scope and work-related injury logging Unknown
An employer asked eight questions about OSHA 200 Log entries, including permanent job modifications, travel into the United States, self-administered treatment, chipped teeth and days away from…
Recording work-related falls and cumulative trauma symptoms Unknown
An employer asked whether to log an employee’s head cut after fainting from a vitamin reaction and another employee’s wrist symptoms after computer work. OSHA said the fall injury was recordable…
JTPA amendments and modifications to state coordination plans Rescinded
ETA told governors how to update their JTPA coordination and statewide job training plans for the 1992 amendments. It identified required changes to oversight, program coordination, resource use and…
Handling sterile and contaminated medical instruments in operating rooms Unknown
An operating room director asked whether OSHA forbids passing sharp instruments directly between staff. OSHA said the bloodborne-pathogens standard does not regulate sterile instruments, so…
Bloodborne pathogens standard costs and personal protective equipment requirements Unknown
A physician raised concerns about the cost and scope of OSHA’s bloodborne-pathogens standard. OSHA said the personal protective equipment requirement is performance based: employers may select gear…
Rope ladder access to sheet pilings during construction Unknown
A construction company asked whether a rope ladder could provide access to the top of sheet pilings during installation. OSHA’s national office said the described use would comply if the safeguards…
Ammonia solutions covered by the Process Safety Management standard Unknown
A chemical company asked whether the Process Safety Management listing for ammonia solutions above 44 percent by weight also covers ammonium chloride or ammonium bisulfite solutions. OSHA said the…
Reallotment of 1992 JTPA Title III formula funds Withdrawn
ETA told states how it recaptured excess unspent JTPA Title III funds and reallotted them for program year 1992. Its attached Federal Register notice explains the formula and lists the change for…
California overtime law applies to an air charter company despite the federal FLSA's air-carrier exemption; state law isn't preempted
An air charter company operating under an FAA Air Carrier Certificate asked DLSE to confirm its belief that it was exempt from California overtime requirements, apparently based on a…
Annual bloodborne pathogen training frequency
A congressional office asked whether the bloodborne pathogens rule required Red Cross volunteers to take five hours of training every ninety days. OSHA said that was incorrect: covered workers…
Hepatitis B vaccination series follow-up under the bloodborne pathogens standard Unknown
A clinical laboratory asked how closely it had to monitor employees completing hepatitis B vaccinations. OSHA said employers need good-faith reminders, not extraordinary efforts, and employees may…
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.