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.
Bloodborne pathogens standard: frequently asked questions
OSHA answers 80 questions about the bloodborne pathogens standard, including who is covered and what employers must do for exposure controls, vaccination, training, and records. The FAQ says it does…
Inspection and certification of cranes at construction sites Unknown
A crane company asked whether federal OSHA required certification stickers from an accredited maritime agency for cranes on a construction site. OSHA said its rules then required competent-person…
Hospital respiratory protection for routine exposures and chemical emergencies Unknown
A hospital safety supervisor asked about respirators for routine ethylene oxide and formaldehyde exposure and for spills or leaks. OSHA said routine respirators were not needed if sampling showed…
Injury and illness recordkeeping requirements for sheltered workshops Unknown
A state labor official asked whether sheltered workshops had to keep OSHA injury and illness logs. OSHA said workshops properly classified under SIC 8331 were exempt unless the Bureau of Labor…
Ammonia refrigeration emergency response training
A plant operator asked how HAZWOPER emergency response training applied to maintenance workers and contractors at an ammonia refrigeration site. OSHA said expected responders needed training for…
HAZWOPER coverage of clean support-zone staff
A hazardous waste site employer asked if administrative employees in a monitored clean support zone needed HAZWOPER training. OSHA said they were outside the rule under the described facts because…
Counting contaminated laundry away from patient rooms
A linen service asked whether its route workers could count soiled health-care textiles before bagging them. OSHA said the rule barred sorting at the location of use but did not prohibit counting in…
Two-handed needle recapping device review
A dentist asked if a proposed device could be used to recap contaminated needles. OSHA said recapping was allowed only for specified medical need or infeasibility of alternatives, and then required…
Bloodborne exposure for hotel housekeeping staff
A safety consultant asked whether hotel housekeepers were covered by the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said non-health-care housekeeping was not generally covered, but employers had to assess…
Disinfectants for blood-contaminated surfaces
A disinfectant supplier asked what products met OSHA's bloodborne pathogens decontamination rule. OSHA said EPA regulated product registration, while OSHA required an appropriate disinfectant for…
Blood-contaminated evidence and protective gear decontamination
An OSHA region asked how blood-soaked evidence and protective gear could be handled under the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA discussed closed containers, possible infeasibility or variance…
Bloodborne pathogen protection in construction and maintenance
A health service asked whether construction workers with blood exposure had to receive hepatitis B vaccination. OSHA said its bloodborne pathogens rule did not apply to construction work but could…
Hydrochloric acid solutions under the Process Safety Management standard Unknown
A manufacturer asked whether OSHA’s Process Safety Management listing for hydrogen chloride covered a 37 percent hydrochloric acid solution. OSHA said Appendix A listed hydrogen chloride and…
Military pay schedule for unemployment claims by ex-servicemembers Superseded
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to use the attached military pay schedule to determine federal wages for UCX first claims beginning with the first week after April 3, 1993. Earlier first…
Aqueous hydrochloric acid and PSM chemical listing
A manufacturer asked if a 37 percent hydrochloric acid solution was covered by OSHA's process safety management rule. OSHA said the Appendix A listing covered hydrogen chloride in its anhydrous…
Employers must pay for mandatory safety-orientation training and certification, for both current employees and job applicants
Counsel for a general contractor asked whether workers could be required to complete, on their own time and at their own expense, an 8-hour industry safety orientation program needed to badge into…
Whether a voluntarily-departing employee forfeits a bonus tied to a post-fiscal-year vesting date depends on the facts, not a bright-line rule
Counsel asked whether an employee who voluntarily terminates employment after the close of the fiscal year, but before a plan's later vesting date six months out, forfeits an incentive bonus, and…
Review of Reeves Sleeve stretcher for emergency rescue Unknown
A supplier asked OSHA to review a particular emergency rescue stretcher. OSHA said it does not approve or endorse products, but the device appeared capable of meeting a construction emergency rescue…
Rigging rule applies to pulling loads
A shoring company asked whether OSHA's construction rigging rule applied when rigging equipment pulled rather than lifted a load. OSHA said 29 CFR 1926.251 applied whenever the equipment was used to…
Hazardous waste transport and HAZWOPER response training
A senator asked about rules for handling and transporting hazardous waste. OSHA said HAZWOPER did not cover vehicle operators merely as drivers, but operators expected to respond to a transport…
The Treatment of Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Cases in Unemployment Insurance (UI) Quality Control (QC) Unknown
ETA told state agencies how to treat unemployment insurance payments that later become Emergency Unemployment Compensation payments because a claimant elects that program. Such payments were not to…
Sacred Heart Medical Center pension as a church plan Unknown
A requester acting for the Bernardine Sisters asked whether the retirement plan for Sacred Heart Medical Center employees was a church plan. EBSA said the religious order's control of the center and…
AAA Michigan disability pay as payroll practice Unknown
An employer asked whether its disability income replacement program became an ERISA welfare plan after changing how payments were administered. EBSA said benefits paid exclusively from the…
OSHA injury and illness reporting and workers compensation data Unknown
A museum suggested OSHA obtain injury and illness data from workers compensation carriers instead of employer records. OSHA said those data were likely incomplete and lacked some information the OSH…
Flammable liquid storage and the Process Safety Management exemption Unknown
Two trade associations asked whether the PSM exemption covered all flammable liquids kept below their boiling point without refrigeration. OSHA said it applied to liquids in tanks, containers and…
Whether a vocational-training participant is a minimum-wage-exempt 'trainee' turns on how much the on-site placement resembles ordinary job training
Counsel for a nonprofit serving homeless young adults asked DLSE to bless, in advance, a planned vocational program placing participants at "trainer businesses" for hands-on skills training, as…
California has no federal-style 'salary basis test'; DLSE explains at length how its executive/administrative/professional exemption differs from the FLSA's
An attorney asked whether the federal "salary basis test" used to determine FLSA exemption status (and a related federal case, Abshire) affects California's own executive/administrative/professional…
Charlotte Mercy Hospital pension as a church plan Unknown
A North Carolina Mercy hospital asked whether its employee pension plan was a church plan. EBSA said the Catholic order’s control of the hospital and associated plan committee met the definition on…
Recording hearing loss when an employee works at multiple establishments Unknown
A regional office asked where a company should record an employee’s hearing loss after the employee had worked at two plants. OSHA said to log an illness at the establishment where the exposure…
Copper alloy material safety data sheets
A trade association asked OSHA to evaluate a generic material safety data sheet for copper alloys. OSHA said it did not approve such sheets; manufacturers and importers had to assess known or…
Use of the Interstate Telecommunication Network (INTERNET) to Send and Receive Request for Wage Transfers and Report on Determinations for Combined Wage Claims Unknown
ETA directed state unemployment agencies to stop using paper for specified combined-wage claim wage-transfer requests, responses, and determination reports starting April 5, 1993. States were to use…
Contract employees and injury and illness recordkeeping requirements Unknown
A bottling company asked who logs injuries and illnesses of workers supplied by a temporary help service. OSHA said the key factor was who supervised the workers’ daily methods and tasks. If the…
Correction to quality appraisal answer on nonmonetary determination promptness Unknown
ETA corrected the second answer attached to UIPL 10-93. When a potential issue is detected before the claimant certifies for the affected week, states should start the nonmonetary determination…
HAZWOPER cleanup and emergency training handout corrections
A worker safety committee asked OSHA to review a HAZWOPER handout. OSHA did not endorse it but gave detailed corrections about site coverage, worker training, emergency release criteria, response…
Hazard communication for medications in care facilities
A long-term care association asked whether FDA-regulated medications were exempt from OSHA's hazard communication rule. OSHA said a court had rejected the prior broad exemption, so hazardous drugs…
HAZWOPER completion certificates and field experience
A training college asked whether a certificate of attendance met HAZWOPER requirements. OSHA said instructors had to assess successful completion of the training objectives and certify it, and…
Area classification drawings for petrochemical plants Unknown
A requester asked whether OSHA required area classification drawings under industry electrical standards. OSHA said it did not require or enforce those drawings, though its hazardous-location…
Hazard communication for resident-supplied medications
A long-term care operator asked how the hazard communication rule applied when residents obtained prescriptions from outside pharmacies. OSHA said it covered foreseeable hazardous drugs used by…
Additional warrant officer pay grade for the 1992 UCX remuneration schedule Superseded
ETA added the W-5 warrant officer pay grade to the 1992 military remuneration schedule used for unemployment claims by former service members. It supplied a complete revised schedule for state…
Hazard communication exceptions for dermatology products
A dermatology group asked whether patch test kits and several office and consumer products were exempt from hazard communication duties. OSHA said FDA-labeled kits could be exempt from OSHA's label…
Use of JTPA six percent funds for information system redesign Withdrawn
ETA allowed states and local service delivery areas to use certain JTPA technical assistance and incentive funds to update their management information systems for new participant reporting and…
Lockout and tagout duties for contractors at electric utility sites Unknown
An insurer asked how OSHA’s lockout and tagout rule applied to contractors at electric utility sites. OSHA said the 1910.147 exclusion for certain utility installations also covered contractors…
HAZWOPER monitoring in clean zones of cleanup sites
An OSHA office asked how HAZWOPER monitoring applied to areas labeled clean at a larger hazardous waste cleanup site. OSHA said coverage depended on potential exposure, including changed conditions…
Bloodborne pathogens rule and construction work
A construction labor group challenged OSHA's decision not to apply its bloodborne pathogens standard to construction work. OSHA explained that construction had not received notice during rulemaking,…
Air Force separation reason after early release Unknown
ETA clarified when an Air Force separation reason used during an early release program should affect UCX eligibility. Current status is unconfirmed.
Where employers obtain material safety data sheets
An employer asked OSHA to send updated material safety data sheets. OSHA said it did not provide them; manufacturers, importers, and distributors had to send required sheets to downstream users, and…
Hazardous chemical inventory in a medical office
A physician asked how to list office chemicals and the hazards of each ingredient. OSHA said the workplace inventory should list hazardous chemical identities matching the safety data sheets; it did…
Hepatitis B opinions and contaminated laundry duties
A long-term care association asked six questions about the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA explained when a health care professional's written opinion was required for hepatitis B vaccination,…
PSM thresholds for mixtures and hazardous waste facilities
A state environmental official asked whether OSHA's process safety rule counted whole mixtures and covered permitted hazardous waste facilities. OSHA said Appendix A thresholds generally referred to…
Bloodborne protection for device representatives in operating rooms
An insurer asked who protected device manufacturer representatives invited into hospital operating rooms. OSHA said exposure duties depended on the workers' employment and actual hazard, while the…
Johnston Industries stock in its employee pensions Unknown
Two Johnston Industries pension plans asked whether they could buy company stock under ERISA’s qualifying employer security rules. EBSA found a related corporation’s common ownership, board ties,…
Direct-deposit wages must still be available to the employee within the Labor Code's payday deadlines, and termination always cancels the authorization
An employer using a direct-deposit payroll system asked whether an intervening bank holiday that delays funds reaching an employee's account past Labor Code §204's seven-day payday deadline is…
Safety latches on marine terminal crane hooks Unknown
An engineering organization asked when marine crane hooks need safety latches. OSHA said the marine terminal rule requires crane hooks to be latched or otherwise secured against accidental load…
Federal OSHA jurisdiction over state prison inmates
A Colorado inmate reported chemical exposure without safety training. OSHA said the federal Act excluded state governments from its employer definition, so federal OSHA had no jurisdiction over that…
Employee alarm signals for emergency plans
An alarm manufacturer asked how OSHA judged systems for workplaces with multiple emergency responses. OSHA said alarm design depended on site hazards and plans, signals had to tell employees what…
Bloodborne pathogens rule and nurse assistant volunteers
A Red Cross chapter asked whether nurse assistant students and volunteers were covered by the bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said its federal policy had not treated volunteers as employees, though…
Hepatitis B vaccine policy for collateral-duty first aiders
An employer sought a variance from the bloodborne pathogens rule for designated first aid workers. OSHA said those workers were covered, but its recent policy treated failure to offer pre-exposure…
Biohazard label color and symbol under the bloodborne pathogens standard
A diagnostics company asked whether its biohazard label satisfied OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said the submitted design appeared consistent with the required contrasting biohazard symbol…
Breast milk and occupational exposure under the bloodborne pathogens rule
A group representing lactation consultants asked whether contact with breast milk counts as occupational exposure under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule. OSHA said breast milk is outside the rule's…
Workplace violence and the OSH Act general duty clause
A worker asked whether OSHA standards address violent employee behavior. OSHA said no specific federal OSHA standard addressed it at the time, but the OSH Act's general duty clause could apply where…
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.