Letters of Interpretation | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Letters of Interpretation

OSHA requirements are set by statute, standards, and regulations. Our interpretation letters explain these requirements and how they apply to particular circumstances, but they cannot create additional employer obligations. Each letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation of the requirements discussed.

Note that our enforcement guidance may be affected by changes to OSHA rules. Also, from time to time we update our guidance in response to new information.

These letters of interpretation and the standards they address may not apply to OSHA State Plans. State Plans are required to have standards and enforcement programs that are at least as effective as OSHA's and may have different or additional requirements. Please see OSHA-approved State Plans for more information.

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How to Request a Letter of Interpretation

Date	Title	Standard Number	Standard Number
03/27/2006	Construction requirements for personnel hoists; applicability of ANSI A10.4-2004.	1	1926.552(c)(16)
03/17/2006	The use of rail extensions on ladders used in a general industry setting.	2	1910.25, 1910.26
03/10/2006	Training requirements for powder-actuated tools under §1926.302(e).	4	1926.21(b)(2), 1926.32(f), 1926.302(e), 1926.302(e)(1)
03/10/2006	Impalement from reinforcing steel protruding horizontally; §1926.701(b)	1	1926.701(b)
03/10/2006	Whether the notification required in §1926.752(a)(1) (attained concrete strength) must be given where steel will be erected on a long-existed concrete slab.	3	1926.752, 1926.752(a), 1926.752(a)(1)
03/10/2006	Whether the four-bolt requirement in 1926.755(a)(1) applies to a pre-existing column that will be left in place during a renovation/alteration project.	2	1926.755, 1926.755(a)(1)
03/07/2006	Requirement for flame-resistant clothing in petrochemical plant covered by PSM.	7	1910.132, 1910.132(a), 1910.119, 1910.119(f)(1)(iii)(B), 1910.119(h)(2), 1910.119(h)(3), 1910.119(j)(2)
02/27/2006	Access to toilet facilities in a call center.	2	1910.141, 1910.141(c)(1)(i)
02/27/2006	Fall protection and aerial lifts in the Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution industries.	9	1910.28, 1910.28(a)(12), 1910.28(d)(7), 1910.28(d)(12), 1910.29, 1910.29(a)(3), 1910.67, 1910.269, 1910.269(a)(2)
02/22/2006	Tuberculosis and Respiratory Protection: prohibition on enforcement of annual fit testing requirements during fiscal year 2006.	3	1910.134, 1910.134(f)(2), 1910.134(f)(3)
02/21/2006	Policy on powered industrial truck operators using prescribed drugs.	1	1910.178
02/14/2006	Alternative fall protection program when guardrails are infeasible to install.	2	1910.23, 1910.23(c)
02/14/2006	Employer's duty to inform auto mechanic of presence of blood in vehicle being repaired.	2	1910.1030, 1910.1030(b)
02/10/2006	The use of ship's stairs instead of fixed stairs in general industry.	1	1910.27
02/10/2006	Clarification on revising a baseline audiogram if a standard threshold shift occurs in only one ear.	2	1910.95, 1910.95(g)(9)
02/10/2006	Circumstances under which installation of fixed industrial stairs with a slope between 50 degrees and 70 degrees from the horizontal would be considered a de minimis violation.	1	1910.24
02/10/2006	Use of cages, wells, and personal fall protection systems to protect against falls from fixed ladders.	1	1910.27
02/06/2006	Facial hair and voluntary use of filtering facepiece respirators.	3	1910.134, 1910.134(a), 1910.134(c)(2)(ii)
02/06/2006	Applicability of the Fire brigade standard to health care facilities.	2	1910.156, 1910.156(a)
02/02/2006	OSHA's regulations regarding restrooms for general industry.	2	1910.141, 1910.141(c)