Standard Interpretations

Standard Interpretations are letters or memos written in response to public inquiries or field office inquiries regarding how some aspect of or terminology in an OSHA standard or regulation is to be interpreted and enforced by the Agency. These letters provide guidance to clarify the application of an established OSHA standard, policy, or procedure, but they may not, in themselves, establish or revise OSHA policy or procedure or interpret the OSH Act. They must specifically cite the source policy or procedure document they interpret.

1926.500 - 1926.500, Guardrails, handrails & guards. - 12/23/1973
1926.500 - Ball-type handrail system. - 09/18/1984
1926.500 - Clarification of the terms "hole" versus "unprotected sides or edges." - 08/14/2000
1926.500 - Compliance of using warning lines and/or control access zones for fall protection on roofs with a slope greater than 4:12. - 09/26/2003
1926.500 - Fall protection for various lift-devices; restraint, positioning, fall arrest and rescue requirements; maintenance vs. construction examples. - 08/14/2000
1926.500 - Fall protection non-conforming guardrail criteria for application of a de minimis policy. - 05/12/2000
1926.500 - Fall protection requirements for an employee working from a ladder on a walking/working surface other than the ground. - 05/21/2003
1926.500 - Fall protection requirements for employees, other than roofers, working on low-slope roofs - 11/15/2002
1926.500 - Interpretation of OSHA Fall Protection Exemption (29 CFR 1926.500(a)(1)) during inspection, investigation, and assessment activities. - 03/02/2010
1926.500 - OSHA's New Fall Protection Standard for the Construction Industry. - 09/25/1995
1926.500 - OSHA's new fall protection standards for construction will prohibit use of safety belts with side dee rings as part of a personal fall arrest system - 09/25/1995
1926.500 - Perimeter guarding of low-pitched roofs. - 04/14/1981
1926.500 - Request for approval of guardrail system. - 03/24/1993
1926.500 - Requirements for fall protection when ladder jack scaffolds are used for residential and commercial construction - 07/07/2003
1926.500 - Requirements for toeboards. - 03/22/1978
1926.500 - Requirements of Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction for guardrails and fall protection during roofing work. - 04/10/2001
1926.500 - Review of a new product, "The Safety Boot". - 09/25/1995
1926.500 - Scaffolding/shoring - 04/11/2005
1926.500 - Stairways used in construction. - 10/01/1991
1926.500 - Steel Banding as Guardrails. - 01/09/1979
1926.500 - The frequency of the load measuring system when testing fall arrest equipment should be set at 500 Hz. - 08/28/1995
1926.500 - Use of stilts. - 10/21/1974
1926.500 - When protective measures must be installed after a hole is created on a construction worksite. - 09/05/2006
1926.500 - Whether an employer can use a controlled access zone during curtain wall installation. - 03/02/2010
1926.500 - Wire rope and/or cable as a method of perimeter protection for a building under construction. - 07/24/1984
1926.500(a) - Applicability of fall protection requirements/fall protection for waste collection and landfill activities. - 05/09/1995
1926.500(a) - Fall protection during roofing inspections, investigations, and assessments - 03/12/2004
1926.500(a) - Fall protection for post-frame work. - 10/24/1995
1926.500(a)(1) - Interpretation of OSHA Fall Protection Exemption (29 CFR 1926.500(a)(1)) during inspection, investigation, and assessment activities. - 03/02/2010
1926.500(a)(2) - Scaffolding/shoring - 04/11/2005
1926.500(a)(2)(i) - Requirements for fall protection when ladder jack scaffolds are used for residential and commercial construction - 07/07/2003
1926.500(a)(2)(iii) - Whether an employer can use a controlled access zone during curtain wall installation. - 03/02/2010
1926.500(a)(2)(vii) - Fall protection requirements for an employee working from a ladder on a walking/working surface other than the ground. - 05/21/2003
1926.500(a)(2)(vii) - Whether OSHA requirements prohibit working from a portable stepladder and, if not, whether fall protection is required. 29 CFR 1926.1053(b). - 11/28/2007
1926.500(b) - Clarification if a depression constitutes a hole or unprotected side/edge and associated fall protection requirements. - 09/30/2004
1926.500(b) - Clarification of fall protection requirements for open holes on a construction site. - 11/17/1998
1926.500(b) - Clarification of personal ladder boom system requirements - 04/27/2015
1926.500(b) - Fall protection requirements for an employee working from a ladder on a walking/working surface other than the ground. - 05/21/2003
1926.500(b) - Fall protection requirements for employees working on an elevator car frame. - 03/02/2010
1926.500(b) - Fall protection requirements for stairwells and mechanical chase openings surrounded by interior stud walls in residential construction - 12/22/2003
1926.500(b) - Neither a waist nor chest strap is a required part of body harness. - 09/23/1999
1926.500(b) - Standards applicable to aerial lifts; acceptable uses of body belts as restraint systems and positioning devices. - 05/11/2001
1926.500(b) - The construction fall protection standard specifies fall arrest system requirements, but no footwear requirements. - 05/28/2004
1926.500(b) - Under Subpart M, whether a lanyard may be connected to another lanyard by a snaphook, provided the potential fall distance is six feet or less. - 05/11/2005
1926.500(b) - When protective measures must be installed after a hole is created on a construction worksite. - 09/05/2006
1926.500(b)(1) - Fall protection requirements for a walking/working surface above a catch platform with a guardrail system - 08/04/2016
1926.500(b)(2) - Fall protection requirements for employees on construction equipment. - 03/16/2009

OSH Act - Section 5(a)(1)