Guidance Search
The Department of Labor provides this guidance search tool as a single, searchable location where users may search for guidance issued by any of the Department’s agencies, including significant guidance documents under Executive Order 12866. Individual guidance documents are maintained on the various agency websites, and if you know what agency you are looking for, you may also find guidance by navigating directly to that agency’s website. The Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Register, which are not maintained by the Department, also include some of the Department’s interpretations of law and similar material.
The Department and its agencies issue guidance to provide clarifying information and technical assistance to the public on existing statutory and regulatory rights and obligations, inform the regulated community about best practices, and provide other useful information. The contents of these documents do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way, except as authorized by law or incorporated into a contract, cooperative agreement, or grant.
Members of the public may petition the Department to modify or withdraw specific guidance documents. To petition for a significant guidance document to be created, modified, reconsidered, or rescinded, email the Department of Labor.
Petitions to Modify or Withdraw a DOL guidance document may also be submitted by mail at the address below. Petitions should identify the specific guidance document by name and include your reason(s) for requesting withdrawal or modification.
U.S. Department of Labor
Office of the Executive Secretariat
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210
Search Tips
- If you are searching using an acronym, try a second search with the acronym spelled out. For example, if you are searching for guidance related to the Davis-Bacon Act, try searching "Davis-Bacon Act" as well as "DBA".
- For more specific results, use quotation marks around phrases.
- For more general results, remove quotation marks to search for each word individually. For example, minimum wage will return all documents that have either the word minimum or the word wage in the description, while “minimum wage” will limit results to those containing that phrase.
Clarification of head room requirements for emergency doors and machine guarding. - [1910.36(g)(1); 1910.212; 1910.219]
Clarification of the 200 pounds strength requirement for railings. - [1910.23(e)(3)(iv); 1910.23(e)(3)(v)]
Whether section 2530.200b-3(c) of DOL regulations published on September 8 should be construed to require multiemployer plans to obtain records of hours worked from member employers.
Legality of a proposed loan by a plan to a physician employee shareholder who is also a participant, party in interest, and trustee of the plan under ERISA.
Guidance on independence requirement in ERISA section 103 for accountants retained by an employee benefit plan for purposes of auditing and rendering opinion on financial information required to be included in the plan's annual report. Amended 12/30/75 a
Section 549.1(e) provides, as one of the essential requirements for qualification, that the amounts paid to individuals are determined in accordance with a definite formula or method of calculation specified in the plan or trust. The formula or method of calculation may be based on any one or more of such factors as straight time earnings, total earnings, base rate of pay of the employee, straight time hours or total hours worked by the employees, or distribution may be made on a per capita basis.
Whether the Petitioner-Defendant in the referenced civil action, qualifies as an "employee welfare benefit plan" under section 3(1) of ERISA, given its status as a business soliciting public participation rather than being restricted to people in an employment relationship with the plan sponsor.
Whether a frozen profit sharing trust constitutes an “employee pension benefit plan” or “pension plan” under section 3(2).
Whether the bonding provisions of section 412 of ERISA apply to a person who is both a participant in and a co-trustee for a profit-sharing or money purchase pension plan established by a small, closely held professional corporation.
Whether a defined benefit pension plan containing supplemental early retirement benefits satisfied the requirements of section 204(b)(1)(G) of ERISA.
This button allows you to download all records in the database as of 1:00 am ET today into a CSV file. Please note that record changes made today will not be reflected until tomorrow.