Code of Federal Regulations Title 29. Labor § 29.89.4 Requirements for guidance

(1) The appropriate agency head;

(2) An official who is serving in an acting capacity as the agency head, or when there is no acting agency head, the official otherwise leading the agency;  or

(3) An official designated by the appropriate agency head, acting agency head, or the official otherwise leading the agency.

(1) Include a disclaimer that states:  “This document does not have the force and effect of law and is not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.”;  or,

(2) Include a modified version of the disclaimer described in paragraph (d)(1)—if permitted by underlying statute or other legal authority and developed in consultation with OIRA—explaining that the agency's guidance document is binding because it is authorized by law or because the guidance is incorporated into a contract, cooperative agreement, or grant. Such a modified disclaimer must provide the reason why the guidance document is binding.

In general, a disclaimer under (d)(1) or (2) of this section must be located prominently and direct readers to www.dol.gov/guidance for questions or additional information. However, an agency may modify those requirements for a disclaimer if appropriate given the nature of the guidance (for example, for a video, interactive web page, a brochure, a letter of interpretation, or a wallet-sized guidance card), so long as the disclaimer is still legible.

(1) Prominently display the term “guidance”;

(2) Identify the agency issuing the guidance;

(3) Provide the title of the guidance and the document identification number;

(4) Include the date of issuance;

(5) Include a short summary at the top of the document of the subject matter covered in the guidance;

(6) Identify the activities to which and the persons to whom the guidance applies;

(7) Include the citation to the statutory provision(s) or regulation(s) (in the Code of Federal Regulations format) to which it applies or which it interprets;

(8) Note if the guidance is a revision to a previously issued guidance document and, if so, identify the guidance document that it replaces;  and

(9) Include a statement indicating if the guidance is valid for only a limited duration or, instead, until it is modified or rescinded.