Standard Interpretations
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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.
- 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 - Fall protection non-conforming guardrail criteria for application of a de minimis policy. - 05/12/2000
- 1926.500 - Fall protection requirements for employees, other than roofers, working on low-slope roofs - 11/15/2002
- 1926.500 - OSHA's New Fall Protection Standard for the Construction Industry. - 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 toeboards. - 03/22/1978
- 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 - 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)(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 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 employees working on an elevator car frame. - 03/02/2010
- 1926.500(b) - Neither a waist nor chest strap is a required part of body harness. - 09/23/1999
- 1926.500(b) - Suspended scaffold and fall protection requirements applicable to elevator construction - 12/05/2023
- 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