Personal protective equipment regulation
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Contents |
Overview
Regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) require employers to bear the cost of personal protective equipment or PPE. Under the OSHA rule that will take effect May 15, 2008, businesses are responsible for providing most required personal protective equipment at no cost to their employees.
Summary of OSHA's PPE ruling
Many OSHA health, safety, maritime, and construction standards require employers to provide their employees with protective equipment, including personal protective equipment (PPE), when such equipment is necessary to protect employees from job-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. These requirements address PPE of many kinds: hard hats, gloves, goggles, safety shoes, safety glasses, welding helmets and goggles, faceshields, chemical protective equipment, fall protection equipment, and so forth.
The provisions in OSHA standards that require PPE generally state that the employer is to provide such PPE. However, some of these provisions do not specify that the employer is to provide such PPE at no cost to the employee. In the OSHA rule taking effect May 15, 2008, OSHA requires employers to pay for the PPE provided, with exceptions for specific items. The rule does not require employers to provide PPE where none has been required before. Instead, the rule merely stipulates that the employer must pay for required PPE, except in the limited cases specified in the standard.
Exceptions
The PPE rule contains exceptions for ordinary safety-toed footwear, ordinary prescription safety eyewear, logging boots, and ordinary clothing and weather-related gear. The employer is also not required to pay for:
- (i) Everyday clothing, such as long-sleeve shirts, long pants, street shoes, and normal work boots; or
- (ii) Ordinary clothing, skin creams, or other items, used solely for protection from weather, such as winter
Where an employee provides adequate protective equipment he or she owns, the employer may allow the employee to use it and is not required to reimburse the employee for that equipment.
External Links
- Final Rule, Employer Payment for Personal Protective Equipment - The complete rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, November 15, 2007
