New OSHA Rule: Employers Must Pay for Personal Protective Equipment

6/9/08

On May 15, 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") implemented a new rule that requires employers to pay for personal protective equipment (e.g., hard hats, gloves, goggles, safety glasses, etc.) that employees are required to use to protect against job-related injuries or illnesses.

 

The rule, however, states that employers are not required to pay for:

 

• non-specialty safety-toe footwear employees are allowed to wear away from the job-site (any safety footwear with added protections or specialization, such as shoes with non-slip soles used when stripping floors or steel-toe rubber boots, are considered specialty safety footwear items that employers must pay for);
• non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, provided employees are allowed to wear them away from the job-site;
• everyday clothing such as long-sleeve shirts, long pants, street shoes, and normal work boots; and
• clothing used solely for protection from weather, such as winter coats, jackets, gloves, and parkas (employers must pay for extraordinary clothing or equipment needed to protect employees from unusually severe weather conditions).

 

The rule further provides that if employers decide to use upgraded protective equipment beyond the equipment required to meet health and safety standards, they must still pay for it. The rule, though, does not require employers to pay for protective equipment that employees voluntarily request to use when it differs from the employer-provided equipment. Finally, the rule requires employers to pay for replacement protective equipment, except when the employees lose or intentionally damage the equipment.

 

Employers should understand that the OHSA's new rule does not set a different substantive standard for protective equipment or the circumstances in which it is required. The rule only adds the requirement that employers must pay for protective equipment if it does not fall within one of the excepted categories.