709 Personal Protective Equipment

Who Pays for PPE?

Employers cannot require workers to provide their own PPE. Any use of PPE that workers already own must be completely voluntary. Even when a worker provides his or her own PPE, the employer must ensure that the equipment is adequate to protect the worker from hazards at the workplace.

Employers must pay for the following:

• Metatarsal foot protection
• Rubber boots with steel toes
• Non-prescription eye protection
• Prescription eyewear inserts/lenses for full face respirators
• Goggles and face shields
• Firefighting PPE (helmet, gloves, boots, proximity suits, full gear)
• Hard hats
• Hearing protection
• Welding PPE

Payment Exceptions under the OSHA Rule

Employers are not required to pay for some PPE in certain circumstances:

• Non-specialty safety-toe protective footwear (including steel-toe shoes or boots) and non-specialty prescription safety eyewear provided that the employer permits such items to be worn off the job site. (OSHA based this decision on the fact that this type of equipment is very personal, is often used outside the workplace, and that it is taken by workers from jobsite to jobsite and employer to employer.)
• Everyday clothing, such as long-sleeve shirts, long pants, street shoes, and normal work boots.
• Ordinary clothing and items used solely for protection from weather, like winter coats, jackets, gloves, parkas, rubber boots, hats, raincoats, ordinary sunglasses, and sunscreen.
• Items such as hair nets and gloves worn by food workers for consumer safety.
• Lifting belts because their value in protecting the back is questionable.
• Replacement PPE when the employee has lost or intentionally damaged the original PPE.

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