The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that employers protect you from workplace hazards that can cause injury or illness. While many potential hazards can be controlled at the source, sometimes this is not feasible and workers must wear protective clothing to keep them safe as they undertake their day to day duties.
If you work with the engineering field, work with dangerous chemicals, heavy machinery or in extreme conditions, you must wear the correct protective clothing at all times.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 lays out certain provisions that refer to both the obligations set upon the employer and the employee in respect of safety equipment, clothing, and other preventative measures. These could include gloves, foot and eye protection, earplugs, earmuffs, hard hats and even respirators.
Under the act, the obligations placed on the employer are as follows:
- They must perform regular “hazard assessments” of the workplace to identify and control physical and health hazards.
- They must identify and provide the appropriate PPE for employees.
- They must train employees in the appropriate use and care of the PPE.
- They must maintain PPE and replace worn or damaged PPE when necessary
- They should periodically review, update and evaluate the effectiveness of the PPE program they offer
Workers, however, do still need to take some responsibility for their own safety at work, including:
- Always wearing the proper PPE
- Attending training sessions on PPE
- Caring for, cleaning and maintaining all of their allocated PPE
- Informing a supervisor if their PPE becomes broken or defecting and needs repair or replacement
Who Pays For The Safety Equipment I Need To Do My Job?
On May 15, 2008, a new OSHA rule about employer payment for PPE came into effect, stating that OSHA now requires employers to pay for personal protective equipment used to comply with OSHA standards.
The standard makes clear that employers cannot expect workers to provide their own PPE. Any equipment must be made available to them by their employer and that even if they choose to use their own safety equipment, the employer will still need to ensure that it is adequate to fully protect them.
What Type Of Equipment Will Be Paid For By My Employer?
As a general rule, the following type of safety equipment should be provided by your employer:
- 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
What Type of Equipment Is Not Covered By The OSHA Recommendations?
In some instances, your employer is not required to pay for your PPE. Some examples of these could be:
- Non-specialty safety-toe protective footwear and non- specialty prescription safety eyewear – this is because these can be very personal and are used on and off the work site by the employee.
- Everyday clothing, such as long-sleeve shirts, long pants, street shoes, and normal work boots.
- Ordinary clothing, skin creams, or other items, used solely for protection from weather, such as 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 items if the employee has lost or intentionally damaged some of their equipment.
If you or your co-workers need advice on how to make a claim for Worker’s Compensation benefits in Florida, speak to us today at (844) 762-8155 to see how we can help.
When you hire the Law Offices of Ala Alikhani, P.A. to represent you, we go to extremes to ensure employers and their insurance companies are held accountable and that you receive the benefits you are entitled to by the law.
Were you injured at work? Contact us for a FREE consultation. We are available throughout all times of the day to discuss your case with you. Our office is fluent in Creole and Spanish.
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