The grace period has ended for employers to comply with a new rule on employer-paid personal protective equipment (PPE).
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Download NowIn November 2007, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule that mandates that all PPE that is required under OSHA standards, with a few exceptions, be provided at no cost to the employee. The final rule contains a few exceptions for ordinary safety-toed footwear, ordinary prescription safety eyewear, logging boots, ordinary clothing, and weather-related gear.
The rule was published in the Federal Register on November 15, 2007. The agency gave an enforcement deadline of six months from that date to allow employers time to change their existing PPE payment policies.
The final rule also clarifies OSHA's requirements regarding payment for employee-owned PPE and replacement PPE. While these clarifications have added several paragraphs to the regulatory text, the final rule provides employees no less protection than they would have received under the 1999 proposed standard, according to OSHA.
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