Who Pays for PPE?

Employers must pay for PPE wherever an OSHA rule explicitly requires that employers must provide and pay for the PPE. Here is a nonexhaustive list:

• Electrical protection, including electrically insulated tools and rubber insulating gloves
• Chemical protection, including chemical-resistant gloves/aprons/clothing and encapsulating chemical-protective suits
• Foot protection, including metatarsal foot protection, special boots for longshoremen working logs on logships, rubber boots with steel toes, and shoe covers-toe caps and metatarsal guards
• Eye and face protection, including nonprescription eye protection, prescription eyewear inserts/lenses for full-face respirators, prescription eyewear inserts/lenses for welding and diving helmets, goggles, face shields, and laser safety goggles
• Head protection, including bump caps and hard hats
• Hearing protection
• Hand/arm/body protection, including rubber sleeves, aluminized gloves, mesh cut-proof gloves, mesh or leather aprons, nonspecialty gloves (employer payment is required for PPE to protect from dermatitis, severe cuts/abrasions; payment is not required if they are only for keeping clean or for cold weather with no site-specific hazard consideration), and reflective work vests
• Respiratory protection
• Skin protection, including barrier creams (unless used solely for weather-related protection)
• Fall protection, including ladder safety device belts, climbing ensembles used by linemen (e.g., belts and climbing hooks), and window cleaner’s safety straps
• Fire-fighting PPE, including helmets, gloves, boots, proximity suits, and full gear
• Welding PPE, including face shields and goggles, fire-resistant shirts, jackets, and sleeves, and leather gloves
• Items used in medical/laboratory settings to protect from exposure to infectious agents, including aprons, lab coats, goggles, disposable gloves, and shoe covers
• Personal flotation devices (life jackets)

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Employers are not required to pay for the following clothes or items that are not worn by employees exclusively for protection from hazards:

• Nonspecialty safety-toe protective footwear, provided that the employer permits such items to be worn off the jobsite, such as steel-toe shoes and steel-toe boots
• Nonspecialty prescription safety eyewear, provided that the employer permits such items to be worn off the jobsite
• Shoes or boots with built-in metatarsal protection that the employee chooses instead of metatarsal guards provided by the employer
• Logging boots under the logging standard (29 CFR 1910.266(d))
• Everyday clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts, long pants, street shoes, and normal work boots
• Ordinary clothing and skin creams used solely for protection from the weather, such as winter coats, jackets, gloves, parkas, rubber boots, hats, raincoats, ordinary sunglasses, and sunscreen
• Back belts
• Dust masks and respirators worn under the voluntary-use provisions of the PPE standard
• Items worn for product or consumer safety or patient safety and health rather than employee safety and health, such as hairnets for food preparation
• Uniforms that are not PPE
• Items worn to keep clean for purposes not related to safety and health
• PPE already owned and used voluntarily by the employee
• Flame-resistant (FR) clothing for electrical work

In addition, employers are required provide a selection of PPE in the respirator and noise standards. Most OSHA rules that require PPE do not require the employer to offer a selection of equipment, but the PPE provided must still be properly suited to protect against the hazards of the workplace and must fit the employee.

Employers must also pay to replace PPE on a regular basis. This duty is considered part of the employer’s obligation to ensure the PPE is in good condition. The only exception to the rule about paying for replacement is when the employee has lost or intentionally damaged the PPE. In such instances, some employers may give a set allowance toward the worker’s selection of the PPE, as long as the employer considers the PPE adequate to protect the worker. If the employee makes a more expensive choice, he or she is responsible for the extra cost.

The PPE rules provide for several other exceptions and particulars, which you can cover with employees as the issues come up. But this overview should help clear up the issue of who pays for PPE in the workplace.

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Why It Matters

• For many jobs and tasks within jobs, PPE is critical to protect workers from injury or illness.
• Workers need to obtain—whether employer- or employee-funded—the appropriate PPE to protect themselves.
• Workers need to wear their PPE whenever it’s required so that they can stay safe and healthy.