What Does OSHA Look For When Inspecting Your Workplace for PPE Compliance?

In 2011, the most frequently cited general industry PPE standards were:

1910.132, General requirements
1,830 citations and total of $3,217,665 in fines

1910.133, Eye and face protection
565 citations and total of $886,023 in fines

1910.138, Hand Protection
247 citations and total of $330,840 in fines

1910.135, Head protection
79 citations and total of $179,538 in fines

1910.136, Foot protection 
55 citations and total $93,696 in fines

A total of 2776 citations for these violations cost employers $4,707,752.

---

Your one-stop safety management resource, available 24/7. Go here to take a no-cost site tour or here to try it in your own office! Plus, for a limited time, receive the NEW 2013 EHS Salary Guide.

---

The judge ruled that FLSA does not require the steelworkers to be paid for donning and doffing, but that it might deem it a principal activity, meaning workers must be paid for walking time.

Both sides appealed to the 7th Circuit, which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

What the Court Said

Appellate judges noted that the DOL opinion of June 2010 was different from past opinion letters in that it was more proactive.

However, they also noted that the agency’s definition of clothes had changed with party changes in the White House—from a narrow definition during the Clinton and Obama administrations to a broader one during Bush’s tenure.
In fact, the DOL had issued an opinion in 2007 directly opposed to the 2010 interpretation.

Noting that the DOL had not provided helpful advice about how to interpret the law, judges ruled against the plaintiffs on both the donning and doffing and walking to and fro issues.

They wrote, "Protection—against sun, cold, wind, blisters, stains, insect bites, and being spotted by animals that one is hunting—is a common function of clothing."

Protective they may be, judges said, but they are also clothes.

---

Great news! BLR’s renowned Safety.BLR.com^® website now has even more timesaving features. Take our no-cost site tour! Or better yet, try it at no cost or obligation for a full 2 weeks. Plus, for a limited time, receive the NEW 2013 EHS Salary Guide.

---

Stay on Top of Developments

Whether it’s PPE or the full range of other workplace safety and health topics, you’ll get all the latest news and be able to stay on top of all the latest developments 24/7 with Safety.BLR.com. In fact, yesterday’s report on the U.S. Steel case was posted first on Safety.BLR.com.

You can count on BLR’s safety experts to reported and interpret the information you need to do you job successfully and protect your employees from injuries and illness.

What’s more, this one-stop safety website is a fantastic resource for safety training materials on just about any topic you can imagine.

Training responsibilities become a snap with the website’s thousands of audio presentations, PowerPoints, prewritten safety meetings, toolbox talks, trainer’s guides, and much, much more. You’ll find training tools on more than 120 safety topics along with plain-English compliance analysis and other resources.

At a time when budget considerations are paramount, what makes more sense than an all-in-one safety training and compliance solution?

And BLR has revamped Safety.BLR.com to meet your needs even better. You’ll be amazed by all the features and functionality of the site. Highlights include:

• Side-by-Side State/Federal Compliance. By placing our state and federal regulatory analysis side by side, you easily see how to fully comply with both governmental entities.
• MSDS Library Expansion. The site now provides an immense library of 3.5 million MSDS and SDS forms, with about 10,000 more added or changed every week. Need one? Just call up the chemical by name, manufacturer, product group, or CAS number, then print it out.
• Newsletter Wizard. If you’ve ever wanted to publish a safety newsletter but felt lacking in editorial skills, this new addition is for you.
• Plan Builder. Select from our library of safety plans, customize them to suit your company’s needs, and assemble them into collections you can save in our personal library.

We’re pretty excited about Safety.BLR.com and all of its enhancements, and we’re eager for you to experience it, too. That’s why we’ve created a complimentary site tour, available here. It takes just 5 minutes.

If you like what you see, you’re invited to try the site at no cost and with no obligation. We’ll even give you a complimentary special report for doing so. Go here to take a 5-minute tour of Safety.BLR.com. It may be just what you’re looking for.