Employers must pay for most types of personal protective equipment (PPE) when used by employees exclusively in the workplace (i.e., not for personal use at home or other non-workplace activities).

What You Must Provide

Following is a non-exhaustive sample list of PPE that you, the employer, must provide at no cost to the employee:

  • Electrical protection (electrically insulated tools, rubber insulating gloves)
  • Chemical protection (chemical-resistant gloves/aprons/clothing, encapsulating chemical-protective suits)
  • Foot protection (metatarsal foot protection, special boots for longshoremen working logs on log ships, rubber boots with steel toes, shoe covers—toe caps and metatarsal guards)
  • Eye and face protection (nonprescription eye protection, prescription eyewear inserts/lenses for full-face respirators, prescription eyewear inserts/lenses for welding and diving helmets, goggles, face shields, laser safety goggles)
  • Head protection (bump caps, hard hats)
  • Hearing protection

  • Hand/arm/body protection (rubber sleeves, aluminized gloves, mesh cut proof gloves, leather gloves, mesh or leather aprons)
  • Non-specialty gloves (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)
  • Reflective work vests
  • Respiratory protection
  • Skin protection (barrier creams, unless used solely for weather-related protection)
  • Fall protection (ladder safety device belts, climbing ensembles used by linemen such as belts and climbing hooks, window cleaner’s safety straps)
  • Fire-fighting PPE (helmets, gloves, boots, proximity suits, full gear)
  • Welding PPE (including fire-resistant shirts, jackets, and sleeves)
  • Items used in medical/laboratory settings (aprons, lab coats, goggles, disposable gloves, shoe covers, etc.) to protect from exposure to infectious agents
  • Personal flotation devices (life jackets)

Exempt Items from the “Employer Pays” Requirement

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

  • Certain foot protection (e.g., non-specialty safety-toe protective footwear, provided that the employer permits such items to be worn off the jobsite, steel-toe shoes, steel-toe boots, shoes or boots with built-in metatarsal protection that the employee chooses instead of metatarsal guards provided by the employer, and logging boots under the logging standard (29 CFR 1910.266(d))
  • Non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, provided that the employer permits such items to be worn off the jobsite
  • Everyday clothing (long-sleeved shirts, long pants, street shoes, and normal work boots)
  • Ordinary clothing and skin creams used solely for protection from the weather (e.g., winter coats, gloves, 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 for employee safety and health (for example, hair nets to prevent food contamination during 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

PPE Replacement

  • Employers must pay to replace worn or damaged PPE as part of the employer’s obligation to ensure that the PPE is in good condition. The employer is not required to pay for replacement when the employee has lost or intentionally damaged the PPE. 

Employee-Owned PPE

  • When an employee voluntarily purchases and wears his or her own PPE and is allowed to use it at the workplace, the employer is not required to reimburse the employee for that equipment. If employees are allowed to use their own PPE, however, the employer is responsible for its adequacy, maintenance, and sanitation.
  • If an employee has provided his or her own PPE but the employer’s hazard assessment determines that an upgrade to or replacement of PPE is required, the employer must pay for the upgrade or replacement regardless of who paid for the original PPE.

PPE Payment Verification

Employers are not required to maintain receipts or any other form of paperwork involving PPE payment, and OSHA will not cite an employer for failure to have such paperwork. In most instances, an OSHA inspector will interview employers and employees to determine if an employer is complying with the PPE payment rule.

PPE Replacement

A worker’s request for more expensive PPE to replace ill-fitting PPE or substitute for one made of material that causes an allergic reaction in a worker should be judged on safety and health grounds, not on an aesthetic basis. To the extent that an employee’s preference is consistent with these OSHA requirements, OSHA believes the employer should accommodate any added cost.

If an employee has lost or intentionally damaged the PPE, the employer may require the employee to pay for such replacement. An employer should develop a policy for determining whether the loss of PPE was due to negligence or uncontrollable circumstances.

PPE replacement policy. The employer is not required to provide and pay for replacement PPE whenever requested by an employee. OSHA recommends that each employer establish a policy concerning what will constitute normal wear and tear (expected service life), a “lost” PPE item, how to safeguard against PPE abuse and negligence, and for allowing (or disallowing) employees to use PPE for personal activities that are not work related. In OSHA’s view, it is up to the employer to determine how he or she chooses to deal with situations in which an employee has lost or caused damage to required PPE.

Employee-Supplied PPE

When an employee voluntarily purchases and wears his or her own PPE and is allowed to use it at the workplace, the employer is not required to reimburse the employee for that equipment. For example, newly hired workers sometimes report to the workplace with PPE that they own, especially in workplaces that use short-term labor. In such cases, the employer is not required to reimburse the employee for using his or her own PPE. OSHA makes it clear, however, that employers cannot avoid their obligations by requiring employee ownership of PPE as a condition of employment. The employee’s use of PPE he or she owns must be entirely voluntary.

Purchase Allowance System

If an employer uses an employee allowance or reimbursement system to provide and pay for PPE, the employer is required to provide to the employee only the amount of money required to purchase basic PPE that protects against hazards in the workplace. The employer may allow employees to use the allowance to purchase acceptable PPE, but not for an unauthorized personalization or upgrade.

Electric Arc Protection

OSHA’s existing clothing requirement under the Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution rule (29 CFR 1910.269) does not require employers to provide flame-resistant clothing to protect employees from electric arcs. It simply requires that an employee’s clothing do no greater harm. The use of certain heavy-weight natural fiber materials, such as cotton, is allowed when the employer can ensure that the clothing will not contribute to injury to the employee. The clothing requirement under the rule does not mandate that employers provide any particular type of PPE to their employees; and, therefore, the “employer pays” requirement does not apply to flame-resistant clothing permitted by 29 CFR 1910.269. The issue of whether flame-resistant clothing should be required is currently being considered by OSHA in a separate rulemaking to revise 29 CFR 1910.269.

Prescription Eyewear

When an employee’s prescription glasses cannot be fitted into a required respirator without compromising the seal, special lenses will be needed to protect the employee, and they must be provided at no cost to that employee. OSHA has determined that when special-use prescription lenses must be used or mounted inside the respirator face piece, employers must pay for the lenses or inserts.

For more information or assistance with your Environmental and Health & Safety regulatory compliance needs, contact Ralph Carito at Total Environmental & safety, LLC (Total) at rcarito@TotalEnviron.com or 908-442-8599.