OSHA Publishes Long-Awaited PPE Rule – January 2008

OSHA published a final rule on employer-paid personal protective equipment on November 15, 2007 – a protracted rulemaking the agency has been considering since 1999. Under the rule, employers must provide nearly all workplace PPE to employees at no cost. The rule takes effect February 13; employers have until May 15 to comply, the agency said.

“This final rule will clarify who is responsible for paying for PPE, which OSHA anticipates will lead to greater compliance and potential avoidance of thousands of workplace injuries each year,” OSHA administrator Edwin G. Foulke Jr. said at a November 14 briefing.

Foulke said the new rule has resolved the “tools of the trade” issue. “Employers will provide, at no cost to employees, almost all personal protective equipment…when the PPE is used to comply with OSHA standards,” he said.