What You Need to Know About PPE
Last year OSHA revised the rule on personal protective equipment (PPE) in hopes of reducing occupational injuries. Under these revisions, employers were to provide, and pay, for all types of PPE that would be required by OSHA regulations. There are a few exceptions to the rule. Anything that is used by employees but is not considered to be PPE required under the standard does not have to be paid for by the employer. This might include items such as everyday clothing, clothing used for weather protection, uniforms or aprons/coveralls, and any PPE that is lost or intentionally damaged by the employee.
In order to underline the seriousness of having proper PPE available and used in the workplace, OSHA also clarified that it is capable of assessing per-employee penalties. This means that for every employee not wearing or properly trained to use PPE, you could receive a separate citation.
The best thing you could do to be sure you’re keeping your employees safe and meeting all requirements is to complete a workplace hazard analysis. Based on this, you can choose the right kind of PPE for your workers in order to keep them safe from workplace injuries.
This information is provided as a service to you by Compliance Consultants, Inc.
