Paid Protective Equipment
In poultry and meat packing plants across the
country, workers used to line up at the company store to buy safety
equipment. Now, thanks to the ongoing efforts of the UFCW and the AFL-CIO,
U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) has issued a final ruling stating that employers—not employees—are
responsible for the costs of the equipment that keeps workers safe on the
job.
Low-wage immigrant workers are at greater risk of injury on the job than
other workers in the US. OSHA determined that these low-wage jobs are
dangerous and that employers often made workers pay for their personal
protective equipment, or PPE. This included gloves, shoes, ear plugs and
other equipment workers depend on to prevent injuries. In 1999, OSHA first
proposed to fix the PPE standard by clarifying that when a worker must wear
PPE to protect themselves, the employer is required to pay for it.
OSHA promised to issue the final PPE
rule in July 2000. But it missed that deadline and every other deadline it
presented. The agency failed to act in response to a 2003 petition by the
AFL-CIO and UFCW and ignored numerous requests by the Hispanic Congressional
Caucus.Eight years after the initial
proposal, OSHA still had not finalized the rule, leaving workers vulnerable
to injury and forced to pay for equipment that was often marked up over 100%
by employers.
On January 3, 2007, the AFL-CIO and
UFCW filed a lawsuit against the Bush Administration over its failure to
finalize the PPE rule. The court ordered the Bush Administration to respond
to the lawsuit by March 19. On March 14, the Secretary of Labor filed
papers with the court committing to issue a final rule in November 2007.
The final decision came on November 14, 2007
after nine years of intense pressure from the UFCW and the AFL-CIO.
Under the rule, all PPE, with a few exceptions, must
be provided by the employer to the employee at no cost.
OSHA anticipates that this rule will have substantial
safety benefits that will result in more than 21,000 fewer occupational
injuries per year.
"Employees exposed to safety and health hazards may
need to wear personal protective equipment to be protected from injury,
illness and death caused by exposure to those hazards," said Assistant
Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke Jr. "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."
The final rule contains a few exceptions for ordinary
safety-toed footwear, ordinary prescription safety eyewear, logging boots,
and ordinary clothing and weather-related gear. The final rule also
clarifies OSHA's requirements regarding payment for employee-owned PPE and
replacement PPE.
Also provided is an enforcement deadline of six
months from the date of publication to allow employers time to change their
existing PPE payment policies.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970,
employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for
their employees. The UFCW represents workers in some of America’s
most dangerous industries. Requiring employers to supply employees at no
cost with the safety equipment needed for their jobs will help to protect
them from injury and workplace hazards and is a major victory for workers
everywhere.
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