OSHA rules employers must pay cost of workers’ safety equipment

Employers will have to pay the full cost for almost all personal safety equipment used by their workers, the Labor Department said recently, a move advocates say will prevent thousands of on-the-job injuries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule, proposed in 1999 but never adopted in final form until now, would require employers to pay for personal protective equipment, or PPE, like protective clothing and other gear.