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Does OSHA Require Safety Equipment On Construction Sites?

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established regulations regarding construction site protective and life-saving equipment. If a contractor or other party failed to comply with these standards and you were injured in a construction accident, you could be entitled to compensation.

If you or someone you love was harmed in a construction accident and someone other than your employer was to blame, you could be entitled to receive damages if the third party falls outside of the workers’ compensation system. The attorneys at David Resnick & Associates, PC, are skilled at evaluating construction accident claims and can help you determine whether the negligence of a third party caused or contributed to your injuries. Call our New York City construction accident lawyers firm today at 212-279-2000 or use our online contact form for a free evaluation of your case.

We serve construction accident victims in Manhattan, and all of New York City, including Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Long Island.

Here are the highlights of OSHA’s Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment Standards, as found online at http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10909

OSHA Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment Standards

  • 1926.95 Criteria for personal protective equipment.
  • 1926.95(a) “Application.” Protective equipment, including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers, shall be provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical irritants encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact.
  • 1926.95(b) “Employee-owned equipment.” Where employees provide their own protective equipment, the employer shall be responsible to assure its adequacy, including proper maintenance, and sanitation of such equipment.
  • 1926.95(c) “Design.” All personal protective equipment shall be of safe design and construction for the work to be performed.
  • 1926.95(d) Payment for protective equipment.
  • 1926.95(d)(1) Except as provided by paragraphs (d)(2) through (d)(6) of this section, the protective equipment, including personal protective equipment (PPE), used to comply with this part, shall be provided by the employer at no cost to employees.
  • 1926.95(d)(2) The employer is not required to pay for non-specialty safety-toe protective footwear (including steel-toe shoes or steel-toe boots) and non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, provided that the employer permits such items to be worn off the job-site.
  • 1926.95(d)(3) When the employer provides metatarsal guards and allows the employee, at his or her request, to use shoes or boots with built-in metatarsal protection, the employer is not required to reimburse the employee for the shoes or boots.
  • 1926.95(d)(4) The employer is not required to pay for:
  • 1926.95(d)(4)(i) Everyday clothing, such as long-sleeve shirts, long pants, street shoes, and normal work boots; or
  • 1926.95(d)(4)(ii) Ordinary clothing, skin creams, or other items, used solely for protection from weather, such as winter coats, jackets, gloves, parkas, rubber boots, hats, raincoats, ordinary sunglasses, and sunscreen.
  • 1926.95(d)(5) The employer must pay for replacement PPE, except when the employee has lost or intentionally damaged the PPE.
  • 1926.95(d)(6) Where an employee provides adequate protective equipment he or she owns pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section, the employer may allow the employee to use it and is not required to reimburse the employee for that equipment. The employer shall not require an employee to provide or pay for his or her own PPE, unless the PPE is excepted by paragraphs (d)(2) through (d)(5) of this section.
  • 1926.96 Occupational foot protection. Safety-toe footwear for employees shall meet the requirements and specifications in American National Standard for Men’s Safety-Toe Footwear, Z41.1-1967.
  • 1926.100 Head protection.
  • 1926.100(a) Employees working in areas where there is a possible danger of head injury from impact, or from falling or flying objects, or from electrical shock and burns, shall be protected by protective helmets.
  • 1926.100(b) Helmets for the protection of employees against impact and penetration of falling and flying objects shall meet the specifications contained in American National Standards Institute, Z89.1-1969, Safety Requirements for Industrial Head Protection.
  • 1926.100(c) Helmets for the head protection of employees exposed to high voltage electrical shock and burns shall meet the specifications contained in American National Standards Institute, Z89.2-1971.
  • 1926.102 Eye and face protection.
  • 1926.102(a)(1) Employees shall be provided with eye and face protection equipment when machines or operations present potential eye or face injury from physical, chemical, or radiation agents.
  • 1926.102(a)(2) Eye and face protection equipment required by this Part shall meet the requirements specified in American National Standards Institute, Z87.1-1968, Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection.
  • 1926.102(a)(3) Employees whose vision requires the use of corrective lenses in spectacles, when required by this regulation to wear eye protection, shall be protected by goggles or spectacles of one of the following types:
  • 1926.102(a)(3)(i) Spectacles whose protective lenses provide optical correction;
  • 1926.102(a)(3)(ii) Goggles that can be worn over corrective spectacles without disturbing the adjustment of the spectacles;
  • 1926.102(a)(3)(iii) Goggles that incorporate corrective lenses mounted behind the protective lenses.
  • 1926.102(a)(4) Face and eye protection equipment shall be kept clean and in good repair. The use of this type equipment with structural or optical defects shall be prohibited.
  • 1926.102(a)(6) Protectors shall meet the following minimum requirements:
  • 1926.102(a)(6)(i) They shall provide adequate protection against the particular hazards for which they are designed.
  • 1926.102(a)(6)(ii) They shall be reasonably comfortable when worn under the designated conditions.
  • 1926.102(a)(6)(iii) They shall fit snugly and shall not unduly interfere with the movements of the wearer.
  • 1926.102(a)(6)(iv) They shall be durable.
  • 1926.102(a)(6)(v)
  • They shall be capable of being disinfected.
  • 1926.102(a)(6)(vi) They shall be easily cleanable.
  • 1926.102(a)(7) Every protector shall be distinctly marked to facilitate identification only of the manufacturer.
  • 1926.102(a)(8) When limitations or precautions are indicated by the manufacturer, they shall be transmitted to the user and care taken to see that such limitations and precautions are strictly observed.
  • 1926.102(b) Protection against radiant energy-
  • 1926.102(b)(1) Selection of shade numbers for welding filter. Table E-2 shall be used as a guide for the selection of the proper shade numbers of filter lenses or plates used in welding. Shades more dense than those listed may be used to suit the individual’s needs.
  • 1926.102(b)(2) Laser protection.
  • 1926.102(b)(2)(i) Employees whose occupation or assignment requires exposure to laser beams shall be furnished suitable laser safety goggles which will protect for the specific wavelength of the laser and be of optical density (O.D.) adequate for the energy involved. Table E-3 lists the maximum power or energy density for which adequate protection is afforded by glasses of optical densities from 5 through 8.
  • 1926.102(b)(2)(ii) All protective goggles shall bear a label identifying the following data: The laser wavelengths for which use is intended; The optical density of those wavelengths; The visible light transmission.
  • 1926.104 Safety belts, lifelines, and lanyards.
  • 1926.104(a) Lifelines, safety belts, and lanyards shall be used only for employee safeguarding. Any lifeline, safety belt, or lanyard actually subjected to in-service loading, as distinguished from static load testing, shall be immediately removed from service and shall not be used again for employee safeguarding.
  • 1926.104(b) Lifelines shall be secured above the point of operation to an anchorage or structural member capable of supporting a minimum dead weight of 5,400 pounds.
  • 1926.104(c) Lifelines used on rock-scaling operations, or in areas where the lifeline may be subjected to cutting or abrasion, shall be a minimum of 7/8-inch wire core manila rope. For all other lifeline applications, a minimum of 3/4-inch manila or equivalent, with a minimum breaking strength of 5,400 pounds, shall be used.
  • 1926.104(d) Safety belt lanyard shall be a minimum of 1/2-inch nylon, or equivalent, with a maximum length to provide for a fall of no greater than 6 feet. The rope shall have a nominal breaking strength of 5,400 pounds.
  • 1926.104(e) All safety belt and lanyard hardware shall be drop forged or pressed steel, cadmium plated in accordance with type 1, Class B plating specified in Federal Specification QQ-P-416. Surface shall be smooth and free of sharp edges.
  • 1926.104(f) All safety belt and lanyard hardware, except rivets, shall be capable of withstanding a tensile loading of 4,000 pounds without cracking, breaking, or taking a permanent deformation.
  • 1926.105 Safety nets.
  • 1926.105(a) Safety nets shall be provided when workplaces are more than 25 feet above the ground or water surface, or other surfaces where the use of ladders, scaffolds, catch platforms, temporary floors, safety lines, or safety belts is impractical.
  • 1926.105(b) Where safety net protection is required by this part, operations shall not be undertaken until the net is in place and has been tested.
  • 1926.105(c)(1) Nets shall extend 8 feet beyond the edge of the work surface where employees are exposed and shall be installed as close under the work surface as practical but in no case more than 25 feet below such work surface. Nets shall be hung with sufficient clearance to prevent user’s contact with the surfaces or structures below. Such clearances shall be determined by impact load testing.
  • 1926.105(c)(2) It is intended that only one level of nets be required for bridge construction.
  • 1926.105(d) The mesh size of nets shall not exceed 6 inches by 6 inches. All new nets shall meet accepted performance standards of 17,500 foot-pounds minimum impact resistance as determined and certified by the manufacturers, and shall bear a label of proof test. Edge ropes shall provide a minimum breaking strength of 5,000 pounds.
  • 1926.105(e) Forged steel safety hooks or shackles shall be used to fasten the net to its supports.
  • 1926.105(f) Connections between net panels shall develop the full strength of the net.
  • 1926.106 Working over or near water.
  • 1926.106(a) Employees working over or near water, where the danger of drowning exists, shall be provided with U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket or buoyant work vests.
  • 1926.106(b) Prior to and after each use, the buoyant work vests or life preservers shall be inspected for defects which would alter their strength or buoyancy. Defective units shall not be used.
  • 1926.106(c) Ring buoys with at least 90 feet of line shall be provided and readily available for emergency rescue operations. Distance between ring buoys shall not exceed 200 feet. At least one lifesaving skiff shall be immediately available at locations where employees are working over or adjacent to water.

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