R 408.40617a Payment for personal protective equipment (PPE).

Rule 617a. (1) An employer shall provide at no cost to employees the personal protective equipment necessary to protect against hazards that the employer is aware of as a result of any required assessments. (2) An employer shall pay for replacement PPE, as necessary, under either of the following conditions: (a) When the PPE no longer provides the protection it was designed to provide. (b) When the previously provided PPE is no longer adequate or functional. (3) When an employee has lost or intentionally damaged the PPE issued to him or her, an employer is not required to pay for its replacement and may require the employee to pay for its replacement. (4) An employer is not required to pay for prescription safety eyewear with removable or permanent sideshields as long as the employer provides safety eyewear that fits over an employee’s prescription lenses. (5) An employer is not required to pay for non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, provided that the employer permits these items to be worn off the job-site. (6) An employer is not required to pay for non-specialty safety-toe protective footwear, including steel-toe shoes or steel-toe boots, provided that the employer permits these items to be worn off the job-site. (7) 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. (8) An employer is not required to pay for either of the following: (a) Everyday clothing, which includes any of the following: (i) Long-sleeve shirts. (ii) Long pants. (iii) Street shoes. (iv) Normal work boots. (v) Ordinary clothing. (vi) Skin creams. (b) Other items used solely for protection from weather, which includes any of the following: (i) Winter coats. (ii) Jackets. (iii) Gloves. (iv) Parkas. (v) Rubber boots. (vi) Hats. (vii) Raincoats. (viii) Ordinary sunglasses. (ix) Sunscreen. (9) An employer shall pay for protection when ordinary weather gear is not sufficient to protect an employee and special equipment or extraordinary clothing is needed to protect the employee from unusually severe weather conditions. Clothing used in artificially-controlled environments with extreme hot or cold temperatures, such as freezers, is not considered part of the weather gear exception. (10) All of the following apply to upgraded and personalized PPE: (a) An employer is not required to pay for PPE requested by an employee that exceeds the PPE requirements, provided that the employer provides PPE that meets the standards at no cost to the employee. (b) If an employer allows an employee to acquire and use upgraded or personalized PPE, then the employer is not required to reimburse the employee for the equipment, provided that the employer has provided adequate PPE at no cost to the employee. (c) An employer shall evaluate an employee’s upgraded or personalized PPE to ensure that it is in compliance with all of the following: (i) Adequate to protect from hazards present in the workplace. (ii) Properly maintained. (iii) Kept in a sanitary condition. (11) When the provisions of another MIOSHA standard specify whether the employer shall pay for specific equipment, the payment provisions of that standard prevails.