Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34, D) and Congressman George Miller (CA-7, D), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, applauded a decision by the Department of Labor to issue a final rule by November that will require employers to pay for personal protective equipment for workers.  The decision was made in response to a lawsuit filed by the AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

“In the coming months, I will continue to work closely with Chairman Miller, labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO and UFCW, and other advocates for workers to make sure the U.S. Department of Labor fulfills its long overdue obligation to issue the final rule requiring employers to purchase protective equipment for their employees,” Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said.  “Workers throughout this country have been waiting for more than seven years for this ruling to be finalized, despite the fact that the OSHA rule was proposed in 1999.  For the sake of the health and well-being of our workers, many of whom toil in dangerous and low-paying jobs, I truly appreciate the U.S. Department of Labor’s recognition that issuing this life-saving ruling is the right thing to do to protect America’s workers.”

Chairman Miller said: “Although it shouldn’t have taken a lawsuit to get the Department of Labor to do the right thing, it’s good to see that the Department now plans to require employers to take simple steps to protect workers from everyday workplace hazards. Our committee will keep a watchful eye on the Department to make sure it implements – by November –
a strong rule that protects workers.”

Congresswoman Roybal-Allard and Chairman Miller introduced legislation earlier this month to force the Department of Labor to issue a final Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard requiring employers to cover costs for workers’ personal protective equipment, such as respirators, chemical resistant clothing, metal mesh gloves, lifelines and lanyards, safety glasses, and face shields needed by their workers to stay safe on the job. The Department has delayed issuing the new standard for more than seven years. 

In 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were more than 4 million worker injuries and more than 5,700 deaths in the private sector.  By OSHA’s own estimates, the implementation of the across-the-board, federal rule requiring employers to provide and pay for personal protective equipment would prevent nearly 48,000 injuries and as many as seven fatalities each year.
 

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