In an ideal world, you’d be able to eliminate all hazards from the workplace. But in the real world, some hazards can only be minimized. That’s where PPE comes into play. PPE, such as hardhats, gloves and glasses, protects workers from hazards that can’t be completely eliminated and which engineering controls can’t address. So who’s responsible for paying for PPE—the employer or the worker?
Recent ON Case on Paying for Safety Boots
The Ontario Labour Relations Board recently addressed this issue. A US company hired a Canadian company to do maintenance work at its steel plant. A worker assigned to work at the plant was required to wear metatarsal safety boots, which the worker didn’t have and didn’t want to buy. The union filed a grievance, arguing that the company had to supply metatarsal safety boots or reimburse workers for their cost. The Board disagreed. The US company required this special kind of safety boot, not the Canadian company. In addition, Ontario employers must pay for PPE only if the law requires them to “supply” such PPE. And the OHS law doesn’t require employers to supply safety footwear, said the Board [International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 105 v. Aecon Industrial, [2010] CanLII 1671 (ON L.R.B.), Jan. 19, 2010].
OHS Law & PPE
Canadian jurisdictions take two approaches to paying for PPE:
- The OHS laws in five jurisdictions—BC, MB, QC, SK and YT—spell out who must pay for which kinds of PPE; and
- In the remaining nine jurisdictions—Fed, AB, NB, NL, NT, NS, NU, ON and PEI—the OHS laws don’t specifically address who pays for PPE.
In these nine jurisdictions, the question of who pays for PPE often turns on whether the employer has to “provide” that PPE. In a nutshell, if the employer has to provide the PPE, it generally must also pay for it. But if an employer is only required to ensure that workers use PPE, it doesn’t have to pay for that PPE. And in unionized workplaces, employers and union will often cover who pays for PPE in collective agreements.
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