Construction Safety Gear Rule to Turn on Defining ‘Properly Fit’

Federal job safety regulators are facing a fight over how to define the term “properly fit” as they craft a new regulation on the adequacy of construction worker safety gear.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing to change its construction rule to add a requirement that personal protective equipment that employers must provide for free—such as gloves, high-visibility vests, goggles, fall protection harnesses, and helmets—“properly fit” the worker (RIN:1218-AD25).

OSHA said it has long enforced a “properly fit” requirement for protective gear issued to factory, medical, and warehouse workers. The agency now wants to extend ...