Labor Department Sued by Unions over Employer Paid PPE Rule

February 13 2007

Safety and Health

Citing the Department of Labor’s (DOL) failure to issue a final standard requiring employers to cover the cost of workers’ personal protective equipment (PPE), the AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union have filed a lawsuit against DOL.

Under review at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), final action on the standard has not been taken for several years and remains on the agency’s regulatory agenda. The recent lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The AFL-CIO and UFCW requested that an order be issued giving Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor, 60 days to complete the PPE rule.