Employer Responsibilities

Employers have the main responsibility for workplace safety under the OSH Act. Knowing what your employer owes you helps you recognize when something is missing.

• Construction
• General Industry

Employers must

• Provide a workplace free from serious recognized hazards and follow all OSHA standards that apply
• Find and correct hazards, preferably by eliminating them or using engineering controls first
• Provide required PPE at no cost to workers (with a few exceptions) and make sure it is used
• Train workers on hazards and safe practices in a language and vocabulary they understand
• Keep tools and equipment in safe condition
• Use color codes, signs, labels and posters to warn of hazards
• Have a hazard communication program, labels and Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals
• Provide medical exams and training when required by a standard (for example respirators, lead or silica)
• Post the OSHA “Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law” poster
• Report fatalities within 8 hours and hospitalizations, amputations and eye losses within 24 hours
• Keep injury and illness records (unless exempt) and give workers access to them
• Post OSHA citations near the area of the violation
• Not retaliate against workers who use their rights

Who pays for PPE?

Employers must pay for required PPE. Some exceptions where the employer does not have to pay:

• Ordinary safety-toe boots and ordinary prescription safety glasses, if the employer allows them to be worn off the jobsite
• Everyday clothing and ordinary weather gear (like regular winter coats or rain gear)
• Items the worker lost or intentionally damaged

Specialty items, such as metatarsal boots, prescription inserts for full-face respirators, harnesses, hard hats and respirators, must be paid for by the employer.

Last updated: October 1, 2026