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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) revised rules on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) require that employers pay for protective gear that is required on the job. Any equipment that is not required will continue to be optional for the employer to pay for.
Additional safety guidelines are published by the International Society of Arboriculture. They are not required by law, but are mandated for ISA-certified tree professionals. See page 29 for more info.
What equipment is required by the federal agency? Under OSHA rules, the employer must review each position in regards to the duties performed, and evaluate what safety equipment will be required to perform those job duties. Not all landscaping work requires steel-toed boots or special clothing, but almost all positions will require safety glasses, gloves, and hearing protection. Employers are not required to purchase clothing, hats or head gear, shoes, or prescription eyewear (unless specifically required for the position).
The employer is also responsible for training each employee on the proper usage of the equipment. This training must be conducted annually. The company must keep documentation on the training, which is to include the date of the training, how long the training lasted, who presented the training, and who attended the training (first and last names). A signature of the attendee is not required, however it is suggested.
This training must be held in the language that the employee is fluent in, which means that the training may have to be conducted in both English and Spanish. All forms provided to the employees that demonstrate, explain, and document the proper use of PPE must also be in all the languages that are necessary to train the staff.
The rule applies only to personal protective equipment that is needed to comply with OSHA standards. Employers are not required to pay for ordinary safety-toed footwear, logging boots, ordinary prescription safety eyewear, ordinary clothing or weather-related gear.
If there is any question as to how to assess the job duties and what exact equipment is required, companies have several options available to them. One option is to contact OSHA directly (or the state level agency if one exists), your Worker's Compensation Company (this help should be part of your policy service), or an independent safety professional.
Jim Lipot, MBA, will answer SafetyTalk questions sent to safetytalk@sbcglobal.net.
In 2006, the International Society of Arboriculture revised national safety standards for arboricultural operations. The standards are not part of any state or national code but are mandatory for ISA-certified tree professionals.
The current guidelines will remain in effect until they are revised again by the end of 2011.
For the 2006 standard, all sections were completely rewritten and updated, and a new section was added to address safe use of equipment-mounted winches. In addition, safety requirements for ropes and climbing equipment, cabling, rigging, and pesticide application have been included.
A helpful new feature is an index, which allows readers to quickly locate all references to a particular topic throughout the standard. The glossary has been greatly expanded, and the terms are cross-referenced to the rules in which they appear-another feature designed to make the standard easier to use.
Copies may be ordered from ISA: 1-888-ISA-TREE, www.isa-arbor.com.
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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