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Outdoor weather apparel and protective equipment

Summary A requester asked whether employers had to provide outdoor or bad-weather clothing. A regional OSHA office said no rule specifically named that apparel, but protective clothing had to be used when exposure made it necessary; the cited rule did not say who had to provide it. OSHA archives the letter.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1977-06-02
Date issued
June 2, 1977
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy.
Status last verified October 10, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1910 Personal Protective Equipment Weather Exposure
Source
View the official document

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OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy. It may no longer reflect the agency's current position. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.
About this page: The full text below is the official document from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

June 2, 1977
Mr. Charles Wemple
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Wemple:
This is in response to your letter requesting information about outdoor wearing apparel to be provided by the employer.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration Standards do not specify any requirement for wearing outdoor apparel or bad weather apparel in its standards. Under the Standard identified as Part 1910 Paragraph 132, there is a specification which states in part, "where by reason of exposure, it is necessary to provide safety apparel, it shall be provided and worn." There is no specification stating who shall provide such equipment.
We have mailed under separate cover several OSHA brochures including the above noted Standard for your ready reference. Please feel free to contact us if there are further questions about OSHA.
Sincerely,
Alfred Barden
Regional Administrator
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

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