OSHA Standard for Safety Boots

Foot protection is an important component of workplace personal protective clothing. Protective footwear must be worn whenever foot injury from falling objects, vehicles, movable materials, and electricity can occur. OSHA safety footwear regulations exist for general, construction, shipyard, marine, and long-shoring industries. These standards are all covered by different parts of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (29 CFR).

Assessing Hazards

• OSHA requires assessment of actual and potential hazards prior to the selection of appropriate safety shoes or boots.

General Industry

• Employers must provide proper protective footwear for employees at risk of foot injury under the requirements of the general industry regulations (29 CFR 1910.136).

Construction

• Employees must wear appropriate protective footwear for the work they are performing in accordance with the construction safety regulations (29 CFR 1926.96).

Shipyard, Marine, and Long-shoring Industries

• Shipyard, marine terminal, and long-shore industry employees must wear safety footwear proscribed by the OSHA standards for those industries (29 CFR 1915.156, 1917.94, & 1918 104, respectively).

ANSI Standards

• OSHA regulations require safety footwear to meet the requirements of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Safety shoes and boots must bear a label confirming conformance with ANSI Standard Z41.

Employer Responsibilities

• The employer must select, purchase, and ensure the proper wearing of safety footwear.