Women's steel toe safety shoes | Black | S557 (2024)

FAQs

What are the OSHA requirements for steel toe shoes? ›

Your employer requires that the safety-toe footwear must be worn at all times regardless of the presence of a hazard; must have a leather upper; must have oil resistant and non-skid soles, and must comply with ASTM 2413-05 with a impact resistance rating of 75 and an compression resistance rating of 75.

Durability – While they can withstand the same impacts, non-steel safety toes may be compromised by a single significant blow, or by a high volume of wear and tear. Steel toes offer greater durability and impact resistance over the long term, in exchange for being slightly heavier.

California Labor Code section 6401 simply requires employers to “furnish and use safety devices and safeguards … reasonably adequate to render such employment and place of employment safe and healthful.” Similarly, another state law states that employers must not fail to “provide and use safety devices and safeguards ...

1. Appropriate foot protection is required when employees are in areas where there is danger of foot injuries due to falling and rolling objects, slip hazards or objects piercing the sole, and where employees are exposed to electrical hazards.

Safety Equipment FAQ states OSHA requires protective footwear in all workplaces where foot injuries are a danger. This includes places where something could fall, roll, pierce or electrocute a foot.

OSHA Safety Shoes Labeling

Also note that OSHA approved work shoes typically contain a rectangle on the label inside which are symbols for the ASTM standards that OSHA uses to certify safety shoes.

Usually a steel toe boot has an ASTM 75 pound-foot compression resistance rating, meaning it can withstand compression up to 2,500 pounds.

If a work environment or job site potentially contains a “danger of foot injuries” due to falling, rolling or piercing objects, then steel toe boots are required. These dangers can include nails, cinder blocks, bags of concrete, vehicles (fork lifts), heavy packages, barrels, etc.

Composite materials are lighter than steel and do not conduct heat or electricity. This makes them a good choice for workers who need to wear boots in hot weather or who work around sources of electricity. Composite toe boots are also less likely to set off metal detectors.

The employer is not required to pay for non-specialty safety-toe protective footwear (including steel-toe shoes or steel-toe boots) and non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, provided that the employer permits such items to be worn off the job-site.

Should my employer pay for my work shoes? ›

Consistent therewith, Cal/OSHA has taken the stance that if an employer requires shoes for safety purposes, whether specialty or nonspecialty, the employer must pay for the cost of those shoes.

Shoes as Personal Protective Equipment

Under federal OSHA regulations, which were amended in 2008, an employer is required to provide personal protective equipment, including certain specialty protective shoes, at no cost to the employee.

In general, employees must wear protective footwear when working in areas where there is the danger of foot injuries due to falling or rolling objects, or the danger of objects piercing the sole, and where employees' feet are exposed to electrical hazards.

Work boot safety standards require that personnel wear safety footwear at all times. Safety shoes or boots must have a leather upper, non-skid soles, oil resistance and impact and compression resistance ratings of 75.

Payment for Personal Protective Equipment

With few exceptions, OSHA requires employers to pay for personal protective equipment when it is used to comply with OSHA standards.

The ASTM F2413 guidelines outline three levels of protection safety toes can provide: protection against 75 foot-pound impacts, 50 foot-pound impacts and 30 foot-pound impacts. In layman's terms, a foot-pound is the amount of force (in pounds) an object exerts when dropped from the height of one foot.

Certified standards for safety footwear

There are 2 MAIN STANDARDS for safety footwear: ASTM 2413 & EN ISO 20345.

ASTM F2413-18 is a standard that covers footwear constructed and manufactured such that the protective toe cap is an integral and permanent part of the footwear. The standard contains requirements to evaluate the performance of footwear for: Impact resistance. Compression resistance.

The most obvious workplace that calls for the protection of steel toes is one where workers are lifting and moving heavy items. Construction sites, warehouses and farms can all fall into this category.