Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) was excited to see the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) finalize a rule that requires that personal protective equipment (PPE) properly fit any construction worker who needs it. As of January 13, 2025, it is now an enforceable standard that construction employers provide PPE that fits properly for the work to be performed to guarantee the health and safety of all of their employees, which has been standard for other industries. The new standard impacts harnesses, gloves, safety glasses, vests, respirators, and other critical PPE. 

CWIT provided a comment when the rule was first proposed in 2023, raising the issues faced by tradeswomen who often encounter PPE that does not fit their bodies. We collected stories from our community, including examples of safety hazards that had put them in danger of injury at work due to improperly fitting PPE and feeling excluded on site when given there was not PPE available to fit them safely. 

Our comment was signed by 18 other local and national advocacy organizations who supported these changes: https://www.regulations.gov/comment/OSHA-2019-0003-0098

Read the press release here: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/osha-national-news-release/20241211