Safety Helmets or Hard Hats? OSHA Makes a Change

This month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revealed its internal safety protocols for its own employees will change to the use of safety helmets instead of hard hats for those in the field inspecting worksites for regulatory violations.  Explaining the reason for the change is “...to protect them better,” OSHA points to its November 2023 Safety and Health Information Bulletin for details on its rationale for changing its own safety policies.  

OSHA is also recommending that safety helmets be provided to the following employees on our industrial job sites:

• Construction  workers
• Oil and Gas workers
• Workers in high-temperature worksites
• Workers tasked in specialized work and low-risk environments
• Workers in electrical work 
• Workers on the job working from heights; and
• All workers covered for safety helmets pursuant to safety regulations or industry standards.

From the news release, OSHA warns against the continued use of the Old School Hard Hat.  From the agency:  

[T]raditional hard hats protect the top of a worker’s head but have minimal side impact protection and also lack chin straps. Without the straps, traditional hard hats can fall off a worker’s head if they slip or trip, leaving them unprotected. In addition, traditional hard hats lacked vents and trapped heat inside….

Today’s safety helmets may also offer face shields or goggles to protect against projectiles, dust and chemical splashes. Others offer built-in hearing protection and/or communication systems to enable clear communication in noisy environments.

Safety Helmets vs Hard Hats

Safety helmets are more advanced in the ways they provide protection to the worker than the traditional hard hat.  Innovations in design and availability of modern materials has allowed a new type of personal protective equipment in the safety helmet that does more than the hard hat in keeping people safe.  While hard hats are recognized in their ability to protect the worker’s head in the event of a slip and fall accident, they do not help very much if the worker suffers a blow to the head from the side or from behind.  

Safety helmets can also provide a superior fit customized to the individual head, making them more comfortable and better able to absorb impact.  They are less likely to move on the head or fall off entirely, a known risk for the traditional hard hat.  

For more, read “Use your head: Traditional hard hats versus safety helmets,” published by Construction Dive on March 13, 2023.  

OSHA Preferred Personal Protection Equipment: Safety Helmets 

OSHA’s action coincides with the detailed safety stance it has taken this year regarding personal protection equipment to protect against worker head injuries.  Read, Occupational Safety & Health Administration. (2023). “Head Protection: Safety Helmets in the Workplace Health Information Bulletin.” United States Department of Labor, (November 22, 2023) (“Bulletin”).  

In the Bulletin, OSHA recognizes that the ultimate decision between using the “traditional hard hat” and the safety helmet will be made by “employers and workers,” the agency is encouraging employers to transition their PPE requirements to the protective innovations that are provided by the safety helmet.  Bulletin, page 1.

From OSHA to industrial employers:

Employers should evaluate workplace hazards to determine the most appropriate head protection for each situation. If head protection is needed for the job, employers should consider investing in better head protection with safety helmets to better protect their workers.  

Bulletin, page 2. 

OSHA Specifics on Need for Safety Helmet In Lieu of Hard Hat 

OSHA suggests that employers undertake “hazard assessments” of their workplaces in order to confirm if there are any workers facing the risk of head injury and in need of personal protective equipment for their head.  If head protection is needed by any worker, OSHA is clear:  “… employers should consider using safety helmets instead of traditional hard hats so that employees are best protected against occupational head injuries.”  Bulletin, page 2. 

As a further directive, OSHA points to specific industrial workers who may be best protected by a safety helmet instead of a hard hat.  

These employers should consider themselves warned in advance that their workers deserve these headgear upgrades before a future, preventable work accident injury happens.  Safety helmets in these workplaces need to be provided.

OSHA’s Recommendations for Worker Safety Helmets

Within its November 2023 publication, OSHA delves into the following specific work scenarios where it is recognizing the greater risk of head injury and the need for superior head protection:

1. Construction Sites: For construction sites, especially those with high risks of falling objects and debris, impacts from equipment, or slips, trips, and falls, safety helmets have enhanced impact resistance and additional features that offer superior protection compared to the components and construction of traditional hard hats.
2. Oil and Gas Industry: In these sectors where workers face multiple hazards, including potential exposure to chemicals and severe impacts, safety helmets with additional features can provide comprehensive protection.
3. Working from Heights: For tasks or jobs that involve working from heights, safety helmets offer protection of the entire head and include features that prevent the safety helmet from falling off.
4. Electrical Work: For tasks involving electrical work or proximity to electrical hazards, safety helmets with non-conductive materials (Class G and Class E) provide protection to prevent electrical shocks. However, some traditional hard hats also offer electrical protection.
5. High-Temperature Environments: In high temperatures or where there is exposure to molten materials, safety helmets with advanced heat resistant properties can provide additional protection to workers.
6. Specialized Work Environments: Jobs that require integrated face shields, hearing protection or communication devices benefit from safety helmets designed with these features or the ability to add them on.
7. Specific Regulatory Requirements: Where safety helmets are mandated by regulations or industry standards, employers must comply with these requirements to ensure worker safety compliance.
8. Low-Risk Environments: Even in settings with no overhead hazards, safety helmets will provide comprehensive protection, especially if the risks can become more severe.

Bulletin page 2. 

Employers Have a Responsibility to Protect Workers

Employers are under several legal duties of safety and care regarding protecting workers from head injuries on the job.  Some may be under the General Duty Safety and Care provided by federal law.  For more, read What is the Employer’s General Duty Clause?

Other employers may be required to comply with specific head injury safety regulations that include: 

• 29 CFR 1910.132 – Personal Protective Equipment, providing general requirements for proper personal protective equipment;  
• 29 CFR 1910.135 – Head Protection, giving the specifics for proper headgear and head protection in general industry workplaces; and
• 29 CFR 1926.100 – Construction Head Protection, identifying the regulatory head protection requirements for construction workers. 

There are also industrial standards that employers should respect in their efforts to keep people safe on the job.  These include ANSI/ISEA Z89.1 which is the industrial standard for head protection provided by the American National Standards Institute.  

Here in Illinois and Indiana, there are OSHA State Plans that serve to protect workers from harm through regulatory endeavors.  Industrial standards do not have the force of law.  However, if there is a serious accident involving a worker suffering a catastrophic or fatal head injury, the industrial standard will serve as a reference in the determination of failures in providing reasonable and proper protections against these preventable accidents.   

Justice for Workers Suffering Head Injuries in Work Accident 

OSHA’s example of replacing hard hats with safety helmets for its own inspectors provides all industrial employers with an example of how best to keep their workers safe from head injuries in a work accident.  

Here in Indiana and Illinois, workers in our construction, steel, manufacturing, and warehousing industries face serious risks of head injuries not only from falls but also from struck-by accidents and crushed in-between incidents where a safety helmet is likely to protect better than a hard hat.

Workers have to depend upon their employers and others with possession, custody, or control of aspects of their workplace to keep them safe on the job.  Providing safety helmets must be considered not as innovative but as necessary.  

For workers who are victims of head injuries in work accidents, the failure to provide a properly fitted safety helmet (especially in the industries focused upon in the new OSHA Bulletin) may be argued as a breach in the duty of care and safety owed to that victim and their loved ones.  Damages may be sought for accidents resulting in traumatic brain injuries (TBIs); spinal cord injuries; concussions; burns; electrocutions; or death.

For more, read:

• Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
• Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
• The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
• Hard Hats and Worker Injuries on the Job in Illinois and Indiana
• Fatal Falls in Construction Caused by Employers Failing to Plan for Worker Safety
• Hurt by a Defective Product in Indiana or Illinois: Recalls and Failings.

Head protection is vital personal protective equipment for our industrial workers.  Safety helmets need to replace hard hats on many worksites.  If employers fail to do so, tragedy may result in an entirely preventable accident. Please be careful out there!