[ggreer]

They are called OSHA-approved state plans. They have to be at least as strict as federal OSHA to be approved. See the OSHA state plan FAQ[1] for more info.

Honestly the OSHA enforcement I've seen has been a joke. One summer when I worked a landscaping job, my employer was fined $5,000 because I was caught using a weed-eater while wearing shorts. (It was hot out and I didn't care if I got an occasional pebble flung at my shins.) My coworkers had similar stories.

1. https://www.osha.gov/stateplans/faqs

[perl4ever]

"I didn't care"

That seems like the point. People learn what risks to take from experience; the employer has more experience than new/young employees, so you force them to care. I "didn't care" initially about breathing drywall dust, but later I changed my mind.

[gumby]

And when it's the employer who "doesn't care" the employee rarely has a choice.

[ggreer]

I guarantee that if you drove around and looked at people using weed-eaters that day, at least 1/3rd of them would have been wearing shorts. Heck, I bet the majority of them weren't wearing eye protection.

I'm an adult and I can accurately evaluate the risk of pebbles hitting my shins. Unlike dust or toxins, there's no lag between my actions and noticeable harm. Also, the maximum possible harm is limited. Nobody was ever crippled or killed by a weed-eater throwing pebbles at their legs. OSHA's action in this case was entirely unnecessary.

Stories from my coworkers were equally ridiculous. One time the company got fined because a worker was wearing earplugs instead of earmuffs. Both block sound just fine! If anything, the earplugs should work better because safety glasses can break the seal of earmuffs.

[jackvalentine]

Weed wackers throw a lot more than just pebbles and there can be a lag between your actions and noticeable harm.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3219886/

[ggreer]

Doesn't that prove my point? Weed wackers have been around for 50 years, used by hundreds of millions of people, and the worst you could find was a freak accident that was treated successfully. I was far more likely to suffer from heat stroke than from any weed wacker related injury.

[jackvalentine]

No it doesn't, it's also not the only thing that turned up when I googled 'weed wacker safety' just the most interesting. Obviously, it shows that there are more things hidden in grass than 'just pebbles' like you insisted.

Plenty of people get lacerations and other injuries from weedwackers but your employer has a duty of care to you to prevent the possibility of that happening. This has been codified by safety laws.

If you're using a weedwacker in your personal life feel free to do it nude for all I care but as others have pointed out if it's optional and unenforced that effectively means that employers won't do it.

[apetresc]

Legitimately don't understand your comment – how is enforcement "a joke", but then you immediately give an example of enforcement being strict and effective?

[ggreer]

What? It was arbitrary and ineffective. OSHA never busted people for actual dangerous stuff like being high on the job, lacking eye protection, driving without a seatbelt, or smoking next to gas cans. It was always stupid bullshit like wearing shorts on a hot day.

After the fine, I wore shorts for the rest of the summer. So did plenty of other workers. OSHA didn't seem to notice.