Does an Employer Have To Pay For Safety Glasses?
The need for protective eyewear spans a variety of industries and dozens of types of jobs. Construction jobs, mining jobs, and plumbing jobs are just some of the examples of places where you may need to wear protective eyewear. If you need glasses, the right prescription safety glasses are a necessity for doing your job safely and correctly. The question is, does your job need to have a corporate safety glasses program or must you purchase them on your own?
1. Does an Employer Have To Pay For Safety Glasses?
Employers must provide proper eye protection and ensure that employees use it. However, this does not mean that the employer needs to purchase prescription safety goggles. If you have a job that requires protective eyewear, you are responsible for providing your own prescription glasses.
The reasoning behind this is that an employee who wears prescription eyewear will do so outside of work. This could cause a company to pay out hundreds or thousands more than expected if safety glasses are broken or lost outside of the workplace.
2. Are Prescription Safety Glasses Really That Important?
Safety glasses really are that important. Consider both components. If you decide to skip getting prescription lenses and use the non-prescription ones that your employer provides, you risk not being able to see your work as well. This means you could make mistakes in your work that not only lower your quality as an employee but put you or other people in danger.
If you try to skip safety glasses altogether, you run an even higher risk of injuring your eyes and creating even more eyesight damage. Additionally, if you try to work without the right safety gear, you could be put on probation or fired from your job for not following safety regulations.
3. What Is the Meaning of the ANSI and Z87 imprints on safety glasses?
ANSI stands for the American National Standards Institute. It creates the standard strength and endurance requirements necessary for safety glass lenses to become certified and meet shock resistance requirements. For people who work with dust particles, sand, large chips, or flying fragments, the lenses must have an ANSI impact rating of Z87-2+ for prescription frames. Plano frames and all other frames must be Z87+.
The Z87 simply signals that the glasses meet the ANSI safety standards. It means that the safety glasses have passed several types of stringent tests to determine how durable and resistant to impact they are. For example, if the safety glasses say “ANSI Z87.1,” it means the ANSI assessed them and determined they work safely in a high mass test. This means that testers dropped a pointed, 500-gram weight onto the glasses from five feet above them and determined that they did not shatter or break.
4. What Type of Lens Technology Is Good For Prescription Safety Eyewear?
There is a wide variety of types of lens technologies that you can choose when purchasing your prescription glasses. First, consider the lens coating. Coatings improve the functionality of your lenses. Common lens coating options include scratch resistance and anti-fog technology.
If you will be working at a job that exposes you to a setting with a risk of high optical radiation, you will likely want to focus on lens tints. A simple coating of gray or green can reduce how intense lights look to you. You can also choose tints that will protect you from UV radiation. There are a number of different options for tints, so don’t be afraid to try on a few different types to determine what will work for you.
5. What Types of Comfort and Design Options Are There For Prescription Safety Eyewear?
Consider comfort above all else. Keep in mind that you’ll need a pair of glasses that are as lightweight as they are durable. You’ll be wearing them for the better part of eight hours or longer each day, so you need a pair that sits comfortably on the bridge of the nose, settles comfortably in front of your eyes, and doesn’t squeeze too hard on the temples when resting on your ears.
If design options are important to you, you’ll find a variety of rectangular, square, and round frames that are available in a wide range of sizes. You can choose from wire-rim frame types, thick frames, and mid-size frames to best fit your personality, style, and needs.
Get Your Prescription Safety Glasses Today
Are you ready to shop for your safety glasses with prescription? Check out the wide range of options available on Safety Gear Pro. We take pride in our collection and you will, too! Find your next set of prescription safety eyewear with us!
