winter clothing for the job outside

[Chuck Wintle]

Just wondering what your opinion is about being sent to work in the field by ones employer....should the employer pay for appropriate clothing for field work? i.e. winter clothing when the temperature drops.....

[John Pratt]

A case could be made either way. At my work, if the "clothing" is mandatory for safety reasons, the company pays for it (steel toe boots). If it is just normal clothing, I pay for it. However, If the clothing is worn out quickly due to the nature of the job there is a possiblility that it could be written off taxes (caveat: I am by no means a tax expert).

[Greg Portland]

Anything considered PPE must be provided (OSHA regs): https://www.osha.gov/dte/outreach/intro_osha/7_employee_ppe.pdf I'm sure Canada has a similar agency.

For winter clothing in the U.S., there is not a specific regulation but there are "common sense" clauses in the OSHA regs and a bunch of case law. For example, requiring snow plow operators to wear shorts and T-shirts would pique the interest of the state's occupational health board. An employer not paying for a heavy jacket would not be covered under law (but you could write it off on your taxes).

[Mark Bolton]

As an employer my guess would be it would depend on whether working in various weather conditions was a known condition of your employment when you took the job or is this an odd/recent occurance in comparison to what your job was when you were hired.

If I were to hire a year round framer it would be a known that you'll be working in heat, cold, rain, and so on. Specialty safety equipment aside, the employee would be expected to show up with appropriate clothing.

If you were hired as an inside worker and your employer suddenly has some work in winter conditions I could see an avenue for a conversation with regards to comoensation for something that falls outside the scope of your original job description.

With regards to a tax write off in the US remeber first that writing something off in no means makes it free which is a common dillusion among consumptive types. Second, technically you can only write off clothing which is specific to your work. This means a pair of work boots that you wear elsewhere is not a legitimate write off. Neither is a winter coat. Fire retardant clothing, safety specific shoes (steel toes are fuzzy), and so on are what the clothing write off is there for in the eyes of the irs.