Under what circumstances can an employee decline the use of personal protective equipment?

An employee can decline the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) only under rare circumstances, which typically involves specific situations where the risks associated with not wearing PPE are assessed and deemed negligible. For instance, if the task being performed is considered low-risk or if the work environment has been modified to eliminate hazards, it might be acceptable for an employee to opt out of using certain PPE.

However, this is not a blanket allowance and does not apply when employees simply feel overqualified, find it inconvenient, or are working alone. Proper protocols and risk assessments must be in place, guided by workplace safety regulations, to ensure that any decision to decline PPE is justified and does not compromise safety. Thus, declining the use of PPE under more common situations (such as feeling inconvenient or being overqualified) does not align with the established safety practices.