Safety and dark glasses

Karla

We've had a few safety incidents here involving dark safety glasses worn at night. So, we stopped ordering dark glasses at our facility. We now have a few select 3rd shift employees who have brought in their own dark safety glasses because they say when they wear the clear safety glasses we provide, there is a glare from the lights (in a control room).

The manager in this department told these employees that because of the safety issues they are not allowed to wear the dark glasses without a Dr.'s verification that they need them. Well, someone brought in a note from his family Doctor that states - please allow ee to wear mirror/tinted safety glasses at work. Reduces headaches from bright lights.

We don't have an issue with this particular employee, but due to the safety issues (and frankly we have a few ee's who want to wear dark glasses to mask sleeping while they are in the control room)I am wondering if this is enough to prove this is really an issue. Because if it is, those ee's who are wanting to wear the dark glasses will all be bringing a note in from their family Dr. and we will be back to square one.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Balloonman

There are a number of tinted glasses that would help you meet both needs. Yellow or a silvery tinted ones, designed for indoor use.
It is a safety issue.............with a little research or working with your workers' comp carrier they can provide you with some guidelines on lighting, and how much tint is acceptable and what is not.
My $0.02 worth!
DJ The Balloonman

Betty I_O

The doctors are writing notes based on what the employees are telling them and do not have first-hand knowledge of the working environment. Go back to your Worker's Comp carrier (they have or should be able to recommend professionals who can do a workplace assessment)and have an evaluation done to determine what kind of glasses can safely be used in the environment you describe. Once that is done and the carrier gives you the results, you then can mandate what type of safety glasses can and cannot be used.

neveradull

Why not adjust the lighting in the conrol room?