Can you get fit tested with a beard?
Facial hair is a common reason that someone cannot be fit tested. Facial hair is just not dense enough and the individual hairs are too large to capture particles like an air filter does; nor will a beard trap gases and vapors like the carbon bed in a respirator cartridge.
Can you have facial hair in pest control?
You cannot have facial hair wherever the mask contacts your face. If your respirator does not make a tight seal on your face, your employer cannot let you do the work. You may need to wear different respirators when you work with different pesticides.
Can an employer ask you to shave your beard?
AFAIK, they can’t make you shave unless there’s something in your contract of employment about this – you’ve a general duty to cooperate with your employer’s arrangements for Health and Safety and to wear any PPE required, but the PPE must be suitable.
Can you wear a half face respirator with a beard?
All facial hair under the chin or cheeks is prohibited for respirator wearing use. That includes small, neat beards or goatees that fit within a respirator. Beard hair can render a respirator nearly useless.
What happens if employer does not allow beard?
For example, if an employer’s Grooming Policy permits certain types of facial hair, but not a beard required by an employee’s religion, this inconsistent application could lead to allegations of discrimination.
Are there OSHA requirements for beards and respirators?
Inquiry on beards, respirator use, and fit testing of repirators. OSHA requirements are set by statute, standards and regulations. Our interpretation letters explain these requirements and how they apply to particular circumstances, but they cannot create additional employer obligations.
Is it illegal for a firefighter to have a beard?
One of the most interesting cases about the right to grow facial hair when working in the fire department occurred between 2001 and 2007 in Washington, D.C. A group of Muslim firefighters sued for discrimination over the department’s grooming policy in 2001. In 2005 the department changed the rule to create a safety policy against beards.
Can a beard prevent a good face seal?
Also, as already stated, it has been shown that beard growth prevents a good face seal. The regulatory language in the paragraph does not make any exceptions when fit testing shows that a good fit has been achieved for persons with beards.
