PSA: "On May 15, 2008, a new OSHA rule about employer payment for PPE went into effect. With few exceptions, OSHA now requires employers to pay for personal protective equipment used to comply with OSHA standards. These typically include hardhats, gloves, goggles, safety shoes, safety glasses, face shields chemical protective equipment and fall protection equipment." (Source OSHA.gov) Notice safety shoes are on the list, make your employer aware they have to pay/reimbursed you. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
Well this makes sense now, The company i work for penny pinches at every chance it gets. All this time i thought my company was being oddly selfless and generous to give us $200 boot vouchers, safety vests and hard hats.
@@lowellbentley OSHA is under the Dept. of Labor and the military is part of the Dept. of Defence. Most certainly there are different rules and regulation between the two.
@@MarshallPatrick whats the odds managment remembered my feet are size 7 as I doubt company boots have my small size. (I know none of the main stores in town carry small enough work boots for my size)
This is also how you explain dont fucking pay them. Dont buy anything thats super inflated the price will drop when people stop being idiots and buying things that arent a reasonable price. Supply and demand. If the demand drops the supply will get cheaper.
@@palboytg1 No those boots aren't capitalism. Capitalism gives you choices between multiple options and doesn't force you to buy anything. Capitalism is the application of cash to allow someone else to start or run a business; usually in exchange for a share or shares of the profits. Price increases and upselling have been common systems for making money for way longer than capitalism has existed.
Pay for safety equipment, only once boss man then I visit a lawyer on my lunch break. They LOVE these cases because they usually settle out of court for big figures.
is this safety equipment or is it the uniform? that makes a difference legally. safety equipment must be provided, uniforms can be charged to the employee. However, if the company is requiring the purchase of those boots because they consider them to be safety equipment then you could have a case. If they just said "these boots are part of the uniform" then you can't do anything about it.
@@jimbeam-ru1my Obviously safety equipment is implied in the video. It also really depends on what state you are in when it comes to Uniform laws. Some will require the employer provide it free of charge, some may allow deductions as long as it doesn't cause the employee to fall below minimum wage. Than there is also the issue of keeping it compliant for those with disabilities. However there is obviously a balance act the company must do as well. Have a huge upfront uniform bill to the employee? Hope you maintain loyal employees. Cause when Joe can join company A with an upfront uniform bill of $300-600 dollars or Company B for free, and they both pay the same rate, Company B is going to be able to fill it's positions alot easier than Company A.
@@jimbeam-ru1my if its their uniform they still pay full costscnot employee. Can't charge for uniforms either shd have to clean selves or pay employees. Its under labor blaws not ohsa about uniforms. Uniforms include if they just require you wear certain lookimgvor floored clothing?. If they say you must dreescinna blackish suit white shirt ree tie wungtipoed black shoes etc they have to pay for all that and the maintenance of it. Lol at you. Absolutely any kind of company requirements must be paid by compajt regardless what it is even your vehicle gas etc if its being used for company. Even delivery drivers get compensated for vehicle use. Lol this includes trying to make employees associates like Walmart did expecting they have to pay for uniforms and other s. Walmart lost two months lost later in S Carolina their home state about that. Lol
@@failegion7828 tell me what states there are where you even pay a cent? Florida example of minimum wage much more to it. Law aksi says you have to include statement that deductions have to be made to pay for uniforms. Know Florida has the best employer labor laws in states by far with Georgia a close second . anyways employers in Florida rather instead start you at a low wage and pay for all the uniform stuff because it ends confusion. When new emoloyees that many got frustrated quit jobs thinking let's say the $12 hr job they had turned out to be a $10 an hour job like yoiu infer above. Not good business practice to have a high employee turnover. As for higher paying employers they almost always pay full cost up front as for semi pro and professional jobs its quite easy for one in demand to say Heff Hugh and go elsewhere. Lol also the FISA law goes in to say if uniform is required by some other law, THE NATURE OF THE BUSINESS OR! THE EMPLOYER ( so anything with company logos on it or required color scheme company has to pay for OR if employer wants you to wear a certain style suit because they prefer that again they pay) . this additional clause makes it extremely hard for an employer to actually charge for a uniform. Basic outfit would be rather bland looking. Employer can tell you a general style of clothing to wear but once starts getting specific about things like specific brands color schemes that would clearly reflect his her own bias or that of company logos trade marks or such its employer pays all. He can tell you wear jeans and a t shirt or a business suit age dress shoes but cannot tell you to wear Levis and a G brand cotton to try hush puppies. He cannot say you must wear such and such color scheme. Lol ok? Read all the act before quoting it. Also look at actual hearings. Lol employees win far more than emolyers innflsa uniform costs cases. Employers that win win only on refusal of basic requirement. Oh yeah and cannot make a profit of of uniforms if youre providing them as employer so theres never be a huge difference like youbstatre above. FLSA has a very composite list of what things cost and not just by individual units bit different lot sizes as well. Lol say a required shirt costs $10 if you bought individual listed RSP by t shirt company is $10 a unit. But emoloer gets them in lots for $7 each. Shows tiuba oic on Google saying $10 RSP and tries charging you $10. Lol. Or even better he says I'll deduct some of thstbcost for you. Itsv$7.01. Even that penny would lose him the case. FLSA like any other labor enforcement agency or in fact any go v agency involves some kind of monetary arbitration will have complete RSP lists databases to access. Lol don't matter either if he instead pays more than the RSP. He by law can't charge you more than what he paid or the RSP whatever is lower.
I work in a battery manufacturing plant. We have a guy that always pipes in just like this, started there 32 years ago. Easily his best line was when we ran 1.2 million batteries in a month and they gave us cupcakes. "Maaannnnn cupcake handin out cupcakes..." LOL even the floor managers had to turn away to hide a grin. Keep this kind of content up and you'll be at 200k in no time at all, great stuff man.
I love how manufacturing jobs do the least and think feeding their employees some little shit makes up for all the work they did like the employees will brag to their friends about getting some fucking cupcakes for a month of work.
@@user-uc5tj6ux8wI work with a guy who's been in the company for 20+ years. He doesn't want to be in the office and deal with the office BS. Though he is leadhand for the shift
Old hotel I worked at they had us wear white button-up long-sleeved shirts, vest, dark slacks, and black polished shoes (average room price was about 250 bucks in summer, so not THAT fancy of a place). One day, the boss lady told us we needed to buy our new clothes from the company website. I had gotten my clothes at wal-mart, for about 50 bucks an outfit... and suddenly they wanted me to get even cheaper-feeling stuff at about 120 bucks an outfit (sans shoes) and another 100 bucks on shoes. I looked them up online, and showed everyone else. We could order the EXACT SAME from taiwan for about 15 bucks an outfit (5 bucks a shirt, vest and pants). Company was marking it up. Turns out, that was illegal for them to fire me for buying the regulation clothes at a different venue. The hotel here in town is STILL paying out to ex-employees as they get in contact.
Another aspect to consider is jobs forcing to dress "nice". Slacks and dress shirts are not meant to do manual labor in. So if your cleaning rooms and other such task it's very easy to damage or stain a white shirt...
Most places don’t actively try to screw you like this company. Caterpillar gives you a $125 voucher for steel toe slip resistant boots that can be as cheap as fifty. You don’t get the difference so it behooves you to spend it on good boots .
I've been on the opposite side of this, our company had a string of foot and ankle injuries. They made it a big priority, and assigned me to gigure out the problem, it turned out a bunch of people were wearing the wrong footwear. I suggested we give them a voucher of some sort to get the right boots for the job, and crunched the numbers to show it would save us tens of thousands of dollars in lost time, and workers comp if we worked with a certain well known company that had a redeemable voucher program. They settled on a $300 dollar boot allowance that went on their paycheck instead. 2 months later half the employees still didn't have the right footwear and had blown the money at the bar or strip club that was up the road from us. I of course got the heat for that one, even though they only took half of my advice.
@batboy555 That's actually what I recommended, but they went with money on the checks instead. They thought the employees could get boots, and have a little bonus with any money left over.
I’ve always bought 150 dollar boots, my new job gave me $150 per year for new boots. First time I ever bought $300 boots lol. Employee owned, union friendly, made in America. Go team.🇺🇸
Would like to know, are you referring to Red Wings? Just got my first pair of steel toe, self tightening electrical hazard boots from them and after inserting a Dr Schols insert, I don’t think I will ever go any other work boot of lower quality.
@@krystopherturner3149i’m the same way had other cheap boots and can’t see any reason to go back! Also they have repair service💛 I have two pairs personally I rotate💪
Been wearing wings for 20 years. New pair every 6-12 months. Never had a back problem. Knock on wood. Wanted to love a pair of Thorogoods, but they just didn’t fit my feet like the wings.
I fully expected the boots to be from the CEO's cousin's boot store. like in the military we had to buy hammers from some senator's cousin, only half the hammers were assembled right and they cost $500
@@NTJedi I've heard a lot of these "$500 hammer" places are fronts for other things, black projects like the Aurora from the 1990's. they get $500 from my squadron, send a $5 hammer, and the rest goes into a black budget. it's so spread out that it's hard to trace.
@@davesmith3023 they take tax dollars then buy services or products from relatives which overcharge. In my city 20 years ago their relatives construction company was charging $500 to install one speed bump when at the time the cost should have been $75 per speed bump.
@@madscientistlifei do a lot of walking for my job (meaning the soles get worn real fast since I average 30-40 miles a night), and I actually have to go through redwing for regular shoes and work boots anyway (because I have some giant ass, damn flipper feet), but if your boots are only lasting you one year, you're doing something wrong... then again, my work boots tend to last 3-4 years
@MrEli768 3-4 years on one pair of boot is impressive. I'm also driving commercial trucks, working in the shop and climbing up and down the side of a crane at least half a dozen times a day. I just bought me a new pair of Dan Post steel toe slip on in plain black leather because I like to holler at the pretty blonde country girls down there at boot country but maybe next year I'll try something different. Even the cat boots I've worn in years past don't make it a summer. Then again I stay pretty busy 6 days a week.
This is when you get the mandatory requirement and photo of said boots in writing from the bosses and call OSHA and maybe the union or HR and explain the situation. Punish them for their bullshit.
It is cute that you think the right-wing U.S. government is going to do shit for workers other than, after years of litigation, fine the company some tiny fraction of the money they made on ripping off employees and then call it a day.
I once worked at a job that gave us a free pair of boots or shoes every 3 months. Get a paper signed by your supervisor, goto the red wing store and get a brand new pair for free on the company it was a fantastic policy
3 months is quite often, honestly maybe even too often, for the reason that once you're already used to the pair and they're "worn in" to your foot, you're already getting into the new one I mean, it's still great for company to be willing to do such a thing Was it involving hazardous/exceptionally rough terrain/corrosive to certain materials kind of job that warranted such a policy through practical reasons? Or some company big enough for them to consider such a move to be beneficial reputation-wise? Genuinely curious, because well, it's business and it's extremely rare for companies to generate expenses (almost) solely due to "goodness of the heart", and I find it hard to believe that even in construction a pair of proper working boots would get worn out so quickly to such a degree that it warrants a new pair on a quarterly basis
they have to legally due to workers rights regulations that save your ass. Dont thank your company, thank the voters and specific politicians who implemented those regulations.
The family-owned company I worked for was bought out by a huge corporation and they made all kinds of changes. They owned facilities more dangerous than ours, but we had to be compliant for the company to keep some certification. Not really the environment to need steel toes or special soles for 99% of the jobs. I worked in the office but had to go on to the production floor every day, so I qualified for their work boots requirement. I was able to get a really nice pair with no out-of-pocket cost. If they wanted to waste the money getting a couple hundred people new boots, that's fine with me. They "downsized" 6 months later and fired me and 50 others, so we all still have a really nice pair of work boots.
This is why i love where i work. They have their own boot store in the plant. You get a slip from your boss and go get a pair 1,2,3 times a year depending on the condition of your boots. Even if they are still okay you can go get a new pair each year. They truly take care of us
They legally have to. It's not out of kindness. It also is just smart, because paying out for workplace injuries is more expensive, once again because regulations make it more expensive. Stop attributing goodness to companies when the goodness comes from good regulations. Support workers rights, because you can see in countries with less, companies do less.
Such saltiness. I happen to work for a company that shows they care in boots and in cash. These companies do exist, and I hope you find yourself at one someday
Good companies exist out there, and these people work for them. Stop having such a preordained fatalist approach to work, trust me it’ll serve you better in the long run if you leave it here
Many years ago I had a summer job at a county traffic and highway department. The full time union guys had a clause in their collective bargaining agreement that required the county to buy each employee a pair of steel toe boots once a year. They had one guy who had something like size 16 EEE feet. They were so big, the boots had to be custom made. I think it was four or five hundred dollars in 1976. The Department Managers used to when it was time to order his boots, as it was a big blip on the monthly budget. And new Freeholders (county commissioners) and account auditors would jump all over the $500 bill for one pair of boots every year. Ultimately the boots got ordered and the bill got paid, but it was annual unpleasantness ever year. And sort of a running joke for the boys.
Said it once, say it all over again...I had more freedom of being as a "Supervised" child than a dependable "Self-Sufficient" Adult who pays his taxes...Can we riot now!?
Where I come from if they require a certain type of boot, they have to pay for it. It’s funny for me because I have a big ass foot and they have to special order mine . Couple of hundred dollars every time. 😂
I know that feeling... Of all the footware stores in my area, only redwing has shoes and boots that fit my stupid wide feet (size 13, triple H), and I haven't seen a pair of work boots there, in my size, under $320 (after tax)... apparently I take after my grandpa on my mom's side, because only redwing had his size also, his shoe size was 15 triple E when he died at 72
Aside from the funny skit, investing $4-500 in a good pair of boots can be an amazing thing. My Whites have lasted almost 4 years now with just a little wear on the toe where the steel toebox is. Get you some you won't regret it.
@@MarshallPatrick Depending on your tolerance for decrepit falling apart boots, they tend to be more cost effective. I've had a pair of danner's that I put through hell over 2 years and while I dont wear them for my current job, they'd have held up years more without so much as a restitching. 450 buck boots. But if they last you 6 years of hard work that a cheaper pair might only last 6 months in, they can be similar cost or outright better cost effectiveness. The comfort is another big thing. I could work for 9 hours on my feet in my boots and my feet are not only safe but damn comfy, waterproof, the works. You can get similar quality for less but I bought American made. 400 bucks for 6 years of excellent boots or buy 12 pairs over those 6 years for 50 bucks a pop.
Would love to see a skit where the workers sue the company. And in court the Workers just slam down violation after violation with reference to previous videos. They manage to shut the whole Company down. Then they excitedly go to their new job only to find the new company is doing the same bullshit.
Brother your videos are hilarious and truthful! I recall working on a job where the GC was just like the owner character. Him and his wife were definitely scamming their guys, their customers, and the contractors working for them. Bless you!
real talk, thanks for introducing me to a new boot company, finding ones that match my preferences is a pain and never heard of RockRooster before, will give them a look for my next pair.
A good friend gifted me a pair of Irish Setters ($250) that didn't fit his feet. I've been wearing them nearly daily for 7 years Best boots I ever wore
Few employers do that had 120 boot allowance paid a little extra for my caterpillars got reimbursed 120, & the 60 I actually spent there. So you win some you lose some but your feet is the no 1. Priority hell I'll never forget my entire body was drenched from the rain only thing dry was my feet lmfao so caterpillar doesn't f around when it comes to footwear
I bought a 30 dollar pair of Brahma steel toe boots. Best pair I ever owned. Lasted more than a year of working construction sites. Still have them, now I have a desk job though.
Yeah I do enjoy the Brahma brand. Mostly because it sounds like Brahmin which is a cow from the Fallout Series so I like to call them Brahmins. Good price for a decent pair of boots.
This makes me think of how the FDA treats local farmers. They recently changed the whole dynamic of how you can transport small livestock in cages. They have to be a specific material, size, and have bowls for food, water. The catch? They are providing no resources on where to get these cages from, nor any funds to help purchase all new cages. Basically, they made all my current cages illegal to use because they have the power to.
And gore do people at the FDA personally profit from this? If there’s not you’re the one at fault for not doing your job and forcing this on the FDA. Never forget that “Red Tape” is born of experience.
To be fair, the $500 PNW boots out there are the kind you'll wear for the next ten years. Wish I'd gotten a set of them before spending over $1000 on the various $120-$220 big box brands over the years.
@@hamasaken Yeah, I got the satire of it, companies mandating employees use company-provided PPE, that the employees are also forced to purchase at exorbitant prices via deductions from their paycheck. Believe me, I'm familiar with it. It's also a necessity in most cases; while not mandated, a lot of the el-cheapo company stuff wears out in less than a year. The FR clothing I was "given" wore out inside of 6 months. My comment is entirely related to the proverbial $500 boots, not re-priced walmart crap.
Yea and by year 3 they're gonna start smelling like a decomposing skunk.. at least do yourself a favor and use a boot dryer every night and keep extra socks on you at work.. I've had a pair or asolos for 3 years now. The occasional lemon soaked vinegar drench and boot dryers have kept them 70% fresh. Work in them 5-6 days a week framing houses and barns.
Back when I did warehouse work the family owned company I worked for gave us $125 to cover new boots. Even brought in a Red Wing truck to let us get fitted/shop while on the clock.
This reminds me of getting an allowance in the military for clothing. But, there was never enough allowance to cover 2+ sets of BDU's, boots, dress uniforms, patches, winter gortex, etc.... gotta love it.
We manufacture steel chassis rails for heavy duty trucks (Mack, Volvo, Paccar, Autocar and Thomas Bus) where I work. We are a union shop. We recently ratified our new contract. In the contract we receive a yearly voucher for $180 towards the purchase of new steel toed boots. Outside of Red Wings the best boot I have found is the Timberland Pro boots. I’m part of the leadership team on the floor and routinely end up walking 30,000 to 40,000 steps each day during my 12 hour shifts. The Timberland Pro boots have not let me down yet.
Glad you have a Union and realize it benefits the workers. Some people have a distorted vision of unions, and don't like them. My union was dissolved cause of Scabs, and uneducated co-workers.
Honestly if my boss told me I had to buy $500 boots, I would look him dead ass in his eyes and say. "I burn every fucken boot in this factory, if you ever even say the word boots to me again". 😂
LOL the walmart special. I love the BMC shirt too. BMC stands for Bent, Morphed, and Crooked... their slogan is, and I swear you can ask any rep, "our last return is our next delivery."
There isn't much blue collar comedy skit channels, thank you for this. Although I hate that every time I see one of your videos I say "shit my supervisor did that"
I used to deliver newspapers. The papers were required to be delivered in plastic bags so they wouldn't get wet, but we had to _buy the bags_ from the company to put the papers in. It was the biggest load of crap. Fifteen years later and I still have a couple of those packs of bags left in my shed...
I want you to know you're the first person I've EVER used a code to buy something with. Ever. In like decades of using the internet. Just for you, man.
My company does this too but the only restriction is they have to be non-slip. You can accept the credit and buy through Shoes-4-Crews but it's not mandatory.
I'm glad I work where I do. we get an annual $250 allowance for protective footwear. Preferred method is to go to a local boot shop and put it on the company account (shop gives 10% discount if done this way) but we can also go elsewhere and hand in the receipt to get reimbursed. My boss is also pretty chill on the annual thing, if you wear them out on the job faster than that he'll authorize more. All our PPE and uniforms are provided by the shop and the standing policy is if you need something to do your job safely that we don't already stock let management know and it will be ordered ASAP. The stock PPE is usualy good 99% of the time but you get those occasional oddball jobs that come through the shop that have to be shelved till the right PPE shows up.
Reminded me of my work boots. I didn't pay anywhere near that for a good pair of redwings that by some miracle were actually my size instead of a size under. Ended up being something like 180 or 90 but we have a yearly 150 dollar boot allowance that was added to my paycheck after I brought the receipt to hr.
Good luck in any state where people have the accent the creator of these videos do. The people there are universally miseducated brain-dead zombies who buy into whatever the authority figures tell them. They are still so galvanized against anything that remotely comes close to "socialism" or "communism" due to their inherent xenophobia that you'd never get it done. As human beings-- they are just entirely hopeless and irredeemable. Those who regions need to just be written off as fascist strongholds where the people are happy to be slaves.
Alot of company's up here get a boot allowance and in my case I get a tool allowance as well. It's not alot but in these times anything helps. Love the channel 👍 🇨🇦 🔧
You require, you provide……..and you don’t get to take money with out my permission. I agree with the Rockroosters too. Flatbed truck driver here, 2 years and counting on my boots
I have never worked in this industry but man... Your comedic context is amazing. Add that along with superb acting and just portraying these characters you do the way you do... Man, a new gem on this site!
Years ago I group interviewed for a company stocking shelves, they made it mandatory to buy a specific shoe that they provided. I asked the interviewers about this, ended up not getting the job. It was not sad at all about it.
This kinda stings me, but it sorta resonates with my trade school experience back in 89. The school charged us 400 bucks for our toolbox and tools. The next class heard this, protested, got the 400 bucks, and we come to find out, the same exact tools they made my class buy, were 230. When my class walked out of class and to the admin office, he said the 170 as for admin fees and it was too late for a refund. Needless to say, the school went out of business not long after I graduated. Ran into this 20+ years later, when I was thinking of re-training into another field, but the school claims you must buy 10k of their tools in order to attention. No wonder the trade job worker pool is shrinking, when schools are constantly gouging naive students like that.
Trade schools here in the south are making their students pay over $1000 for welding rigs and expensive equipment and ppe just to get in. Like its to the point were if you dont own your own welder you basically cant learn how to weld. They dont have their own in class workshops anymore. Thought about doing some trade school stuff before i dropped out of high school, but its almost unaffordable now. If you want to yet into trades you have to be well off, which makes no sense because most people doing trade work are poor as hell. Had a buddy at work that was doing trade school after high school and he always had his $500 welding helmet on him. Trade schools, blue collar jobs and high school extra curricular classes are all scams. Want to make $100,000 a year working on transformers and power cables? Nah you have to go to college where its $50,000 a year and buy your own equipment...
@@nitroxylictv Sorry to hear that nitro. I've seen those flyers before myself. They make great paper airplanes. lol Well when I went to trade school, in 1989, it was 5700 bucks, plus the tool purchase I mentioned above. I got certified as an electrician, but my young naive self discovered really fast by 1990, I could have done the same exact classes and got my tools for WAY less, had I just joined the electrician's union. Not sure if it's the same now for all trade unions, but that might be something to look in too. When I graduated, the job assistance program turned out to be, wait for it, a free newspaper with apprentice jobs circled by the job counselor! Whoa! I am 100% in your camp about trade schools being scams. The best pay I ever made as an electrician was 20 per hour, working on locomotives, but unless the company or contractor is stable, you're kinda fucked for job security. I'm sure there are plenty of guys who'll chime in and say "Why I've been here for 35 years" but 9 times out of 10 they are non union and work hourly as a facilities guy for a corporation. I always tell them, it's not the same as contract work. So in the end, I gave up, ended up currently working 20+ years as a dock worker, inventory and logistics specialist, and shipping/receiving (including loading and unloading trucks). Oh as for the school that wanted 10k for tools. It was for Powersports aka small engine repair. You were only allowed to pick 3 specialties to train in, they depended on the public to donate engines and you had to pray it was one you can train on, for one of your 3 choices, there was no training schedule or tasks or drills. Just a closet filled with Chilton books to help you fix whatever you were working on. Class time I was told, was only 10% of the time. When I did a tour, I was 42 at the time, and I saw a gaggle of guys just out of high school, surrounding an old lawn mower engine, trying to figure out why it isn't running. The teachers did nothing to help them. They just stood around, drinking coffee. So which 3 did I choose? Outboard boat engines, jetskis, and ATVs, because I live in the Pacific Northwest now, where these would be lucrative skills to learn. However, with the garbage training offered above, I doubt I could find a job. Anyway, good talk. :)
Check with your local employment office, in Tennessee if a company requires any boots, shoes, belts, hats, etc…the company has to pay for them and provide them to you, in your size, (before you start your job if it’s a safety issue….) but company’s have to pay, not employees….don’t let them charge it to you or take it out of your pay….
In most states they have to pay, but there’s usually a cap. In Ohio they only have to pay up to $150. Have to pay on hiring, then they can go up to 2 years to get on schedule with the rest of the company, then annually.
it really depends on where you work and the contract you sign. Cause there are companies who would do this and if you are not careful, they will trick you into signing a contract that makes it legal for them to do so.
I used to work security somewhere, and they made us buy new boots every six months. They needed to be black and have a steel or composite toe. They also gave us $120 towards the purchase. I got Doc Martin's every time and paid like $10 because it went over.
A company I worked for tried this same scam on everyone back in 1980. We were supposedly to get a bonus for boots and all of us had to buy a special boot. This crap was mandatory. I had the biggest feet at the company and I always got teased about it until this scam. The boot company didn't make a boot to fit my feet, so I could take ny bonus and buy whatever I wanted.
In Finland, usually company pays the entire shoe, if you really need it for safety reasons. Some companies say you have to have safety boots, but its up to you to buy what you want.
I've had companies like this. Not quite so bad but they would sell shirts, hats or something as the company standard and force you to get them. It might just be a jacket with the logo on it, but you had to have it. It also had to be clean and in good repair so at any moment your boss could force you to get another one if they felt it was "not up to standard" with a stain or a tear. It might only be like a $60 jacket, but being forced to get a new one every few months was not fun.
Had a pair of rockroosters fail in under a year, they replaced under warranty, and on the replacements, multiple eyelets wore through the leather within 6 months. They're comfortable and supportive, but don't live long enough for the price.
LOL I think I buy those exact boots as my everydays lol. Of Course I add padding into the bottoms so my feet don't hurt and change them out as needed lol. I'm also an IT guy working in an office all day, I don't need super serious foot protection.
I remember the $50 boot voucher and the $200 boot requirements. talk about plywood on your feet. Red Wing steel toe and metatarsal boots were the only option.
