And thats crazy to me. Hard hat? On residential built? Overkill and just not needed. I dont recall ever seeing a hard hat on a house build. Steel toed is even pushing it. English speaking would be a safer requirement.

Pretty common requirement here in California.  At least with the high end builders I work with.  Don't even think of stepping on a project site without them.

Seems a little too obsessive for me with the fines. I have been on state and federal funded Union projects in NYC where they require OSHA certification, hard hat, steel toe & vest but they also had cranes flying stuff overhead outside but even when we were inside they required us to still wear it because they had a safety inspector on site. If you were caught the first time without it you were warned and the second time you were sent home.
I have never done a regular residential in NY or NJ that REQUIRED it.

English speaking would be a safer requirement.

Solid comment!

+1

¿Por que?

California being the main point here.

Not uncommon at all in the Rockies either. I always have a hard hat and vest handy.

But on many sites, English is the odd language.

We don't only need steel toed, we also need steel shank to stop you from stepping on something and it going through your foot. Providing the site is considered "under construction" hard hat and safety footwear is required at all times (even in a finished house) although most inspectors are pretty lenient in a finished home not requiring a hard hat, but the second you step outside it better be on your head.

English speaking is also becoming less and less here as well.

Many years ago I was working for an industrial construction company and we were digging footings/foundations for wind turbines in the middle of farmers fields. MOL required hard hat, safety boots (minimum 6" boot with a shank), Long pants, t-shirt, High Vis vest, and safety glasses at all times. If getting within the barrier of the hole we would also need fall arrest harness and double lanyard. This while standing in a farmers field in 30+C (80+F) heat with 40+C (100+F) humidex, and the only equipment around is a high hoe.

Really no difference than you not wearing your seatbelt while driving and a cop giving you a ticket for it.

The fines are only issued by the MOL, however the site supervisor, general contractor, your boss has the right to kick you off site if you don't comply with the safety regulations. Remember if the MOL were to arrive on site and caught me without required safety I would be getting $100 fine, my supervisor could get a $500 fine, my boss gets $1000, site super gets $1000, builder gets $10,000. It's never just a single ticket that is handed out when the show up. At the end of the day they are wanting everyone to be safe and get home that night unharmed.