The specific citation is Subpart E, 1926.95, the employer is required to protect the employee from specific hazards encountered in the workplace. Many employers have safety policies that are more stringent than OSHA. If the safety policy of the employer requires long pants on their construction sites, the employer can be cited and fined by OSHA for not enforcing their own safety policy. This policy is designed to protect the employee from cuts, scrapes, abraisions, dermatitis and exposure to various cemicals.

Long pants are required on all of our construction sites. If you show up to deliver materials without long pants, hard hat, safety vest and safety glasses you would not be allowed to enter the construction site, if you were allowed to enter the site, you would not be allowed to leave the truck cab. My employer is engaged in Highway and Heavy Construction. Residential contractors operate in a totally different environment, many are not familiar with OSHA regulations.

OSHA tends to concentrate most of their inspection and enforcement efforts on the medium and larger contractors.