What should staff do if a participant refuses to wear required PPE?

What should staff do if a participant refuses to wear required PPE?

• A. Do not allow participation; explain safety reasons; report to supervisor and follow policy.
• B. Allow participation with PPE optional.
• C. Continue but do not document.
• D. Provide alternative PPE.

Answer: (A)

Safety rules require PPE to protect everyone, and staff must enforce those rules. If a participant refuses, the right action is to prevent participation until the required PPE is worn, while clearly explaining that PPE reduces injury risk and that not wearing it violates policy. This approach keeps the activity safe, shows that safety comes first, and ensures there is a record of what happened by reporting to a supervisor and following the established policy. The other options would compromise safety or skip proper procedures: allowing participation without PPE undercuts safety rules, continuing without documenting misses accountability and records, and providing an alternative PPE that doesn’t meet the required standard may not satisfy safety or policy requirements.

Safety rules require PPE to protect everyone, and staff must enforce those rules. If a participant refuses, the right action is to prevent participation until the required PPE is worn, while clearly explaining that PPE reduces injury risk and that not wearing it violates policy. This approach keeps the activity safe, shows that safety comes first, and ensures there is a record of what happened by reporting to a supervisor and following the established policy. The other options would compromise safety or skip proper procedures: allowing participation without PPE undercuts safety rules, continuing without documenting misses accountability and records, and providing an alternative PPE that doesn’t meet the required standard may not satisfy safety or policy requirements.