In March 2026, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched the Safety Champions Program (SCP), a cooperative initiative designed to help employers build stronger safety and health programs. OSHA describes the program as a three-step pathway, Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced, organized around seven core elements: management leadership, worker participation, hazard identification and assessment, hazard prevention and control, education and training, program evaluation and improvement, and communication and coordination. The program’s stated goal is practical: to help employers prevent workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities through stronger systems and steady improvement.

For hand protection, this matters because OSHA’s own standards do not treat gloves as a simple purchasing item. Under 29 CFR 1910.138, employers must select and require appropriate hand protection when workers face hazards such as skin absorption of harmful substances, severe cuts or lacerations, severe abrasions, punctures, chemical burns, thermal burns, and harmful temperature extremes. OSHA’s PPE requirements also require employers to assess the workplace, identify hazards, and select PPE that protects against the hazards found. In other words, glove decisions belong inside a safety system, not outside it.

Why this matters

SCP does not create a new glove rule. Its value is that it pushes employers to connect leadership, hazard assessment, worker input, training, and review to day-to-day PPE decisions, including hand protection.

Where SCP connects most directly to hand protection

Several SCP elements have a direct effect on glove programs. Management leadership matters because hand protection works best when it is treated as part of operational risk control rather than as a box-checking exercise. Worker participation matters because glove users are often the first to identify problems such as poor fit, loss of dexterity, tearing, chemical contact concerns, or task mismatch. Hazard identification and assessment matter because OSHA expects employers to identify the hazards present and match PPE to those hazards. Education and training matter because a glove can only protect when workers understand when it should be used, what it protects against, and where its limits are.

Program evaluation and improvement are equally important. OSHA’s Safety Champions materials emphasize reviewing incidents, close calls, and changing conditions. That principle applies naturally to hand protection. If workers experience repeated tears, contamination concerns, discomfort, or poor task compatibility, those signals should feed back into the program. Strong hand protection systems improve when they are reviewed against real tasks and real outcomes, not only against written policy.

A practical hand-protection reading of the framework