Idk if this is the right sub to post on for legal advice. But my job is 60% outside, they rarely provide appropriate weather gear clothing wise beside 1 jacket over a year ago that was no one's right size. Basically the gates to our yard are controlled by buttons that are outside. And we have a lot of trailer jockey movement. At one point in time these jockeys had remotes to open up the gates themselves but eventually taken away allegedly due to them opening the gates not stoping and not closing the gates. We have been begging upper management for those remotes so we don't have to drop everything every 15 seconds to open the gate for jockeys and then close it and then open it 10 seconds afterwards. Management first said they will not give us the remotes because they don't think we would check trailer seals or if the trailer was empty. But due to a accident in a different area we no longer go behind trailers to check. So then the reason changed to what If a passenger randomly gets out the tractor and a jockey is already coming full throttle. So now we still need to go out in this insanely cold weather while our heaters are broken and no provided cold weather clothing and open gates because of a hypothetical. Is this legal? Can a company withhold equipment that would not only make the flow easier but also safety but of 1 hypothetical.
TLDR- company is knowingly withholding equipment that would keep employees safe from the elements.