The A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the United Food and Commercial Workers sued the [US] Department of Labor yesterday, asserting that it broke the law by failing to issue regulations requiring employers to pay for protective equipment for their workers. The two labor organizations said it was wrong for the Labor Department to require employers to provide protective equipment like helmets, face shields and gloves, while often letting employers charge workers for that equipment... David James, a Labor Department spokesman, said officials were studying the lawsuit. He said the case “deals with complicated issues that will affect different employers and employees in different ways.”... The lawsuit notes that by [the Labor Department's] own estimates 400,000 workers have been injured and 50 have died because of the absence of a rule.