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Wearing a jacket to beg?

May 05 2010
Health and safety at work hits panhandling

In Tampa, Florida, USA, beggars asking for small change at road junctions are being forced to comply with a safety code that means they have to wear yellow reflective vests.

The byelaws of Tampa allow beggars to ask drivers for money during the day, and only when cars are stopped at a red light. They also state that they must wear a brightly colored safety jacket or vest, as approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or American National Standards Institute.

And beggars must supply their own jacket.

However, the fluorescent jackets don't always help the begging. "I'm still doing bad," 68-year-old Samuel Barker told Tampa Bay Online, seated in an old chair at his crossroads. Barker had even lost money by the scheme - he was fined two weeks previously for begging without a reflective jacket.

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