You could pass a law imposing strict liability all the way up the supply chain, up to and including the importers.
If a worker gets sick, they could sue for damages, maybe even punitive damages, from their employer, any middlemen, and the importer.
If you align the incentives right, companies will figure out how to enforce PPE usage.
Maybe I’m misreading it, but from the article, comments here, and linked alternative readings (as well as very limited personal experience), the issue could be that the workers themselves are actively not participating in wearing PPE. I know this sounds like blaming the victim, but if that is truly what’s happening (and I’d appreciate information explaining the opposite), why should the workers get to sue someone else? Is the PPE not effective enough?
Or are you suggesting that allowing the employee to sue would create incentives for the employers to actually enforce the workers use PPE?
This is why governments tend to enforce as they tend to minimally align with protecting the individual since they loose tax revenue if they do not...