My maintenance man has been here 7 years. We are a small property (60 apts) and it's just the (local) owner, me (PM) and our maint guy. He came here with his own tools, however, since I have been here (3 yrs), if he needs to buy or replace a tool, I just give him the approval to do it with our card. If it's a higher dollar item, of course I get the owner's approval first. But I say it to him like this - he has worked for us for 7 years. He ONLY works this job and rarely ever even leaves the property. The tool he needs is ONLY for this property, soooo.....we buy it. I can't pay him what he is worth, the least we can do is provide him with cool tools to make his job easier.

It may depend on the State in which the employee works. I worked for a company in California that was sued for requiring that maintenance techs supply their own tools.

If a company wants the "employees" to pay for their business so they can make a profit, the employee needs to be charging the company for the materials and make a profit. In other words "markup"! "Tools" are a bit of grey area, expendables have no grey area, the company pays for them or I do not work for them. Does the company expect the other employees to pay the utility bills, electricity is an expendable just as much as a saw blade.
As to tools, a inventory of the workers tools they will be using on the job is made when he starts, over time any new ones needed are added, over time any replacements needed due to wear are paid for by the company, the company gets the old tool, this does not cover loss. If the employee leaves, deprecation or replacement is paid on the tools used. Or, the employee can pay for their tools and replacements etc. but retains the ability to "write them off" on his income tax, instead of the company.
Any "specialty" tools are paid for and owned by the company. As are tools that are not really used a great deal or tools that will be used by many employees at different times, like a pressure washer. The employee "signs" them out and is responsible for the item. Abuse is not tolerated.

Our company requires techs to provide the skillset, good attitude, and safe practices. The company supplies tools and expendables. And of course we hold them accountable for responsible use of tools/expendables, but we believe they should not have to supply their own.

Fascinating discussion everyone. Right now the industry is having huge problems finding qualified techs, so I wonder if putting a financial burden on new techs to cover more of their supplies is a good idea.

Thank you for your thoughts, Ms. Mindy. I'm looking at this from a safety/liability issue at this point...techs working with dull blades will ultimately get hurt. The practical side tells me that there is no incentive to invest in more tools...Sawzall blades can get expensive and can easily be destroyed halfway thru a heavy cut, and hammer drill bits and chisel points can run $60 or more. It's my understanding that it is required in at least 26 states as well, so there is also an interest to do what's best for the company in all this. The research should make for a good post after this :)