Oh, yes... when I was working summer jobs as a maintenance/handyman (back in college) they made me get steel-toed workboots before letting me anywhere near the lawn mower or weed-whacker.
The guy we pay to mow our lawn does it all barefoot, including the edging and weed-whacking. I think he may be a bit of a nut, but then that's not really all that unusual in Austin.