You can payroll deduct the Sennheisers.
And there lies the rub.
Do you think it would cost $1000/plane for an adequately sound-resistant cockpit? Maybe the company would be able to get a better deal than $500/headset? (Of course, that would mean the negotiators at Sennheiser would be as poor as the swapa team.)
In the meantime, the company feels that the possibility of losing a $2,050,000 lawsuit from this group of self-sacrificial jelly-fish for not providing hearing protection in a known hazardous work environment is worth the risk.
Next thing you know, we'll pay for our own type-rating and uniforms.