You could get a leather upper barefoot shoe and then use a steel toe cover over them. Check out www.oshatoes.com
and see if they would work. I saw them and wondered if the heel might need to be cut out and just left as a strap around the back of the foot/shoe.
The heel just flattens out on the Oshatoes and you don't feel it even in KSO's. Check to see if your safety department allows them. Our's does with even old skool Chuck Taylors in them, but banned MY VFF's after almost 3 years...
We also have a metatarsal requirement in some of our facilities. I bought a pair of "Welt" constructed I-MET boots and had a local cobbler remove the shank, mid-sole, insole, and re-sole the bottom with a flat 10mm Vibram sole. They are quite flexible to the point the I-MET will dig in if I bend to far. If they were regular steel toes you'd be able to fold them in half and twist them into a pretzel. Check with a local cobbler. The mods cost me around $60 bucks but they must be of "Welt" (sewn on sole) constuction..