(1) Scope. This applies to any agricultural
establishment where employees do hand-labor operations in the field.
(2) Exceptions. These rules do not apply to:
(a) Logging operations;
(b) The care or feeding of
livestock;
(c) Hand-labor
operations in permanent structures (e.g., canning facilities or packing
houses); or
(d) Machine operators
working entirely separate from hand-labor operations.
(3) Definitions.
Agricultural employer - See universal definition in 4/B, OAR
437-004-0100. Agricultural
establishment - See universal definition in 4/B, OAR
437-004-0100. Hand labor
operation - means agricultural activities or agricultural operations performed
by hand or with hand tools, including:
(A) Hand-cultivation, hand-weeding,
hand-planting, and hand-harvesting of vegetables, nuts, fruits, seedlings, or
other crops (including mushrooms);
(B) Hand packing or sorting, whether done on
the ground, on a moving machine, or in a temporary packing shed in the field;
and
(C) Except for purposes of OAR
437-004-1110(6),
operation of vehicles or machinery, when such activity is in conjunction with
other hand-labor operators. Handwashing facility - means a facility providing
either a basin, container, or outlet with an adequate supply of potable water,
soap, and single-use towels. Potable water - is water meeting the
bacteriological and chemical quality requirements in the OAR chapter 333,
division 61 Public Water Systems, of the Oregon State Health Division.
NOTE: OAR chapter 333, division 61 defines potable
water as "Safe Drinking Water - water which has sufficiently low concentrations
of microbiological, inorganic chemical, organic chemical, radiological, or
physical substances so that individuals drinking such water at normal levels of
consumption, will not be exposed to disease organisms or other substances that
may produce harmful physiological effects."
Toilet facility - means a fixed or portable facility designed
for adequate collection and containment of the products of both defecation and
urination. Toilet facility includes biological, chemical, flush, and combustion
toilets and sanitary privies.
(4) General requirements. Agricultural
employers must provide and pay for everything required by this section for
employees doing hand-labor operations in the field.
(5) Potable drinking water.
(a) Provide potable water that is available
immediately to all employees.
(b)
The water must be suitably cool and in sufficient amounts, taking into account
the air temperature, humidity, and the nature of the work, to meet the needs of
all employees.
(c) Dispense water
in single-use drinking cups or by angle jet fountains. Do not use common
drinking cups or dippers.
(6) Toilet and handwashing facilities.
(a) Provide one toilet facility and one
handwashing facility for each 20 employees or fraction thereof.
(b) Toilet facilities must have adequate
ventilation, appropriate screens, self-closing doors that close and latch from
the inside and ensure privacy.
(c)
Maintain privies and portable toilets as follows:
(A) Structures must be free of hazards, in
good repair and be stable.
(B)
Except for urinals, multiple units must have separate compartments with doors
with inside latches to ensure privacy.
(C) Seats must have lids that raise to allow
use as urinals, unless there are separate urinals.
(d) Privies and portable toilets built after
the effective date of these rules must comply with the rules of the Department
of Environmental Quality.
(e)
Provide toilet facilities for each sex, where practicable. Distinctly mark them
"women" and "men" in English and in the native language of employees expected
to work in the fields or with easily understood pictures or symbols.
(f) The employer must ensure that for each
toilet facility:
(A) There is enough toilet
paper to meet the workers' needs during the shift; and
(B) There are toilet paper holders or
dispensers for each seat.
(g) Locate toilet and handwashing facilities
adjacent to each other and no more than a 5 minute or a 1/4-mile (1,320 feet)
unobstructed walk from each hand laborer's place of work in the
field.
(h) Where, due to terrain,
it is not feasible to locate facilities as in (g) above, the facilities must be
at the point of closest vehicular access.
(7) Maintenance.
(a) Potable drinking water and toilet and
handwashing facilities must comply with appropriate public health sanitation
practices.
(b) Drinking water
containers must be made of materials that maintain water quality. Refill them
daily or more often as necessary and keep them covered and clean.
(c) Toilet facilities must work and be clean
and safe.
(d) Empty and recharge
chemical toilets prior to the start of each season of operation and at least
every 6 months thereafter during use or when the tank is three-quarters full,
whichever occurs first.
(e) Where
crops intended for human consumption are produced, toilets must not contaminate
crops.
(f) Refill handwashing
facilities with potable water as necessary to ensure an adequate supply and
maintain them in a clean and sanitary condition.
(g) Disposal of wastes from facilities,
including handwashing water and towels, must not cause unsanitary conditions or
contamination of crops.
(8) Field sanitation notice. Employers that
grow or harvest food crops for human consumption must post a notice describing
the requirements of these rules and advising where workers may file complaints
regarding field sanitation matters. It must be in the language of the majority
of the workers.
(9) Reasonable use.
(a) The employer must notify each employee of
the location of the sanitation facilities and water, and allow each employee
reasonable opportunities during the workday to use them. The employer must
inform each employee of the importance of good hygiene practices to minimize
exposure to the hazards in the field from heat, communicable diseases,
retention of urine and agrichemical residues, including, but not limited to the
following:
(A) Using the water and facilities
provided for drinking, handwashing, and elimination;
(B) Drinking water frequently, especially on
hot days;
(C) Urinating as
frequently as necessary;
(D)
Washing hands both before and after using the toilet; and
(E) Washing hands before eating and
smoking.
