A. NOTE: FR Vol
62, No. 12, Friday, January 17, 1997, Pages 2558 to and including 2565,
"Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, South Carolina, Utah, Virgin
Islands and Wyoming State Plans; Approval of Plan Supplements; Levels of
Federal Enforcement; Final Rule" is incorporated by reference.
This change amends OSHA's regulations to reflect the
Assistant Secretary's decision approving amendments to nine (9) State plans to
exclude coverage of the field sanitation standard and the temporary labor camp
standard as it applies to agriculture (with the exception of temporary labor
camps for employees engaged in egg, poultry or red meat production, or the
post-harvest processing of agriculture or horticultural commodities) from their
State Plans. The states of Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, South
Carolina, Utah, Virgin Islands, and Wyoming have elected to follow the
jurisdictional transfer of authority as effected by Secretary of Labor's Orders
5-96 and 6-96, published in the Federal Register on January 2, 1997, between
the Employment Standards Administration (ESA) and OSHA with regard to these two
OSHA standards. OSHA is hereby amending pertinent sections of its regulations
on approved State plans to reflect this relinquishment of State jurisdiction
and transfer of OSHA enforcement authority to ESA in these nine (9)
States.
B. This Rule shall
apply to any farming operation where 11 or more employees are engaged on any
given day in hand labor operations in the field.
C. Employers shall provide the following for
employees engaged in hand labor operations in the field, without cost to the
employee.
1. Potable drinking water.
a. Potable water shall be provided and shall
be placed in locations readily accessible to all employees.
b. The water shall be suitably cool and in
sufficient amounts, taking into account the air temperature, humidity and the
nature of the work performed, to meet employee's needs.
c. The water shall be dispensed in single use
drinking cups or by fountains. The use of common drinking cups or dippers is
prohibited.
2. Toilet
and handwashing facilities.
a. One toilet
facility and one handwashing facility shall be provided for each thirty (30)
employees or fraction thereof, except as stated in (4).
b. Toilet facilities shall have doors that
can be closed and latched from the inside and shall be constructed to insure
privacy.
c. Toilet and handwashing
facilities shall be accessibly located, in close proximity to each other, and
within one quarter (1/4) mile of each employee's place of work in the field.
Where it is not feasible to locate facilities accessibly and within the
required distance due to the terrain, they shall be located at the point of
closest vehicular access.
d. Toilet
and handwashing facilities are not required for employees who perform field
work for a period of three (3) hours or less (including transportation time to
and from the field) during the day.
3. Potable drinking water and toilet and
handwashing facilities shall be maintained in accordance with appropriate
public health sanitation practices, including the following:
a. Drinking water containers shall be
covered, cleaned and refilled daily.
b. Toilet facilities shall be operational and
maintained in clean and sanitary condition.
c. Handwashing facilities shall be maintained
in clean and sanitary condition; and
d. Disposal of wastes from facilities shall
not cause unsanitary conditions.
4. Employees shall be allowed reasonable
opportunities during the workday to use the facilities.
