HOUSE BILL REPORT
EHB 2222
As Amended by the Senate
BYRepresentatives Vekich, Prentice, Patrick and Leonard
Regulating the use of pesticides and providing unemployment insurance and industrial welfare coverage for agricultural employees.
House Committe on Commerce & Labor
Majority Report: Do pass with amendments. (11)
Signed by Representatives Vekich, Chair; Cole, Vice Chair; Patrick, Ranking Republican Member; Jones, R. King, Leonard, O'Brien, Prentice, Smith, Walker and Wolfe.
House Staff:Chris Cordes (786-7117)
AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 14, 1989
BACKGROUND:
Pesticide Control and Application. The Washington Pesticide Control Act and the Washington Pesticide Application Act are administered by the Department of Agriculture. With certain exceptions, the Pesticide Control Act requires every pesticide distributed within the state to be registered annually with the director of the department. It also requires that pesticide dealers, dealer managers, and pest control consultants be licensed.
The Pesticide Application Act requires persons who commercially apply pesticides on the lands of others to be licensed as pesticide applicators. A person employed by an applicator who applies pesticides must be licensed as a pesticide operator. The act also requires licenses for use, regulates the use of pesticides by public entities and operators, and requires persons who apply or supervise the application of restricted use pesticides on their own agricultural lands to be certified. Landscape gardeners are now exempt from licensing. Each apparatus licensed under the act must carry a notice regarding the classification for which the user is licensed.
The director is authorized to require certain applicators to keep records of pesticide applications. Some, but not all, applicators are subject to record keeping requirements.
The director may levy a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a violation of either act.
Review of Pesticide Incidents. Several agencies, including the Department of Social and Health Services, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor and Industries, and local health departments have varying responsibility for investigating pesticide incidents. No formal coordination exists between these agencies for reporting and tracking of cases of pesticide exposure. In Oregon, the Oregon Pesticide Analytic Response Center is responsible for centralizing information about and investigating pesticide incidents.
Reporting of Pesticide Exposure. The Department of Social and Health Services is authorized to investigate pesticide poisonings and provide technical assistance and consultation to health care providers on the health effects of pesticides. If an emergency involving pesticides occurs that represents a health hazard to the public, the department must be notified. However, Washington law does not require health care providers to report pesticide poisoning cases to the department or local health agencies. Several states, including Oregon and California, require reporting of pesticide-related illness.
Unemployment insurance for agricultural employees. Workers in agricultural employment are covered for unemployment compensation benefits if the employer: (1) has paid $20,000 or more in wages for agricultural labor during any quarter in the current or preceding calendar year; or (2) has employed ten or more agricultural workers for some part of a day in each of 20 different calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. If an agricultural worker is employed by an employer who does not meet these criteria, then the hours worked for that employer are not "covered" hours.
Industrial welfare coverage for agricultural employees. Industrial welfare laws were first enacted in Washington in 1913 to establish mandatory employment standards for women and minor employees. When this law was revised in 1973, it was broadened to provide employment standards for all employees, with several exceptions including agricultural labor. These standards regulate such working conditions as lifting requirements, deductions from wages, payroll recordkeeping, meal and rest breaks, and special conditions for minors. The law is administered by the Department of Labor and Industries.
SUMMARY:
Pesticide Control Act. The Department of Agriculture is authorized to establish fees for registering pesticides and for license examinations. The registration fees may not be less than a statutory minimum. An additional registration fee may be assessed for home and garden pesticides. The minimum fee for registering a pesticide ranges from $50 to $105 per product, based on the number of pesticides registered by a person during a calendar year. The annual minimum fees for a pesticide dealer's license and for a pest control consultant's license are each $30. The minimum fee for a dealer manager's license is $50. A minimum fee of $15 is established for a public pest control consultant's license which must be renewed annually. The additional fee charged for the late renewal of a registration is raised to $25. The pesticide registration must include the complete formula of the pesticide.
The categories of persons who must be licensed as pesticide dealers are expanded. The definition of "pest control consultant" is changed to include brokers operating without a place of business. A user of a pesticide is permitted to transfer the pesticide to another user in certain circumstances without obtaining a dealer's license if the sole purpose of the transfer is to keep the pesticide from becoming hazardous waste.
The maximum civil penalty for violations of the act is raised from $1,000 to $10,000. The director may issue warning letters under appropriate circumstances.
The department is required to report on its pesticide regulatory activities by December 1 of each year to the House Commerce & Labor Committee.
Pesticide Application Act. The Department of Agriculture is authorized to establish fees for licensing pesticide users. The fees may not be less than a statutory minimum. The annual minimum licensing fee for a commercial pesticide operator is $30. The minimum licensing fee for a private-commercial applicator's license and for a demonstration and research license is $50. A public operator license is created and the minimum fee for the license is established at $15 per year. Public operators working in the health vector field are exempt from the fee requirement. The minimum annual fee for private applicator certification is established at $15. Late renewal fees are changed to $25 for a commercial pesticide applicator's license and an amount equal to the licensing fee for all other licenses. An exemption from licensing is provided for certain lawn and yard maintenance persons. The exemption of landscape gardeners is repealed beginning January 1, 1990.
The composition of the pesticide advisory board is changed to add the following new members: an agricultural labor representative, an environmental representative, a public member, an organic grower, and a private health care practitioner. The board is required to issue an annual report to the legislature.
The director is authorized to establish recordkeeping requirements for licensees, permittees, and certified applicators. Except for owners and operators of dairy farms, all persons applying pesticides to more than one acre of agricultural land per calendar year are required to keep records for seven years. The records may be kept on a form adopted jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor and Industries. The records must be available to the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Social and Health Services, medical personnel, and, in worker- related incidents, the Department of Labor and Industries and the employees or their representatives.
The maximum civil penalty for violations of the pesticide regulations is raised from $1,000 to $10,000. The director may issue warning letters under appropriate circumstances. Persons who are aggrieved by a violation of the act may request an inspection of the area in which the violation occurred and may receive notice of any penalties imposed following an investigation of the violation.
The department is required to report on its regulation of pesticide applicators by December 1 of each year to the House Commerce & Labor Committee.
Employer pesticide recordkeeping and employee protection. Pesticide recordkeeping requirements are established for agricultural employers. The records may be kept on a form adopted jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor and Industries. The Department of Social and Health Services, the PIRT Review Panel, employees or their authorized representatives, and the Department of Labor and Industries may have access to the records.
If pesticides are applied to a labor-intensive crop, the field must be posted if the pesticide has a 24 hour or greater re-entry interval. State re-entry levels will be established jointly by the Department of Labor and Industries and the Department of Agriculture.
An agricultural employer must supply the employee, at no cost, with any protective clothing that is required by the pesticide label or department rule, or recommended by the material data safety sheet. Employers are required to arrange for emergency medical care in case of pesticide exposure. The department must adopt rules addressing: (1) areas for changing clothes and showering for employees that regularly handle pesticides, and laundering facilities for pesticide-contaminated clothing; and (2) medical monitoring of employees.
Pesticide incident review panel. A Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking (PIRT) Review Panel is established. The panel is responsible for establishing guidelines for centralizing the receipt of information involving pesticide incidents, reviewing and making recommendations for investigations, and reviewing complex cases.
A surcharge established by the Department of Agriculture of no more than $5 is added to each pesticide registration and license fee established by the Washington Pesticide Control Act and the Washington Pesticide Application Act, to fund the activities of the PIRT Review Panel and its supporting agencies.
Physician reporting of pesticide poisonings. Beginning January 1, 1990, a health care provider that initiates health services must report a case or suspected case of pesticide poisoning to the Department of Social and Health Services. The report must be made in the manner prescribed by the State Board of Health, with reporting time periods ranging from immediate to seven days, depending on the severity of the case. The Department of Social and Health Services must provide a toll-free telephone number for any oral reports. Pesticide applicators or employers must provide available information to the health care provider on pesticide applications that may have affected the patient's health.
The Department of Social and Health Services is responsible for investigating a report to document the incident. The department must notify the Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking Review Panel within the time period established by the State Board of Health. The results of the investigation must be reported to the health care provider making the original report.
The department is directed to develop and implement a medical education program to alert health care providers of symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and reporting of pesticides.
If a health care provider fails to make the required reports, the provider may be subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate authority.
No cause of action may arise as a result of a failure to make the required reports or because of any report made to the department.
Unemployment insurance for agricultural employees. Beginning January 1, 1990, unemployment insurance coverage is extended to agricultural employees who work on small farms unless the employee is a student at an elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education.
Industrial welfare coverage of agricultural employees. Industrial welfare (labor standards) coverage is extended to agricultural employees, except for minors in the employ of a parent or step-parent.
For agricultural employees, the Department of Labor and Industries is not authorized to require instruction in lifting techniques. Agricultural employers must display a poster illustrating lifting techniques.
The department may not require that an employer retain employment records for more than three years.
The department must adopt rules to implement the agricultural employee coverage, in consultation with agricultural employers and employees and legislators, taking into consideration the nature of agricultural employment.
EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENTS: The Senate amendment makes the following changes:
PESTICIDE REGULATION
Investigation time lines. The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Social and Health Services must initiate a response to pesticide incident reports within 0 to 48 hours, under priorities set by rule.
Pesticide advisory board. Three new members, rather than five, are added to the Pesticide Advisory Board, representing agricultural labor, the environmental community, and private health care practitioners.
Penalties. The maximum civil penalty for violations of the pesticide regulations is raised from $1,000 to $7,500, rather than $10,000. The provision allowing a person aggrieved by a violation of the pesticide application law to accompany the inspector during an inspection is deleted. The provision requiring confidentiality of the person requesting an inspection is deleted with respect to an appeal proceeding.
EMPLOYER RECORDKEEPING AND EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS
Reentry intervals. The amendment makes no change in current law for the setting of re-entry intervals, except that it gives PIRT authority to review current re-entry intervals for their adequacy to protect workers.
Posting requirements. Beginning July 1, 1990, posting is required if pesticides are applied with a re-entry interval greater than 24 hours on labor intensive crops, rather than if the re-entry interval is 24 hours or greater.
Employee protections. The provisions for protective clothing and showering and laundering facilities are deleted.
PESTICIDE INCIDENT REVIEW PANEL
PIRT Review Panel. PIRT's duties take effect on January 1, 1990, and PIRT is authorized to review the adequacy of re-entry intervals and make recommendations to appropriate agencies. PIRT will develop a priority list of pesticides for review using specific guidelines.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FOR AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYEES
Student exemption. The exemption is the same as in the original bill except that an exemption is provided for family members on incorporated small farms.
Phase in for employer contributions. Unemployment insurance contributions for newly covered employers are established at 2.5 percent of wages, for employers who are in the following industries: (1) vegetables and melons; (2) fruits and tree nuts; (3) horticulture; (4) livestock; and (5) timber tracts.
Suitable work. Beginning January 1, 1990, "suitable work" for agricultural employees is any agricultural labor available from any employer, unless the commissioner finds the specific work unsuitable for a particular individual.
Predecessor/successor employers. Beginning January 1, 1990, contributions for successor employers will be at the rate class assigned to the predecessor employer at the time of the transfer of the business, rather than at the rate paid by the predecessor employer.
System improvements. The Employment Security Department is required to work with agricultural employers to improve their understanding of the unemployment insurance system and increase compliance. The Employment Security Department, the Department of Labor and Industries, the Department of Licensing, and the Department of Revenue must develop a plan to implement voluntary combined reporting for agricultural employers and report to the Legislature by December 1, 1989.
AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYEES LABOR STANDARDS
The amendment deletes the sections providing for coverage of agricultural employees under the industrial welfare statutes and creates an advisory committee to develop recommendations for rules on labor standards for the employment of minors in agriculture. Based on these recommendations, the Department of Labor and Industries must adopt rules by July 1, 1990, on only the following: (1) minor employment rules; and (2) rest and meal breaks for all employees, taking into consideration naturally occurring breaks. In addition, employers who are required to keep employment records under the State Minimum Wage Act must keep the records for three years. When agricultural employees are paid, the employer must provide the employees with itemized statements indicating the pay basis, the rate of pay, the gross pay, and any deductions. Violations of these labor standards are class I civil infractions, with a maximum penalty of $250.
Revenue: The bill has a revenue impact.
Fiscal Note: Requested April 10, 1989.
Effective Date:Sections 82 through 84 of the bill take effect January 1, 1990.
House Committee ‑ Testified For: Graeme Sackrison, Employment Security Department; Mark McDermott and Steve Cant, Department of Labor and Industries; Hector Gonzalez, Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs; Kaylene Cottingham, Office of Financial Management; Errett Deck; Western Agricultural Chemicals Association; George Finch and Bill Naccacio, United Farm Workers of Washington State; Dan Ford, Evergreen Legal Services; Rita Thornber, Church Council of Greater Seattle; Larry Kenney, Washington State Labor Council; Roberto Maestas, El Centro de la Raza; and Esperanza Estevis, Concilio for the Spanish Speaking.
House Committee - Testified Against: None Presented.
House Committee - Testimony For: The programs addressed in this bill are all needed as part of a package to address the use of pesticides and the protection of workers in the agricultural industry. The centennial year is an appropriate year to bring equity to the only major group of employees who have been excluded from the worker protections enjoyed by other employees.
House Committee - Testimony Against: None Presented.
VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:
Yeas 85; Nays 12; Excused 1
Voting Nay: Representatives Ballard, Baugher, Chandler, Doty, Fuhrman, McLean, Moyer, Nealey, Padden, Rayburn, Smith and Wolfe
Excused: Representative Gallagher