BILL REQ. #: S-1086.1
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2005 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/31/2005. Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research & Development.
AN ACT Relating to voluntary compliance with safety standards by small agricultural employers; and adding a new section to chapter 49.17 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 49.17 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Any initial visit by the director, or an authorized
representative, to the workplace of an agricultural employer with ten
or fewer full-time equivalent employees shall be regarded as a visit
for the purposes of providing occupational safety and health education
for employers and employees, and offering consultation and advice. An
initial visit may not be regarded as an inspection or investigation
under the authority of this chapter.
(2) The director, or an authorized representative, may make
recommendations regarding the elimination of any hazards disclosed
during the visit, and shall provide an employer with a reasonable
opportunity to abate any such hazards. The director, or an authorized
representative, may not issue notices and citations, or assess civil
penalties related to an initial visit. The director, or an authorized
representative, shall offer assistance in correcting any hazards
disclosed.
(3) The director, or an authorized representative, may require the
owner to correct any hazards disclosed during the initial visit, and
may require the owner to send a statement that the hazards have been
abated. Alternatively, the director, or an authorized representative,
may schedule a subsequent visit to ascertain whether the hazards have
been abated. Any subsequent visit shall relate solely to the hazards
disclosed at the initial visit.
(4) For the purposes of this section:
(a) An agricultural employer is to be interpreted broadly, based on
the definition of "agriculture" in RCW 49.17.020; and
(b) A full-time equivalent employee is an employee who works at
least two thousand eighty hours a year.