WSR 02-17-107

EXPEDITED RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

LABOR AND INDUSTRIES

[ Filed August 21, 2002, 9:32 a.m. ]

     Title of Rule: WAC 296-24-125 Temporary labor camps, chapter 296-833 WAC, Temporary housing for workers.

     Purpose: Changes to chapter 296-24 WAC, General safety and health standards for temporary labor camps.

     The temporary labor camps rule is being rewritten and reorganized for clarity and ease of use for employers and employees. We are proposing to repeal the temporary labor camps rule from chapter 296-24 WAC and proposing it as a new chapter 296-833 WAC. No new requirements have been added.

Repealed Sections:

WAC 296-24-125 Scope and application.

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-100.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12501 What requirements apply to camp sites?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12501.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12503 How must camp shelters be constructed?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12503.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12504 What electricity must be provided for temporary labor camps?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12504.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12505 What requirements apply to the water supply?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12505.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12507 Must an employer provide toilet facilities for the camp?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12507.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12509 Must sewer lines connect to the public sewer?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12509.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12511 What facilities must an employer provide for laundry, handwashing, and bathing?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12511.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12513 What lighting must an employer provide for camp buildings?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12513.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12515 What requirements apply to refuse disposal?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12515.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12517 What cooking and food-handling facilities must be provided in temporary labor camps?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12517.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12519 Must an employer provide insect and rodent control?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12519.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12521 What first-aid facilities must be available in the camp?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12521.
• This section will be repealed.
WAC 296-24-12523 When must an employer report communicable diseases in a camp?

• The requirements in this section have been moved to WAC 296-833-12523.
• This section will be repealed.
New Sections:

WAC 296-833-100 Scope.

• The information relating to the scope and application of this rule have been moved to this section.
WAC 296-833-10010 Summary.

• The responsibility statement to the employer has been moved to this section.
WAC 296-833-200 Shelter location and structure requirements.

• Requirements relating to placement and construction of shelters were moved to this section.
WAC 296-833-20005 Provide and maintain sufficient grounds and open areas in temporary housing sites.

• Moved requirements relating to the grounds of the temporary housing area.
WAC 296-833-20010 Follow these construction requirements for shelters.

• Moved requirements relating to construction.
WAC 296-833-300 Utilities employers must provide.

• Requirements relating to utilities provided by the employer have been moved to this section.
WAC 296-833-30005 Provide electricity and lighting to temporary housing areas.

• Moved requirements relating to electricity and lighting.
WAC 296-833-30010 Provide adequate water.

• Moved requirements relating to water.
WAC 296-833-30015 Provide toilet facilities.

• Moved requirements relating to toilets.
WAC 296-833-30020 Follow local regulations for sewage disposal.

• Moved requirements relating to sewage.
WAC 296-833-400 Service facilities: Food preparation, dining, bathing, laundry and handwashing.

• Requirements relating to providing of service facilities have been moved to this section.
WAC 296-833-40005 Provide service buildings for laundry, handwashing and bathing.

• Moved requirements relating to laundry, handwashing and bathing facilities.
WAC 296-833-40010 Provide cooking, food-handling, and dining facilities.

• Moved requirements relating to cooking/food handling facilities.
WAC 296-833-500 Waste disposal and pest control.

• Requirements relating to waste disposal and pest control have been moved to this section.
WAC 296-833-50005 Follow proper waste disposal procedures.

• Moved requirements relating to waste disposal.
WAC 296-833-50010 Control insects, rodents and other pests.

• Moved requirements relating to insects and rodents.
WAC 296-833-600 Employee first aid and communicable disease reporting.

• Requirements relating to providing first aid facilities and reporting communicable disease have been moved to this section.
WAC 296-833-60005 Provide first-aid facilities.

• Moved requirements relating to first aid.
WAC 296-833-60010 Report communicable diseases.

• Moved requirements relating to communicable diseases.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 49.17.010, [49.17].040, [49.17].050, [49.17].060.

     Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 49.17 RCW.

     Summary: This rule making is part of our four-year plan to rewrite for clarity all of chapters 296-24 and 296-62 WAC. The rule language is being clarified to make understanding and application easier. Unnecessary and bureaucratic terminology will be eliminated.

     Reasons Supporting Proposal: See Summary above.

     Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Tracy Spencer, Tumwater, (360) 902-5530; Implementation and Enforcement: Michael A. Silverstein, Tumwater, (360) 902-5495.

     Name of Proponent: Department of Labor and Industries, governmental.

     Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

     Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: The temporary housing for workers rule applies to employers who chose to provide housing for their temporary workers. As part of our four-year plan to rewrite chapters 296-24 and 296-62 WAC for clarity and ease of use, the temporary labor camps rule has been rewritten and will be repealed from chapter 296-24 WAC and assigned an 800 series number, chapter 296-833 WAC. The language has been clarified and made easier to understand, with unnecessary and outdated terminology eliminated. There was no increase in requirements; no effects of this rule making are anticipated.

     Proposal does not change existing rules.

NOTICE

     THIS RULE IS BEING PROPOSED UNDER AN EXPEDITED RULE-MAKING PROCESS THAT WILL ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR THE AGENCY TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS, PREPARE A SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT, OR PROVIDE RESPONSES TO THE CRITERIA FOR A SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATIVE RULE. IF YOU OBJECT TO THE USE OF THE EXPEDITED RULE-MAKING PROCESS, YOU MUST EXPRESS YOUR OBJECTIONS IN WRITING AND THEY MUST BE SENT TO Carmen Moore, Department of Labor and Industries, P.O. Box 44001, Olympia, WA 98504-4001 , AND RECEIVED BY October 21, 2002.


August 7, 2002

Gary Moore

Director

OTS-5893.1


REPEALER

     The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:
WAC 296-24-125 Temporary labor camps.
WAC 296-24-12501 What requirements apply to camp sites?
WAC 296-24-12503 How must camp shelters be constructed?
WAC 296-24-12504 What electricity must be provided for temporary labor camps?
WAC 296-24-12505 What requirements apply to the water supply?
WAC 296-24-12507 Must an employer provide toilet facilities for the camp?
WAC 296-24-12509 Must sewer lines connect to public sewers?
WAC 296-24-12511 What facilities must an employer provide for laundry, handwashing, and bathing?
WAC 296-24-12513 What lighting must an employer provide for camp buildings?
WAC 296-24-12515 What requirements apply to refuse disposal?
WAC 296-24-12517 What cooking and food-handling facilities must be provided in temporary labor camps?
WAC 296-24-12519 Must an employer provide insect and rodent control?
WAC 296-24-12521 What first-aid facilities must be available in the camp?
WAC 296-24-12523 When must an employer report communicable diseases in a camp?

OTS-5847.2

Chapter 296-833 WAC

TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR WORKERS


NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-100   Scope.   This chapter applies to all employers who provide or require their employees to live in temporary housing.

     Exemption:

     This rule does not apply to the agriculture industry.

     For agriculture employers, see WAC 296-307-161, Temporary worker housing, and WAC 296-307-163, Cherry harvest camps.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-10010   Summary.  

     Your responsibility:

     If you choose to provide temporary housing for workers, or require them to live on the grounds in housing they provide themselves, you must make sure the housing facilities meet the requirements of this rule.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-200   Shelter location and structure requirements.  

     Summary.

     Your responsibility:

     To provide and maintain safe and healthful housing for your temporary workers.

     You must:

     Provide and maintain sufficient grounds and open areas in temporary housing sites

     WAC 296-833-20005

     Follow these design and equipment requirements for shelters

     WAC 296-833-20010.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-20005   Provide and maintain sufficient grounds and open areas in temporary housing sites.  

     You must:

     (1) Make sure that all temporary housing sites:

     • Are adequately drained and are free from ground depressions in which water may accumulate

     • Have no history of flooding

     • Do not endanger any domestic or public water supply with their drainage

     • Are located at least two hundred feet from a swamp, pool, sink hole, or other surface collection of water unless the water surface can be treated for mosquito control.

     (2) Make sure the housing area is large enough to prevent the buildings from being crowded too closely together.

     (3) Make sure the principal housing areas for sleeping and food preparation/eating are at least five hundred feet from livestock operations.

Note: Livestock operations include, among other things, dairy farms, corrals, slaughterhouses, feedlots, and stockyards. Operations where livestock can roam on a pasture over a distance may be treated as outside the definition.
     (4) Make sure that grounds and open areas surrounding the shelters are maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-20010   Follow these design and equipment requirements for shelters.  

     You must:

     (1) Make sure that every shelter in the camp provides protection against the elements.

     (2) Make sure each dwelling unit:

     • Has at least seventy square feet of floor space for the first occupant and at least fifty square feet of floor space for each additional occupant

     • That is designated a family unit has a separate sleeping area for children over six years old

     • With designated sleeping room(s) has at least fifty square feet of floor space in the sleeping room for each occupant

     • Has at least a seven-foot ceiling

     • Has windows:

     – Covering a total area equal to at least one-tenth of the floor area

     AND

     – At least one-half of which can be opened for ventilation

     • Has each exterior opening screened with 16-mesh material

     • Has screen doors with self-closing devices.

     (3) Make sure that the floors of each shelter are constructed of wood, asphalt, or concrete.

     • Floors must be kept in good repair

     • If wooden floors are used, they must be:

     – Elevated one foot above ground level at all points to prevent dampness and to permit free air circulation

     – Smooth and tight.

Note: You may "bank" around outside walls with earth or other suitable material to guard against extreme low temperatures.
     (4) Provide beds, cots, or bunks, and suitable storage facilities such as wall lockers for clothing and personal articles in every sleeping room.

     • Beds must be at least thirty-six inches away from other beds, both side to side and end to end

     • The frame of the bed must keep mattresses at least twelve inches off the floor

     • Double-deck bunks must be spaced at least forty-eight inches away from other beds, both side to side and end to end

     • The minimum clear space between lower and upper bunks must be at least twenty-seven inches

     • Triple-deck bunks are not allowed.

     (5) Provide equipment that adequately heats the living area whenever the camp is used during cold weather.

Note: All heating, cooking, and water heating equipment must meet state and local ordinances, codes, and regulations concerning installation.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-300   Utilities employers must provide.  

     Summary.

     Your responsibility:

     To provide utilities to your temporary housing camps.

     You must:

     Provide electricity and lighting to temporary housing areas

     WAC 296-833-30005

     Provide adequate water

     WAC 296-833-30010

     Provide toilet facilities

     WAC 296-833-30015

     Follow local regulations for sewage disposal

     WAC 296-833-30020.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-30005   Provide electricity and lighting to temporary housing areas.  

     You must:

     (1) Supply electricity to all:

     – Dwelling units

     – Kitchen facilities

     – Shower/bathroom facilities

     – Common areas

     – Laundry facilities.

     Reference:

     You need to follow additional requirements for electricity and lighting. See WAC 296-800-280, Basic electrical rules, in the safety and health core rules book for more information.

     (2) Provide lighting to camp buildings.

     • Make sure general lighting and task lighting are adequate for normal daily activities

     • Make sure living quarters have:

     – One ceiling-type light fixture

     AND

     – One separate floor or wall convenience outlet.

     • Make sure laundry rooms, toilet rooms, and other common areas have at least:

     – One ceiling light fixture

     OR

     – A wall light fixture.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-30010   Provide adequate water.  

     You must:

     • Provide a water supply that is adequate and convenient for:

     – Drinking

     – Cooking

     – Bathing

     – Laundry purposes.

     • Make sure the water supply system is:

     – Capable of delivering

     &sqbul; Thirty-five gallons per person per day to the campsite

     &sqbul; At a peak rate of two and one-half times the average hourly demand

     – Able to supply water to all fixtures at the same time with normal operating pressures

     – Approved by the appropriate health authority

     • Supply water to each housing area by either:

     – Piping water directly to the shelters

     – Providing yard hydrants within one hundred feet of the shelters

     • Prohibit common drinking cups

     • Provide one or more drinking fountain(s) for each one hundred occupants (or fraction of that number) where water under pressure is available.

     Reference:

     The construction of drinking fountains must comply with ANSI standard Specifications for Drinking Fountains, Z4.2.1942.

[]


NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-30015   Provide toilet facilities.  

Note: For the purposes of this rule, a restroom is a room maintained on the premises for use by employees that contains a toilet. This includes outhouses.
     You must:

     (1) Provide enough toilets for the camp's capacity.

     • Toilets and outhouses must be provided in a ratio of one for every fifteen people, with a minimum of two units for any facility shared by men and women.

Note: Check with your local jurisdictions for regulations regarding outhouses.
     (2) Have enough rest rooms for each sex based on the maximum number of persons the camp is designed to house at any one time.

     (3) Provide separate rest rooms for each sex wherever rest rooms are in buildings shared by men and women.

     • Distinctly mark the rooms "men" and "women" with:

     – Signs printed in English and in the native language of the persons occupying the camp

     OR

     – Easily understood pictures or symbols.

     • If the facilities for each sex are in the same building, they must be separated by:

     – Solid walls

     OR

     – Partitions extending from the floor to the roof or ceiling.

     (4) Make sure:

     • No one has to pass through a sleeping room to reach a rest room

     • Rest rooms have a window of at least six square feet opening directly to the outside, or are satisfactorily ventilated

     • All outside openings are screened with 16-mesh material

     • Fixtures, toilets, chemical toilets, or urinals are not located in a room used for other than toilet purposes

     • A rest room is within two hundred feet of the door of each sleeping room

     • Any outhouse is at least one hundred feet away from any sleeping room, dining room, lunch area, or kitchen.

     (5) Provide urinals as follows:

     • One urinal or two linear feet of urinal trough for each twenty-five men

     • Construct the floor out of materials that are moisture proof, from the wall and out at least fifteen inches from the outer edge of the urinals

     • Have an adequate water flush in urinals when water under pressure is available

     • Urinal troughs in outhouses must:

     – Drain freely into the pit or vault

     AND

     – Have a drain constructed to exclude flies and rodents from the pit.

     (6) Install any new toilets in a rest room.

     (7) Make sure:

     • There is an adequate supply of toilet paper for each rest room, outhouse, or chemical toilet

     • Toilet facilities are:

     – Kept in sanitary condition

     AND

     – Cleaned at least daily.

[]


NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-30020   Follow local regulations for sewage disposal.  

     You must:

     • Provide sewage disposal systems according to local health jurisdictions.

[]


NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-400   Service facilities: Food preparation, dining, bathing, laundry and handwashing.  

     Summary.

     Your responsibility:

     To provide facilities for your employees to cook, eat, do laundry, bathe, and wash their hands.

     You must:

     Provide service buildings for laundry, handwashing and bathing

     WAC 296-833-40005

     Provide cooking, food-handling, and dining facilities

     WAC 296-833-40010.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-40005   Provide service buildings for laundry, handwashing and bathing.  

     You must:

     (1) Make sure that every service building has equipment capable of maintaining a room temperature of at least seventy degrees Fahrenheit.

     (2) Make sure an adequate supply of hot and cold running water is provided for bathing and laundry purposes.

     (3) Provide:

     • One handwash basin

     – Per family shelter

     OR

     – Per six persons in shared facilities

     • One shower head for every ten persons

     • One laundry tray or tub for every thirty persons

     • One "deepwell" type sink in each building used for laundry, handwashing, and bathing.

     (4) Make sure all:

     • Laundry, handwashing and bathing room floors:

     – Are moisture-resistant and smooth but not slippery

     – Have coved junctions of the curbing and the floor

     • Walls and partitions of shower rooms are smooth and moisture-resistant to the height where water splashes.

     • Shower baths, shower rooms, or laundry rooms have floor drains to remove wastewater and facilitate cleaning.

     (5) Provide facilities for drying clothes.

     (6) Keep all service buildings clean.

[]


NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-40010   Provide cooking, food-handling, and dining facilities.  

     You must:

     (1) Make sure common cooking and dining areas are of adequate size and are separated from sleeping areas by a door.

     (2) Provide enclosed and screened cooking and food-handling facilities for all occupants. The facilities must include:

     • A working cook stove or hot plate with at least one cooking surface for every two occupants

     • A sink with hot and cold running potable water under pressure

     • Food storage areas located off the floor

     • Nonabsorbent, easily cleanable food preparation counters

     • Mechanical refrigeration capable of maintaining a temperature of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or below, with enough space to store perishable food items for all occupants

     • Fire-resistant, nonabsorbent, nonasbestos, and easily cleanable wall coverings close to cooking areas

     • Nonabsorbent, easily cleanable floors

     • At least one ceiling or wall light fixture

     • Lighting adequate for normal food preparation activities

     • Adequate ventilation for cooking facilities.

     (3) Make sure that dining halls:

     • Meet the requirements of the department of health's rules in chapter 246-215 WAC, Food service

     • Have no direct openings to living or sleeping areas

     • Have fire-resistant, nonabsorbent, nonasbestos, and easy-to-clean wall coverings adjacent to cooking areas

     • Have nonabsorbent, easy-to-clean floors

     • Have at least one ceiling or wall light fixture

     • Have lighting adequate for normal dining activities.

[]


NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-500   Waste disposal and pest control.  

     Summary.

     Your responsibility:

     To make sure your temporary housing camps are kept sanitary.

     You must:

     Follow proper waste disposal procedures

     WAC 296-833-50005

     Control insects, rodents, and other pests

     WAC 296-833-50010.

[]


NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-50005   Follow proper waste disposal procedures.        You must:

     • Provide at least one garbage container for each family shelter. Garbage containers must be:

     – Placed on a wooden, metal, or concrete pad

     AND

     – Located within one hundred feet of each shelter.

     • Provide garbage containers that:

     – Are nonabsorbent

     – Are cleanable OR only used once (for example, a disposable plastic liner)

     – Can be securely closed.

     • Make sure garbage containers are kept clean and emptied:     – At least twice a week

     AND

     – When full.

[]


NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-50010   Control insects, rodents, and other pests.  

     You must:

     • Take steps to effectively prevent insects, rodents, and other pests from infesting camp areas

     • Carry out a continuing and effective control program where pests have been detected.

[]


NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-600   Employee first aid and communicable disease reporting.  

     Summary.

     Your responsibility:

     To guard the general health of your employees by providing first-aid facilities and reporting communicable diseases.

     You must:

     Provide first-aid facilities

     WAC 296-833-60005

     Report communicable diseases

     WAC 296-833-60010.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-60005   Provide first-aid facilities.  

     You must:

     • Provide and maintain adequate first-aid facilities

     AND

     • Make sure a person trained in first aid is in charge of the first-aid facilities.

     Reference:

     See WAC 296-800-150, First aid, in the core rules book for requirements for first-aid training and supplies.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 296-833-60010   Report communicable diseases.  

     You must:

     • Immediately report to the local health officer:

     – The name and address of any individual in the camp known to or suspected of having a communicable disease listed in the department of health's list of notifiable conditions, chapter 246-101 WAC

     – Any suspected food poisoning

     – Any unusual occurrence of:

     • Fever

     • Diarrhea

     • Sore throat

     • Vomiting

     • Jaundice.

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