2009 Handbook of Employment Regulations Affecting Florida Farm Employers and Workers: Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) [Federal]1
Fritz Roka, Michael Olexa, Katherine Smallwood, Leo Polopolus, and Carol Fountain2
Purpose
Provides general safety standards, inspection, and posting requirements for covered employers and their workers.
Who Must Comply
Employers engaged in businesses involved in interstate commerce are subject to the regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).
Exemptions
Exempted from OSHA regulations are the following:
Family farm operators who employ only immediate family members.
Agricultural employers who employed ten or fewer employees (full-time or part-time) at all times during the previous twelve months and do not maintain a migrant labor camp.
Note: Exemption means exempt from audits and inspections. It does not mean that the hazards and liability have been removed or eliminated.
Definitions
A farming operation is defined as any operation where a farmer grows or harvests crops, raises livestock or poultry, or is engaged in related activities. Farming operations include farms, ranches, orchards, dairy farms, or similar establishments. Production of ornamental plants and other nursery products is considered a farming operation.
Requirements for Employers of Eleven or More Workers
Inform employees of your safety regulations.
Post OSHA's Job Safety and Health poster in a permanent place where notices to employees are customarily posted.
Report within eight hours to the nearest OSHA area office (by telephone or in writing) any fatal accident involving an employee or any other accident resulting in the hospitalization of three or more employees.
Maintain up-to-date (within six working days) records of all occupational injuries and illnesses.
Post the annual summary of your OSHA No. 200 log on February 1st of the following year. This posting must be maintained for the entire month of February in a conspicuous place.
Retain all records of occupational injuries and illnesses for five years after the end of the year.
Furnish a place of employment free from recognized hazards that could cause death or serious physical harm to employees. (This requirement enables an OSHA inspector to cite an employer who should have recognized a serious hazard, even if OSHA does not have a specific standard related to that hazard.)
OSHA's Agricultural Standards
OSHA has the following standards that apply specifically to agriculture:
Storage and handling of anhydrous ammonia.
Temporary labor camps.
Pulpwood logging.
Slow-moving vehicle emblems, signs, and tags.
Rollover protective structures.
Guarding of farm field equipment, farmstead equipment, and cotton gins.
Field sanitation (enforced by the Wage and Hour Division).
Included in these standards are very specific training requirements. For example, the Hazard Communication Standard requires employers using hazardous chemicals to instruct employees on their safe handling (see EDIS document FE409, OSHA Hazard Communication Standard [Federal]).
Employee Requirements
Each employee must comply with all safety and health regulations that are applicable to his or her own actions and conduct. He or she must obey all rules, regulations, and safety procedures required by his or her employer to comply with the law, including participation in safety training and certifying that he or she has received such training. The employee is not subject to fines for noncompliance as is his or her employer; however, repeated failure to observe recommended safety procedures or use provided safety equipment is grounds for dismissal when properly documented.
Inspections
There are four categories of OSHA inspections. They are:
Imminent danger.
Fatality/catastrophic investigations.
Complaints/referrals.
Programmed.
The first three categories are considered unprogrammed inspections conducted in response to specific evidence of hazardous conditions at a workplace. Programmed inspections can be health and/or safety inspections and are normally comprehensive in scope.
OSHA is authorized to conduct workplace inspections without advance notice. Inspectors (also called compliance officers) are authorized to enter workplaces without delay and at reasonable times. If an employer refuses admission to his or her property, OSHA must obtain a warrant.
Note: Always insist on seeing an OSHA compliance officer's credentials. Also, be aware that an OSHA inspector has the right to interview employees during work hours.
Enforcement
Penalties for OSHA violations can be very costly. OSHA classifies violations by their nature: willful, repeated, serious, other-than-serious, and failture to abate/correct.
Civil penalties include:
Willful and repeated violations: a minimum fine of $5,000 per violation and up to a maximum of $70,000.
Serious violation: a mandatory fine of up to $7,000. A serious violation occurs when there is a substantial probability of death or physical injury in the work place and the employer has not exercised reasonable diligence to inform employees and mitigate the risk(s).
Other-than-serious violations: fines between $0 and $7,000 per violation.
Failure to abate/correct a violation: fine up to $70,000 per day for every day after the permitted correction period has expired.
Failure to publically post OSHA requirements: up to $7,000 per violation.
Amount of civil penalties can take into account the good faith of the employer, previous history, size of the business, and gravity of the violation.
Criminal penalties can arise from a death of an employee or obstruction of an OSHA investigation.
For a first time offense when a willful violation results in an employee death, up to $10,000 or up to 6-months imprisonment, or both.
For a second offense when a willful violation results in an employee death, up to $20,000 or up to 12-months imprisonment, or both.
Any one giving false statements pursuant to an OHSA inspection could face up to $10,000 in fines, up to 6-months imprisonment, or both.
A person giving advanced notice of an OSHA inspection will face criminal penalties of up to $1,000 in fines, up to 6-months imprisonment, or both.
Job and Workplace Safety Information
Florida is one of twenty-four states that do not have an approved OSHA state plan. Instead, the state of Florida has formed an alliance with OSHA through the Safety Florida Consultation Program at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Safety Florida Consultation Program
University of South Florida
13201 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, MDC 56
Tampa, FL 33612
Dial toll-free 1(866) 273-1105
http://www.usfsafetyflorida.com
Other Information
For additional information, contact your County Cooperative Extension Service Office or the Extension Safety Specialist, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, (352) 392-1864 (safety programs, publications, and audio-visual materials are available)
For pesticide safety training material, contact your County Cooperative Extension Service office or the Pesticide Information Office, Building 847, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, (352) 392-4721
Labor Bulletin No. 469, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Orlando, FL, September 18, 1989
FFVA Bulletin No. 509, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Orlando, FL, May 31, 1996
FFVA Bulletin No. 513, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Orlando, FL, February 21, 1997
Labor Relations Bulletin No. 528, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Orlando, FL, December 10, 1998
Labor Relations Bulletin No. 531, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Orlando, FL, January 16, 2001
Labor Relations Bulletin No. 547, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Orlando, FL, February 21, 2001
Labor Relations Bulletin No. 553, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Orlando, FL, December 18, 2001
Note: The National Agricultural Safety Database (NASD) provides a compendium of agricultural safety and health resources. It contains OSHA standards that apply to agriculture and that have been reviewed and/or revised.
Responsible Agency
Administration and Supervision:
U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
200 Constitutional Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20210
http://www.osha.gov
Regional Office
61 Forsyth Street SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 562-2300
http://www.osha.gov/oshdir/r04.html
Area Offices
http://www.osha.gov/oshdir/fl.html
8040 Peters Road, Bldg. H-100
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33324
(954) 424-0242
1851 Executive Center Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32207
(904) 232-2895
5807 Breckenridge Parkway, Suite A
Tampa, FL 33610-4249
(813) 626-1177
Footnotes
This is EDIS document FE408, a publication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published July 2003, revised December 2009. This information is included in Circular 1200, Handbook of Employment Regulations Affecting Florida Farm Employers and Workers. First published February 1992 as Circular 1043. Revised December 2002 as Circular 1200. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
Fritz Roka, associate professor, Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Immokalee, FL; Michael Olexa, professor, Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Katherine Smallwood, student, Levin College of Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Leo Polopolus, professor emeritus, Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; and Carol Fountain, editor, Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
This document is designed to provide accurate, current, and authoritative information on the subject. However, since the laws, administrative rulings, and court decisions on which it is based are subject to constant revision, portions of this publication could become outdated at any time. This publication is distributed with the understanding that the authors are not engaged in rendering legal or other professional advice, and the information contained herein should not be regarded as a substitute for professional advice. For these reasons, the utilization of these materials by any person constitutes an agreement to hold harmless the authors, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and the University of Florida for any liability claims, damages, or expenses that may be incurred by any person as a result of reference to or reliance on the information contained in this publication.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal
Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational
information and other services only to individuals and institutions
that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed,
color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital
status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations.
For more information on obtaining other extension publications,
contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service,
University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative
Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place,
Dean.
